Tropicals & Tender Perennials: starting nonstop begonias from tubers, 0 by bmchan

bmchan wrote:
I grow non-stops from seed and they most certainly bloom in their first year (from seed). When I am lucky enough to have a tuber form, I carry them over from year to year and they bloom in each following year. So - if you buy a tuber from a retailer, be assured they will bloom this year. Whether or not they will be blooming in May depends on your Zone. I am in Zone 6 and have blooms by June. As soon as you get them, wet them (just once) and put them in a warm bright spot to encourage them to come out of dormancy. Within a week, you will see pink buds sprouting from the previous year's bud scab.

Place the dormant tubers in a shallow tray of damp sphagnum peat moss. Bury them to their shoulders (not entirely). The buds will develop in the hollow which should be planted "up". Within 2 - 4 weeks, roots will develop and they must be moved to individual pots before the roots get too long and tangled. No feeding to this point. Bury them in a soilless mix (Pro-mix) to a depth of one-half inch. If the stems are still small, I might hold off on burying them until the stems develop. Pruning (pinching) excess stems helps long term development of the tuber. Hanging begonias do not need to be pinched - the more stems the merrier. Let two stems develop and pinch the excess out. You can propagate using this method but that's another post.

Finally - a four inch pot is ok to start them off, but will quickly be too small if they are grown as container plants. I would begin to feed as you move them outside. An excellent reference is Mike Steven's book "Begonia". It is available through this site.