Tuberous Begonias

Article by: Geoff Bryant

If you appreciate plants , Spring is Almost Here - March Gardening Tips that have no hesitation in boldly stating their presence with huge, almost artificially perfect flowers, , Pond Spitters Are The Perfect Way To Accentuate Your Pond With Style then tuberous begonias are for you. While some may find them rather too overstated, downright brazen even, if you like colour, , Starting a Shade Garden... and plenty of it, with subtlety an option rather than compulsory, then look no further. Flower , The Old Faithful - Case Tractors ing from late spring, , Taking Inside Comfort Outside: A Look at Outdoor Patio Heaters for the Home as the days exceed 13 hours long, until well into autumn , Are Robotic Lawn Mowers in Your Future? when the foliage dies back, these tuberous-rooted perennials , Oregano: Joy of the Mountain have been extensively hybridised and refined to the point where the larger-flowered forms are nothing short of spectacular. For those with greenhouses , How To Ensure Early Bulbs Bloom, Year After Year or a very mild winter , Tea’s Important Role in Reducing Disease climate there are even types that flower , Growing a Sustainable Garden! well into winter, , Gardens: They are Fragrant, Breathtaking— the Perfect Idea for More Outdoor Decor if not right through the cooler months.

Description and classificationÃ‚Â and groups

Begonias are among those convenient plants , A Garden Bench: A Beautiful Addition To Any Garden where the proper name is also the common name. The genus is found in the tropics and subtropics, particularly in the Americas, and is made up of around 900 species with 130-odd in cultivation, from which many cultivars and hybrids have been developed. These garden , Natural Algae Fighters That Work forms have been divided into 8 main categories. They are:

1. Cane-like, which have narrow, upright stems with conspicuous leaf nodes and evergreen foliage.

2. Shrub-like, which are bushy plants , Pond Spitters Are The Perfect Way To Accentuate Your Pond With Style with branching stems.

3. Thick-stemmed, which resemble the cane-like but with much heavier stems that sometimes form a trunk.

4. Semperflorens, which are the fibrous rooted types usually treated as summer-flowering bedding annuals. , A Garden Bench: A Beautiful Addition To Any Garden

5. Rhizomatous, which may be evergreen or deciduous and which are often grown as much for their foliage as for their flowers. , Growing a Sustainable Garden!

6. Rex-cultorum, which are the fancy-leaved Rex begonias that are usually grown as house plants. , Common Landscape Design Features

7. Tuberous, which have thickened tuberous roots , Take the Blossom of Various Types of Flowering Trees and which usually die back over winter , Wild Flower Garden - Recreate the Splendor of Nature in Your Own Backyard or, in the case of the winter-flowering types, which may be dried off at some other time.

8. Trailing Scandent, which are pendulous, ever-blooming plants , Tips for Preparing a ing Bed often with long internodes and which should not be confused with the trailing tuberous begonias. So group seven it is, yet although quite a few begonia species have tuberous roots, , How to Choose Your Garden Furniture and Make It Last when we talk of tuberous begonias we're generally referring to the fancy-flowered group of garden-raised plants , How To Choose a Storage Shed known as Begonia Ãƒâ€” tuberhybrida. Developed mainly from South American species, they first appeared in Europe in 1867, just three years after the introduction of the most influential of the early parent species, Begonia pearcei. Since that time thousands of hybrids have been raised and we now have tuberous begonias in a wide range of sizes and styles of flower , Hydroponics Gardening - An Introduction to Hydroponics Gardening for Beginners (part 19) Soil Based and growth habit. There are small- medium- and large-flowered hybrids; they may have single, semi-double or fully rose- or camellia-like double flowers; they may be small and mound-forming, trailing or upright to nearly a metre tall. And while the flowers , Harvesting Herbs are spectacular, don't ignore the foliage. Because although unlike say the Rex begonias, tuberous begonias are never grown for their foliage alone, their velvety, deep green , Beauty With Indigenous Species leaves add a rich luxuriance that is the perfect foil to the flowers, , How to Choose Your Garden Furniture and Make It Last which would definitely be diminished without the contrast of the leaves.

