Tropicals & Tender Perennials: Just received Tubers, 1 by jooolster

jooolster wrote:
I agree that is way too complicated. My friend Mike has visited Mike Stevens' garden and the man lives for his tuberous begonias. If you have other things going on in you life, then you need an easier method.

Here is what I do which usually results in very pretty begonias. I used to just leave the tubers in the pots over the winter. Now I do take them out of the pots after they die back in November or so. I just give them a shake and store them in the garage. Then in about March I bring them out, clean them off, and cut away anthing that looks like rot. Now some say you should wait until the first shoots show but that can take a long, long time so I just pot them up in hanging baskets or regular planters for uprights. I use something like Miracle Gro potting mix with water-holding crystals. I put them about an inch below the surface. Then I stick them in the garden and wait.

Already many of the are shooting up, probably slow because of all the cold weather we've had. And here is how my favorite hanging basket looked last year (and for the last several years). I got these bulbs at Antonelli's also but I've found some very good bulbs at local nurseries too.