All the Dirt on Gardening

Soak entire pot contents Begonias are mostly tender perennials in zone 7 with only a few exceptions. They are one example of plants that we keep from year to year, dividing in the fall, growing in the shed over the winter and putting back outside in the spring. There are different  types of begonias  according to Gary Turner, including cane, shrub, thick stem semperflorens, rhizomatous, tuberous, trailing/scandent. Cane-types can be rooted in water. Begonia rhyzome growing over pot Most have shallow roots and prefer shallow containers where they can trail out. We use bagged soil-less potting soil, remixed with extra perlite for ours. A few of ours are so crowded that their rhizomes are crawling over the sides of their containers. We keep ours outside in flower beds, under trees, all summer in pots and our summers are 100 and above with pretty high humidity. Gently separate rhyzome clumps At the link above, Turner says: "The planting medium mix should be sl...

Propagating by stem cuttings is just about the easiest way to make more begonias for next summer's garden. During the fall, I regularly trim off 3-node long cuttings and put them into the growing pots where they take root. Now that cold weather has arrived, I root the stem cuttings in a vase of water. It's a great way to produce more pots of Begonias for next summer's garden. Water the plant well the day before. Take a cutting about 4-inches long, with 3 nodes, from a healthy stem. Use a perfectly clean container. Rinse the container with a drop of bleach if you are uncertain about its spotlessness. Remove all but the top leaf or two. There should be no leaves in the water. The cutting should  have a healthy leaf node at the bottom. Don't leave a stub below the node. Place the cutting into the water, and place the container out of the sun. In a couple of weeks, you will see new roots beginning to form. Check the water periodicall...

In our garden, by the umbrella topped table, under two shade trees, pots of begonias bloom and bloom and bloom all summer, requiring nothing but regular watering. Polka dotted Begonia Billy Jean in the center. Angel Wing Begonias have long, cane-like stems and leaves shaped like the wings of an angel.  My plants spend the summer outside in pots and then come in for the winter where they grace the plant shelf in the dining area. As the stems elongate, I cut them back and put the cuttings into soil for next summer's pots. Since I'm always concerned that I'll have enough pots under the trees, I always grow too many starts and friends and family get the extra plants. Did you know? There are over 1,000 species , mostly in the genus Begonia and 10,000 cultivated begonias.  The major groups include the fibrous-rooted , rhizomatous and tuberous-rooted begonias.  The American Begonia Society (ABS) was born in 1932 during the economic depression. Begonia semperfloren...