Tuberous Begonias

By Bob Willard, General Manager of www.dejager.co.uk

Since I discovered how big, bold, beautiful and easy to grow a basket of tuberous hanging begonias is, one

or two hanging baskets appear on my spring must do list every year.

Sometimes I decide on a single colour scheme that complements the rest of my planting and sometimes I decide on pale yellow and/or orange with a touch of white. It all depends where I decide to hang the baskets.

To get the tubers to flower earlier than those planted directly in the garden start them in a cold frame or greenhouse during February/March in open trays using a mixture of peat and sand, leaf-mould and sand or peat alone, all of which are suitable media for developing a good root system. Good drainage is essential so water cautiously until plants have hardened off a little.

When night frosts are no longer expected they should be planted out in the garden. The front of the plant is always where the tips of the leaves are.

I achieved my best display ever when I planted a huge self-watering hanging container (the unsightly container soon disappears under the plant coverage and it is a sure way to keep the thirsty tubers watered during a hot summer), with tubers almost touching each other, in the conservatory in March.

They had a head start over the rest of my planting and by the time the frosts had ceased in early June they were romping away. By feeding them along with my tomatoes once a week and dead heading them regularly, I achieved a profusion of blooms all through summer until the first autumn frosts.

The buds appear in threes, the male being the large central bud and the two outer, single, female. Some people recommend removing the two outer buds so the male flower reaches its full potential but I am more than satisfied just letting them do their own thing.

For direct outside planting, dormant tubers may be planted in May (after the danger of frost has passed) about 8cm deep hollow side up. If you look closely you can usually see little shoots appearing.

SOIL

Begonias like a rich soil consisting of loam, coarse sand, leaf-mould or peat.

WINTER CARE

Lift plants before the danger of night frost. Store in a garage or shed allowing foliage to yellow and die-back. Remove dead foliage and stems and over winter the tubers in dry peat. Storage must be frost free (ideal temp.5-7C) periodically checking the tubers for any sign of decay. To help prevent mould they can be dusted with sulphur powder just as you would your dahlias.

P. de Jager & Sons Limited has been selling top quality and top size bulbs for over 140 years. I cannot over-emphasise the importance of size. Top size bulbs really do make a huge difference both in terms of flowering and naturalisation. Smaller size bulbs will be less expensive but the results will be very noticeably inferior.