Background
Tuberous Begonias are very good plants if you want to minimise the effort developing plants each year as they can be stored over the winter and then replanted the following year. The tubers can be as small as the size of a fingernail or the size of the palm of the hand and occasionally bigger.
Here the tuberous begonia's were approaching their peak during the summer of 2016.
Begonias generally prefer bright light but not excessively bright direct sun light. If they are exposed to this they tend to scorch and burn. The leaves discolour and the flowers discolour around the edges.
They seem to do best where they get bright sun for a few hours each day before it gets too hot and then prefer bright light with some shade.
When the begonias are past their peak, usually when the days start to shorten and the temperatures start to drop they begin to thin out and the leaves start to darken and dry out. The plant may also start to produce many smaller flower heads and lots of seed pods behind the flower heads.
Continue to water the plant just enough to keep it developing. At this stage it will be putting alot of energy into producing the bulb under ground so the water is needed. Avoid over watering as this could lead to the bulb rotting underground.
When the season is at an end, stop watering and let the foliage die back. When ready to recover the bulb, twist off or cut the stems an inch or so above the bulb. Remove the bulb from the soil or from the pot and carefully remove the soil/compost from around the bulb ensuring to remove any bugs, slugs or other pests that have found a good home for the winter. Do not use excessive force to remove the compost as this will damage the surface of the tuber and may cause infection or rotting.
Store the bulbs in seed trays in a well ventilated cool dry place, a greenhouse, garage, shed, potting shed is ideal. Ensure that they are well above ground level to discourage rats or mice from eating them. Allow the tubers to dry out naturally. Do not stack the tubers on top of one another or put too many in each tray as this may lead to rotting.
The tubers can be replanted in trays of moist compost in a warm location in late February, early March of the following year. Placing them on a propagator will shorten the germination time significantly.
Continue to water the plant just enough to keep it developing. At this stage it will be putting alot of energy into producing the bulb under ground so the water is needed. Avoid over watering as this could lead to the bulb rotting underground.
When the season is at an end, stop watering and let the foliage die back. When ready to recover the bulb, twist off or cut the stems an inch or so above the bulb. Remove the bulb from the soil or from the pot and carefully remove the soil/compost from around the bulb ensuring to remove any bugs, slugs or other pests that have found a good home for the winter. Do not use excessive force to remove the compost as this will damage the surface of the tuber and may cause infection or rotting.
Store the bulbs in seed trays in a well ventilated cool dry place, a greenhouse, garage, shed, potting shed is ideal. Ensure that they are well above ground level to discourage rats or mice from eating them. Allow the tubers to dry out naturally. Do not stack the tubers on top of one another or put too many in each tray as this may lead to rotting.
The tubers can be replanted in trays of moist compost in a warm location in late February, early March of the following year. Placing them on a propagator will shorten the germination time significantly.
Below is a selection of the begonias grown in 2016. With just a little bit of effort a good display of sizes and colours can be achieved. Some of the tubers used to grow these plants are 5 or 6 years old some were so big that they were divided to create two or more plants.