Mid-Atlantic Gardening: Begonias Anonymous - Attention Addicts and Enablers, 1 by hcmcdole

hcmcdole wrote:
Wow - I would say intense too! I used that trick (no soap) before to bring slugs and snails to the surface. Ants can be problematic too and drowning them worked fairly well. The worst thing I can think of is a yellow jacket nest set up in one of the pots (happened years ago in a pot of jade plant).

I tried the Bayer's Complete insect control (hose end sprayer) earlier this year - kills on contact and protects for 3 months (systemic). I think I will give it another shot before I bring them indoors. Plus spray the mildew prone ones with Neem.

http://www.bayeradvanced.com/product/Complete-Insect-Killer-...

As the summer wanes I move a lot of my pots out from filtered shade to a sunnier location to get as much growing in as possible before moving indoors.

The flood (torrential rains) we just had showed no ill effects on any begonia except two in the same pot due to the drainage hole being stopped up. All the leaves fell off from standing in water for several days.

The big pots on the front porch do receive a lot of sun but no direct overhead sun. Wind doesn't seem to do any harm but falling debris from the trees and torrential rain has ripped a lot of leaves and lots of mud splash back.