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Begonia tuber storage
FBTurtle
Posts: 20
Hello, I have just dug up and dried out my begonia tubers. I have read in various articles online that they can be stored in a cool, dry and dark place in a cardboard box. However some say store them in separate paper bags within the box whilst others say to store them upside under slightly damp soil within the cardboard box. What is the best storage method and would the same apply to my Dahlia tubers which will also be coming up soon? Thanks.
0
Posts
Hi FBTurtle - the method I've used over the years is to clean off as much soil/compost as is practicable. Begonias I just leave on a drip tray in a dark frost-free part of the garage. With the dahlias I find a mesh hanging basket (to allow air in) just the right size for the tubers and hang them alongside the begonias.
It's probably a good idea to provide a covering of something composty just to help keep them from drying too much, but I don't
good luck
Billericay - Essex
Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit.
Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.
I overwintered Begonias and Dhalia bulbs last year for the first time ever. All I did was made sure that the tubers were pest free and clean. I then loosely wrapped in newspaper, and put them in an unsealed plastic bag in the pantry. Maybe that wasn't the right thing to do, but beginners luck they came up again this year with beautiful blooms
No problem with that K, dont ever seal anything in plastic bags though.
I keep all the old compost from my summer tubs to store the dhalias in but this year I am leaving some in the ground and piling the compost on the top.
The ones I left in last
year were fine even though we had all that rain.
As Khakibos has said make sure that there are no pests in the roots/in the tuber itself. Vine weevil grubs love them and it is not fun finding dozens of grubs when going to pot them up in spring, trust me.
I overwinter my begonias ; first I let the compost pots dry out as much as possible then I lift then and clean off as much compost as possible. Wrap the corm in newspaper and in put in a single layer in a cardboard box, usually with a layer of newspaper underneath and one on top. Then put in frost free garage.
I do check a couple of times to make sure they are still healthy