I grow annuals for a living and I got an order for 44 nonstop begonias ( red and orange) to be ready in the middle of May. Its too late to start from seed, so I started to look through the catalogs and saw that k. van Bourgondien had them. They are 2" bulbs in diameter. So I called to order and ask them if I started them right away-would they be ready by mid-May. Heres what she said- that the nonstops don't always bloom the first year that you start them......I need to know if these will bloom for my customer-or we are both in trouble!! This lady is not the horticulturist, (he hasn't called me back yet) and she has never started them in a warm grhouse like I will be doing, but I am a bit nervous about these now.
So-anyone have any experience with them blooming ( or not ) the first year? How long does the tuber take to pop-or send up foliage? Will these plants be small enough to grow out in a 4" pot, or will they get too big?
Thanks so much in advance for any info anyone might have!
starting nonstop begonias from tubers
You might want to do a google search. When I was doing the sticky link, I came across a web site for commercial information on growing /production. I didn't keep the link thinking it was not really for the home gardener. Darn it! But I found it pretty easily doing the google search with terms such as 'growing tuberous begonias'
tigerlily,
I certainly am no expert at tuberous but know enough to be dangerous. First of all, are you getting the #1 bulbs or a grab bag from van Bourgondien? The grab bags are notorious as being small and possibly DOA (shriveled up). Typically from seed they should bloom the first year so I'm surprised that they said they may not bloom the first year. Top growth can be slow in emerging (check other posts for more expert advice) but once the eyes emerge, growth is fairly quick. Four inch pots should be good - that is the way most nurseries sell them for beginner plants; 10" hanging baskets usually have 3 to 4 bulbs for a full look. J&P has (had) nice tuberous begonias (years ago). Have you checked their prices?
Also, our local ABS group gets begonias here http://www.antonellibegonias.com/
Always nice stuff. Good reputation.
Thank you both-this is a start! I really love looking at the tuberous begonias-but that is about all that I have done...lol I can grow all the fiberous begonias-and all the dragonwings and babywings with my eyes closed-but this is a whole other ballgame.
Begoniacrazy-I looked at that website-but didn't see the nonstops or Fortune begonias...did I miss it? I did see one that looked like it, but they wanted $ 3.50for the smallest one! I can't do that for the price she needs to pay. There is a great looking begonia-Solenia that I really wanted to get but they have to go in a 6" pot-they grow too big. http://www.oglevee.com/Articles/Product/BegoniaInfo/Solenia/solenia_varieties.html
Jackson and Perkins is a great idea-thanks hcmcdole! I think the lady was talking about that they might not bloom the first year from the tuber. The tubers were 2" -didn't say if they were the # 1's or not-so good question. I could get 25 bulbs for $33.50.
Oh my, I sent you on a wild goose chase. I did a google search again using the terms nonstop begonia plugs and got quite a few responses. You might want to try that.
sorry about the goose chase!
I've never seen a tuberous begonia that didn't bloom the first year from a tuber as long as the tuber is healthy so I'm surprised for a spokesperson to say this. Even growing from seed they should bloom the first year, but the blooms will not be heavy.
I have bought tubers in bags from the discount stores and mail order and they've always bloomed soon after the foliage is up. Then I quit buying them for several years because they never seemed to make it through to the next year. The last two years I have bought a few small pots where the foliage was already up and blooming so I could make sure about the color of the bloom.
J&P used to have (lightly) scented tuberous begonias but I haven't paid attention to whether they still carry those or not.
Well, I went back to where I orginally started ( after the seed option was no longer) and that was the liner plants. I just ordered 36 of each color that will ship out the wk of the 29th (January). The reason that I was trying to get away from the liners was that usually you have to order 50-100 of a plant, and this was one that I wasn't sure that I could move, and didn't want to have so many left over. But I can handle 14 of each left over-maybe I will use them in trades, and I will definitely plant some outside for me! lol Now, I am wondering how to hold back the growth, as a 36 plant is pretty big for getting in the end of January. Growing is never easy, is it?
Thanks so much to both of you for your help,,,it really did help to get your input.
If you are getting bare tubers, then you can delay planting them. Some tubers take longer to break dormancy though so hopefully this won't cause problems.
Growing is only easy when the conditions are right. I'm just trying to have a handful of nice begonias ready to enter into the Southeastern Flower Show in early Feb. August through October would be ideal for showing begonias.
Wow! Thats a big job-will they be ready? Thats almost here. Do you have a grhouse? I hope it all goes well.
These are going to be plants-thats the worry-well developed plants at that. If they get too large-can you pinch back these begonias like you can with the fiberous ones?
I have a few nice looking begonias that are ready or close to ready. They will just have to do. Next year, if they want us to enter, they need to tell us in summer, not in the fall.
I'm sure you can get more information on pinching back tuberous on this forum but I think I saw it somewhere that you should do it early on, else it may ruin the blooms or shape.
Here is a Canadian site:
http://www.begonias.ca/
And here is an English site:
http://fp.nbswebsite.f9.co.uk/Cultural%20Title%20Page.htm
California grows a lot of tuberous, too so you might want to search the net. Check out the sticky link too for lots of resources.
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.