Cultivation

So, tuberous begonias are beautiful. , Gardening For Birds I don't need to tell you that, the pictures speak for themselves, but how do you get the best out of them? Well, as garden , A Guide To Landscape Bridges plants they're not for everyone and not for every location, , Mowing the Lawn though with careful selection and siting you may be surprised at just how well they grow , Bonsai Plant Care: What You Need to Know outdoors in many parts of New Zealand. Begonias have a preference for cool, moist conditions and a climate , Gardening For Birds that doesn't suffer from extremes of summer , Waterfall Ponds heat or winter , The Basics of Mulch cold. They need bright light , Garden Hot Tubs to flower , Rose Tending in June well but should be out of direct sunlight, especially during the heat , Wild Flower Garden - Recreate the Splendor of Nature in Your Own Backyard of the day, and they also need shelter from strong winds or the flowers , General Lawn Maintenance Tips may brown at the edges and the soft foliage may be torn or bent. Tuberous begonias flower , Wild Garden - Recreate the Splendor of Nature in Your Own Backyard best with humus-rich soil, , Are Robotic Lawn Mowers in Your Future? plenty of moisture , Oregano: Joy of the Mountain and regular feeding. Given those requirements it's not surprising that many gardeners choose to cultivate tuberous begonias indoors, , The Cottage Garden as conservatory, , Growing a Sustainable Garden! shadehouse or cool greenhouse plants. , Pond Spitters Are The Perfect Way To Accentuate Your Pond With Style However, if you have a bright southerly facing position in your garden , Rose Tending in June or a shaded spot facing north, then begonias will thrive outdoors , Bonsai Plant Care: What You Need to Know too, particularly in areas that don't often experience drought , Outdoor Wood Furniture - Check the Method of Construction Before Buying in summer. , Harvesting Herbs Strong sun , Outdoor Wood Furniture - Check the Method of Construction Before Buying and wind, especially hot , A Guide To Landscape Bridges dry winds, are the main enemies; light , Take the Blossom of Various Types of Flowering Trees soil that dries out quickly doesn't help either. But in a lightly shaded, sheltered position with soil , Gardening For Birds that has been thoroughly prepared with plenty of well-rotted compost , Taking Inside Comfort Outside: A Look at Outdoor Patio Heaters for the Home tuberous begonias will flower , Outdoor Wood Furniture - Check the Method of Construction Before Buying from early summer , Landscape Problems - Things To Look Out For to the first frosts. And all that you need do is to stake the tall growers to bamboo , Beauty With Indigenous Species canes (specialist nurseries stock wire frames), remove any spent flowers, , Beauty With Indigenous Species keep the soil , Gardens: They are Fragrant, Breathtaking— the Perfect Idea for More Outdoor Decor moist and add a little liquid fertiliser every week. If you find that the super-fancy large-flowered forms are simply not tough enough for your garden, , Good Tools and Hard Work is What Creates EyeCatching and Functional s don't give up. Instead try some of the smaller-flowered hybrids. The little Multiflora types, commonly known as Flamboyant Begonias, are very resilient. Grown as massed bedding , A Garden Bench: A Beautiful Addition To Any Garden or in clusters, they're most commonly seen with bright red flowers, , Discover the Single Most Important Trick to Overwintering Pond Fish which often almost hide the foliage, but also occur in orange and a somewhat weaker yellow-flowered form. Nonstop begonias are crosses between the Multifloras and the larger flowered types. As you'd expect they're of intermediate height and vigour. They flower , The Old Faithful - Case Tractors continuously, even in winter , Outdoor Wood Furniture - Check the Method of Construction Before Buying if kept indoors, , Waterfall Ponds and are available in a wide range of colours. , Tea’s Important Role in Reducing Disease Nonstops are F1 hybrids so there is no point in saving the seed , Take the Blossom of Various Types of Flowering Trees and any seedpods should be removed to keep the plants , Garden Success in Southcentral Alaska Part 1 of 3 flowering. Reiger begonias, developed from Begonia Ãƒâ€” hiemalis, are similar. And if open beds , Mowing the Lawn don't seem to work, consider growing , Starting a Shade Garden... your begonias in pots , Spring is Almost Here - March Gardening Tips so that you can find just the right place , Outdoor Wood Furniture - Check the Method of Construction Before Buying for them. The upright types flower , How to Pick Up the Most Necessary Gardening Tools? and grow , Bonsai Plant Care: What You Need to Know well but are rather brittle, necessitating staking. The trailing types, often Begonia boliviensis hybrids, have more flexible, pendulous stems and when grown in hanging baskets they are easy-care plants , Growing a Sustainable Garden! that make a great show. Trailing begonias usually do best in sphagnum-lined wire baskets rather than solid pots, , Hydroponics Gardening - An Introduction to Hydroponics Gardening for Beginners (part 19) Soil Based their roots , Taking Inside Comfort Outside: A Look at Outdoor Patio Heaters for the Home appreciating the cool moist sphagnum.

