Redderry, tuberous begonias are fine in pots, and many people only grow them in pots, particularly the large-flowered varieties.
Lots of flowers grow well in shade, but your choice does depend on just how dense the shade is. Does it get any sun at all, even for part of the day?
Whole books have been written on plants for shade but some of my favourites include Brunnera 'Jack Frost', epimedium, ferns, variegated ivy, hellebores and some cranesbills.
I bought begonias for hanging baskets a few years ago and dried them off in the autumn, storing them in old fat-ball tubs in sand. They survived and grew larger, they were a bit heavy for the baskets the next year. By the third year they were massive so I put them in terracotta bowls around a bird bath & they flopped all over the edge, killing the grass they were quite monsterous and would hardly fit in the sand tubs. As they seemed to have several distinct 'eyes' I sawed them up with a bread knife & have again put them in the bowls, which I will try to site in a more elevated position, hoping the heavy flowers won't break the fleshy stems. Are they likely to continue increasing in size like this?
every third watering one level teaspoon of jeyes fluid to a gallon of water,results no vine wevil.And begonias are not house plants.Once grown they like shade and careful with the watering,only water when dry.another trick is to take off the show of buds.Then take off the two side flowers of the main flowrs,then be amased.Roy
I have stored my begonias dry and under a bed ! trouble is they are sprouting but I am worried it will be too cold for them if I plant them in my unheated greenhouse and I don't really have anywhere to put them indoors. Will they be OK in the greenhouse?
I put a black sack over my begonias over winter , until last year , i lifted them and put them in a bedroom, covered them with sawdust and this year they were great, fed them with miracle grow twice, and they were beautiful, hope this helps.
Catherine, I hope your begonia tubers are producing shoots now. Start tubers in small pots, planting with the concave surface upwards, as shoots develop from this side. As roots develop and fill the compost so you can pot this tuber up into a pot just one size larger. By July you'll have reached a pot perhaps 15cm across, and I'd recommend choosing a heavier terracotta pot for this, and NOT a lightweight plastic one. Why? A heavier pot, preferably a shallow and wide style, offers greater stability for tall, top-heavy begonias as they come into flower. Use thin split canes pushed into the compost to hold shoots upright and prevent them falling over.
I have put my Begonia Tubers in a seed tray and lightly covered with compost, as i was told this is how to start them off, on a warm windowsill, is this wrong? As out of 8 only 3 have appeared??
I have big and blousy begonias and up to date have always left them to dry in the pot overwinter and then just topped up with fresh compost. Maybe this should be the first year I check them. I like the idea of split canes to support the stems I usually use sticks and string!
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Lots of flowers grow well in shade, but your choice does depend on just how dense the shade is. Does it get any sun at all, even for part of the day?
Whole books have been written on plants for shade but some of my favourites include Brunnera 'Jack Frost', epimedium, ferns, variegated ivy, hellebores and some cranesbills.
I have put my Begonia Tubers in a seed tray and lightly covered with compost, as i was told this is how to start them off, on a warm windowsill, is this wrong? As out of 8 only 3 have appeared??
I have big and blousy begonias and up to date have always left them to dry in the pot overwinter and then just topped up with fresh compost. Maybe this should be the first year I check them. I like the idea of split canes to support the stems I usually use sticks and string!