Newbie to Begonias

I can resist anything but temptation so I took the Great Begonia Plunge!

Thanks, Lali!

Great looking begonias. Rexes are hard to beat for a flash of color.

I bought New York City Swirl in May and loved it but hadn't seen these new arrivals until last week and then didn't even attempt to resist.

Atta Girl Pirl! Knew you'd get hooked! Wish my B. Benitochiba looked that good. Mine struggles.

Sounds like you are hooked.

They are so flamboyant. Here are a couple from Ace hardware last August.

Don't despair on Benitochiba. It took me 3 times to finally get it right. They lose all their leaves in winter but always come back in the spring. I think they like lots of light and plenty of warmth. Mine is starting to look halfway decent once again.

Maybe I'll move it from where it is in the greenhouse. This one is on it's 3rd year. Still comes back and always looks raggedy.
I can move it to a warmer spot in my greenhouse where the shade cloth isn't as heavy.

Great Pirl. A new fascination!! I love it when a new plant grabs my fancy!

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh, Great Begonia Plunge!

Thanks, Kell, I really need my fancy grabbed.

This is my favorite one.

Do they all get flowers and would I be a heretic to say I'd rather not have the flowers? I don't want anything to detract from the foliage.

Actually, I need Lali girl to take a few trouble makers (none are rex's though) off my hands, I just don't have the patience and with traveling time coming up, they need some extra care & I just don't want to cart the whole bunch over to my Mom's again. It was insane.

Yes, rexes all get flowers and you can either enjoy them or cut them off.

'Mr. Kartuz' is one of the best blooming rexes from what I've observed over the last few years.

Sue, I'd happily baby-sit begonias!! Just cart them up to me at the arboretum (really going to have to twist my arm over this!!)

Pirl, that 'Fireworks' is a rock star begonia. I love it! Mine reverted to some weird black leaf . i'll see if it's not too ratty to take it's picture.

Butch, 'Mr. Kartuz' is a winner too. Tall blooms on that one. He had some yet to be named rex hybrids when Kell and I were there last year and one was a 'Get yer bib, you're gonna drool' when you see it kind of rex. - Hope he has some for sale at the convention.

Beautiful....I love the rexes for all their pizzaz but find them a real challenge to grow...I do keep adding one or 2 now and then.

MsC

Uh oh! What's the main difficulty in growing them?

Nahhh don't mind me... I just don't have the knack for them....the folks on here will help you right along...

MsC

You got humidity pirl? You can grow them! LOL

Boy do we ever have humidity today!

Come winter, on the indoor but unheated porch (with doors to two bedrooms) the humidity is between 45 and 55%. Is that good enough or do they want pebble trays? I have them, too, for ferns.

Mine are finely happy............they never like the outdoors anytime........i also put them in different size bulb pans........keep them in the bath room with a giant 4ft.square block glass window.........then, when i think about it, I put them on the bottom shelf of a grow light for a couple of days.........so far, so good!!!!!!!! But it doesn't take but a few days for them to decide they don't like me again!!!!

Glad to see you've taken the plunge Pirl! They're all gorgeous! Begonias have really sucked me in this year too, or rather my resistance was worn down by too many beauties, lol. Rex, tuberous, cane, or whatever, I just love 'em!

Thanks. There's no reason to have a boring shady garden with begonias, coleus and hosta.......yes astilbe, ferns and more but the begonias are the "knock your socks off" eye catchers.

I killed a lot of the cane begonias with too much love many years ago.

Hcmcdole, I absolutely LOVE that "Mr. Kartuz" begonia. Those red and pink flowers are so striking against the pale leaves. Reminds me of Christmas.

In general, do most begonia lovers just grow one plant per pot or are other plants with the same light and moisture requirements combined with them? Photos would be wonderful. Thanks.

Thanks Fancyflea. Rexes all seem to have very similar colored blooms. 'Mr. Kartuz' just seems to have more height on the bloom stalk so it seems showier to me.

Pirl,

You can plant more than one begonia to a pot but make sure they are about the same size at maturity. If you plant a thug in a community pot, then the smaller plants will be crowded out and eventually die. I learned that lesson a few years ago so most of mine go in a pot by themselves. I have let other types of plants co-habit the same pot such as ferns, oxalis, and some kind of weedy thing that came along with a couple of orders to GHW.

The other thing you can do is keep the plants in their own pot and then put those all in a community pot (makes watering a little more difficult). Here is an example of several rexes in their original 3 inch container placed inside a large ceramic pot.

hcm - your idea is wonderful. May I copy your photo for my own files and not for any other purpose?

Pirl,

Go ahead and copy it if you want. Here is another view of it.

Thank you. I just copied both. I could fit all but one in a hanging basket with an upside down saucer at the bottom to give them some height. It's OK but nothing like yours. I need more practice........and maybe just a few more plants.

I put florist foam on the bottom to raise the small pots up.

I may even have some of that......somewhere. Right now mine are in white plastic and I'm bothered by seeing the edges. Which are better for growing them - plastic or terra cotta?

Pros and cons on either type of pot. Plastic is lightweight, easier to clean, and keeps the soil from drying out longer than clay. Clay is heavy (but great for windstorms), can get mold/moss/algae build up, and dries out much faster than plastic. If you water heavily (or get a lot of rain) then opt for clay. If plantsdry out quickly for you go with plastic.

Thanks. They'd be coming in for the winter and sitting on pebble trays so my thinking is that they'd appreciate the clay indoors. They will be outside until late September but where I can control the watering. I can also put them on pebble trays, downstairs, under lights for the winter but in the past I've found they seem to enjoy a winter rest.

Pirl - I have only one - Capricorn.

Yours has a lot more aqua than mine, Al.

I would call that color that, certainly not a green. Mine got a little sun before I potted it up and got some burning.

One I planted in a container in sun, before I knew better, did burn (brown and crispy) but also recovered. Still the leaves are nowhere as big as they once were. Is there a preferred food and how often are they supposed to be fed?

The foliage is the thrill, for me, so I don't need any bloom buster type of product. Would 12-12-12 be acceptable, as in FertiSorb?

Most recommendations I've seen are twofold: slow release fertilizer and/or water soluble at 1/2 the recommended rate once weekly or every time you water. Kinda loose rules but this eliminates burning and downright killing them (I did that with garden fertilizer). Some growers (FL in particular) recommend Dynamite slow release over Osmocote due to total breakdown of the Osmocote capsules due to high heat. I try to fertilize mine weekly with a hose end sprayer using MG all purpose fertilizer. If I was watering indoors I'd cut the rate down to 1 TSP per 3 gallons but outdoors while they are actively growing I am currently using 1 TBSP per gallon on the hose end sprayer. I'm trying to get some speedy growth before fall arrives.

Thanks. I'm sure to find the right product in the garage.

I love this thread! Great ideas & tips! I am a newbie to begonias... I got my first Rex. 'Atlanta Jazz' and I LOVE it! I kept it indoors and am so afraid to do anything with it.. LOL
When I get more confidence, I'd love a group setting like your photo Hcm, that is awesome!