Bolivian Begonia 'Santa Cruz Sunset'

A very under-rated begonia. I have it planted out in my garden and it comes back every year without question. The first winter it was in ...Read Morethe ground, it was actually able to set seeds that made it through the winter and new plants came up the next year. The next winter was exceptionally harsh (2013-2014 we saw 10 degrees) and no seedlings made it. We'll see if this winter is seedling friendly... anyway this begonia breaks out of the ground in about April or so and blooms by May for sure. Very attractive, fast growing and hardy here in the Pacific Northwest zone 8b.

I bought this as a hanging basket plant in full bloom from a hardware/garden store in Salina, KS. After getting it home to TX it did wel...Read Morel in the window of my shop until fall when it started to die. Well, I thought die. Turns out it died back, clear to the soil line in the pot, but did not actually die.

I never get rid of my pots of soil as there is always something to do with them later.

So glad I do this as I noticed some new growth a few weeks ago. I actually thought I had stuck a different variety of begonia bulb in that pot to over winter in my shop.

I gave it some water and just ignored it as I was busy with alpaca shearing and other spring activities.

A week ago I noticed what I thought was a red leaf on it and upon closer observation realized it was my Santa Cruz Sunset begonia getting ready to bloom!

It now has many blooms and another shoot coming up beside the one that is in full bloom.

Beautiful plant! !

Absent minded people like me should never, never toss out a pot after something blooms and then dies back. Until about 2 years of absolute nothing, then I suppose tossing would be in order. . . . . :)

We grew Santa Cruz Sunset Begonias from seed last year and they were absolutely beautiful in our porch railing planters. I'm starting th...Read Moreem from seed again this year. It's a bit of a painstaking process but well worth it.

I saved one planter from last year with the begonias in it in the basement over the winter. They had formed tubers and have sprouted. They are a couple of inches tall already. I believe this may be an even better way to have future plants than starting from seed. The seedlings are still very tiny even though they were started on March 12.

Grew 'Santa Cruz Sunset' from seed started in mid February 2013 indoors under lights with a heat mat. It germinated in approximately 12 d...Read Moreays (had 10 seeds from Parks and they all germinated) but grew very slowly. Once it was large enough to transfer to larger pots, it seemed to start growing quickly. I had read you don't need to pinch this begonia back as it grows to make it bushier. I recommend that you do. It really didn't start to fill out as much as I wanted until I started pinching some of the tips back and wish I had done so sooner. Other than that I am very pleased with it and recommend it to anyone who has some patience. I will grow again this winter and try planting in the flower bed too. Hummingbirds seem to like it and it can take quite a bit of sun and heat. Don't over water, it's drought resistant.