Disbudding and deadheading

Begonias have separate male and female flowers. , The Cottage Garden Usually one large female flower , Oregano: Joy of the Mountain is subtended by two smaller male flowers. , Gardens: They are Fragrant, Breathtaking— the Perfect Idea for More Outdoor Decor Removing the male flowers , A Rose is a Rose? before they mature will allow the showy female flowers , Beauty With Indigenous Species to reach their full size and will also prevent the development of seedpods that could lessen the plant's vigour. Old flowers , Growing a Sustainable Garden! should be removed once past their best. They snap off easily and doing this not only encourages new blooms to form, it also helps prevent fungal diseases , Are Robotic Lawn Mowers in Your Future? that could develop among the decaying petals.

Pests and diseases

Begonias are neither particularly susceptible to nor resistant to pests. , Harvesting Herbs Slugs and snail relish the young shoots and the mature foliage, various caterpillars may chew the foliage, rasping and sap-sucking creatures such as thrips, aphids and mealy bugs may be present, but with a little attention and routine care, pests , The Cottage Garden can usually be stopped before they get out of control. More of a problem are fungal diseases, , The Old Faithful - Case Tractors especially soft rots, mildew and botrytis. Damaged stems can quickly become soft, watery and rotten and this may lead to the eventual collapse of the plant. , Discover the Single Most Important Trick to Overwintering Pond Fish Almost inevitably the foliage will develop mildew in late autumnÃ‚Â - it's just part of the winter , A Guide To Landscape Bridges die-back processÃ‚Â - but mildew can also occur during the growing season. , Beauty With Indigenous Species Good ventilation goes a long way towards controlling the severity of fungal diseases, , Harvesting Herbs keeping the foliage and stems reasonably dry also helps, though spraying with a fungicide will probably be necessary too.

Winter care

As flower , Tea’s Important Role in Reducing Disease production lessens from mid-autumn, cut back on watering and feeding and allow your begonias to dry off. While the foliage should dry, brown and fall , Gardens: They are Fragrant, Breathtaking— the Perfect Idea for More Outdoor Decor away without too many problems, do keep an eye open for any fungal diseases , Hydroponics Gardening - An Introduction to Hydroponics Gardening for Beginners (part 19) Soil Based that could spread to the tubers. Once the foliage has dried, the tubers may be lifted or removed from their pots , The Cottage Garden for winter , Take the Blossom of Various Types of Flowering Trees storage. This isn't always necessary in mild winter , Mowing the Lawn areas, but where hard frosts or prolonged wet conditions are likely it's a good idea. The tubers can be stored in barely moist sawdust or any other fairly dry, inert medium, such as damp, shredded newspaper. Replant them (concave side up) in spring , Waterfall Ponds as the new shoots appear. Cover the tubers with a few centimetres of soil, , Common Landscape Design Features as they sprout roots , General Lawn Maintenance Tips from the tops too. The exceptions to the process are the winter-flowering Begonia Ãƒâ€” hiemalis hybrids, which result from crossing Begonia Ãƒâ€” tuberhybrida with Begonia socotrana, a species from an Indian Ocean island off the caost of Yemen. Widely sold as Reiger or "blush" begonias, these plants , Backyard Landscaping Ideas - A Guide To Evergreen Trees And Shrubs start to flower , A Garden Bench: A Beautiful Addition To Any Garden from late summer , Taking Inside Comfort Outside: A Look at Outdoor Patio Heaters for the Home and will remain in leaf and flower , Common Landscape Design Features until spring. , Backyard Landscaping Ideas - A Guide To Evergreen Trees And Shrubs Obviously these plants, , The Cottage Garden which are completely intolerant of frost, need a very mild, benign winter , Bonsai Plant Care: What You Need to Know to grow , Gardening For Birds outdoors. However, they are very adaptable to indoor , A Guide To Landscape Bridges cultivation and are a great choice for winter-flowering house plants , Beauty With Indigenous Species that can spend the summer , Garden Success in Southcentral Alaska Part 1 of 3 outdoors in the garden. , Natural Algae Fighters That Work

Propagation

There are several ways to propagate tuberous begonias, the method used varying with they type of plant. , Take the Blossom of Various Types of Flowering Trees

