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

hcmcdole wrote:
All the begonias that I potted up this summer in MG grew beyond my expectations. Any premium potting mix should serve you well. I started using MG after Home Depot ran out of Jungle Growth a couple of year ago. I buy the large bags of MG at Sam's until they run out (seasonal product) and then pick it up at HD.

I have read that some growers repot all begonias each year which I thought was excessive. I generally don't repot unless it needs to be potted up (or down) but this year I bit the bullet and repotted 70% or so. I was very pleased with the results. I think I went through 10 huge bags of MG. The ex-president of the ABS said it is amazing what fresh soil will do for begonias - I tend to agree with that statement now but I am not sure I would do this every year - maybe do 1/3 each year so they get fresh soil every 3 years. If that doesn't help then reduce it to 1/2 each year.

These begonias are some that didn't get fresh soil this summer and they looked pretty good. (Passing Storm, Bashful Bandit with lens cap, Black Cauldron, Esperanza, and a puny beefsteak).