Tropicals & Tender Perennials: 20 Begonias as Houseplants- Questions, 1 by hcmcdole

hcmcdole wrote:
Tuberous begonias do a full dormancy. Some begonias are semi-dormant (oxymoron?) such as rexes and can shed every leaf but that doesn't mean to let them dry out completely either - just cut back on watering until they start growing again.

There are a lot of oldies that are still as popular as the day they were introduced. There are thousands of hybrids but a lot of them look like twins of older hybrids. Choose your first ones for ease of growing and space requirements so you don't get frustrated on why they quit growing and eventually die. Some are very picky on growing conditions but you won't see a lot of warnings about them when you place your order(s). It isn't until they start going downhill that you find out from other growers how finicky some of these can be.

As for keeping their leaves over winter it depends on what type they are and what conditions you will be growing them in. As for blooms you may get some to bloom off and on through winter depending on type and how much light and warmth you give them.

Semps and Dragon Wings can bloom non stop, canes can be very sporadic, rexes are grown more for their leaves but typically can bloom any time the conditions are right, and rhizomatous are usually spring bloomers. Tuberous are variable - some are non-stop, some have a flush of blooms but most are grown for summer with a winter rest.

Blooms are icing on the cake when it comes to begonias (except for tuberous where the blooms are center stage).

Winter growing can be fun in a way but it is usually a challenge.

Summer growing is where they strut their stuff. All these begonias in this pot are from the West Palm Beach convention in May. They've grown quite a bit in less than 4 months.