Seed

Sow bought seed , Garden Hot Tubs to produce F1 hybrids such as the Nonstops or to get a new crop of vigorous young plants. , Pond Spitters Are The Perfect Way To Accentuate Your Pond With Style Begonia seed , Wild Flower Garden - Recreate the Splendor of Nature in Your Own Backyard is very fine, dust-like in fact. It's so fine that it doesn't usually come in seed , The history of the gnome. packets, where it would be lost in the folds, but in glass , Spring is Almost Here - March Gardening Tips phials that have to be snapped open before sowing. Pelleted seeds , Backyard Landscaping Ideas - A Guide To Evergreen Trees And Shrubs are much easier to handle, thought they are not always readily available. The seed , Create a Great Water Garden needs warmth and light , The history of the gnome. to germinate. It should be sown in spring, , A Rose is a Rose? uncovered, in heated trays. Keep the seed , A Guide To Landscape Bridges just moist until it germinates. The young seedlings grow , Are Robotic Lawn Mowers in Your Future? quickly and are soon large enough to pot. , The history of the gnome. When small they are sensitive to draughts and temperature , Oregano: Joy of the Mountain fluctuations and should be kept under cover until spring , A Garden Bench: A Beautiful Addition To Any Garden is well settled into early summer. , Bonsai Plant Care: What You Need to Know Prepare your garden , The Old Faithful - Case Tractors beds with high-humus compost , A Guide To Landscape Bridges and organic , Landscape Problems - Things To Look Out For fertiliser and because the foliage will be tender, plant , Good Tools and Hard Work is What Creates EyeCatching and Functional Gardens out when the weather , The Old Faithful - Case Tractors is not too hot , How To Choose a Storage Shed and sunny.

Division

Mature plants , Lawn Mowers Guide - Cut a Fine Figure of Your Lawn have large tubers that divide readily and division is a good way to quickly produce established, sturdy plants. , Six Good Reasons For Going Organic Divide the tubers in spring , Beauty With Indigenous Species when replanting. They slice easily with a sharp knife but because finding the growing , Mowing the Lawn 'eyes' can be difficult keep your divisions on the large side. To prevent fungal diseases, , A Rose is a Rose? dust the cut surfaces with sulphur powder and allow them to dry before planting.

Cuttings

Most tuberous begonias will grow , General Lawn Maintenance Tips from cuttings and this is an especially good method of building , Good Tools and Hard Work is What Creates EyeCatching and Functional Gardens up large stocks of the small-flowered Multiflora types for massed bedding. , Taking Inside Comfort Outside: A Look at Outdoor Patio Heaters for the Home The fresh spring , Taking Inside Comfort Outside: A Look at Outdoor Patio Heaters for the Home and early summer , Good Tools and Hard Work is What Creates EyeCatching and Functional Gardens shoots make the best cuttings and will strike very quickly under mild humid conditions. You can continue to take cuttings well into summer , The Cottage Garden but unless the new plants , Oregano: Joy of the Mountain can develop reasonably sized tubers before winter , The Cottage Garden they will probably not survive until the following spring. , How to Choose Your Garden Furniture and Make It Last Like many of the house plant , General Lawn Maintenance Tips begonias, Begonia Ãƒâ€” hiemalis is often raised from leaf cuttings. This involves removing a mature leaf, slicing across its veins and pinning the leaf down on moist soil. , Six Good Reasons For Going Organic A warm humid environment, , Garden Hot Tubs such as an enclosed propagation tray, is essential. Also, you should start in spring , Outdoor Wood Furniture - Check the Method of Construction Before Buying so that the young plants , How to Choose Your Garden Furniture and Make It Last are well-established before winter. , How to Choose Your Garden Furniture and Make It Last

Begonia displays

Public gardens , Pond Spitters Are The Perfect Way To Accentuate Your Pond With Style often use tuberous begonias in their displays and this can one of the best ways to see a wide range of flower , Bonsai Plant Care: What You Need to Know types.

I am a garden , Landscape Problems - Things To Look Out For book author and horticultural photographer based in Christchurch, New Zealand. I run a stock photo library called Country, Farm , Growing a Sustainable Garden! and Garden , Outdoor Wood Furniture - Check the Method of Construction Before Buying (http://www.cfgphoto.com). This article may be re-published provided this information , Lawn Mowers Guide - Cut a Fine Figure of Your Lawn is published with it and is clearly visible.

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