Instead of having their own pots, I'm going to move the rhizomatous Begonias to share pots with taller, tree-type plants.

Will be looking for some of these other types I've been reading about here, eliator and tuberous.

More wax Begonias will be in pots on my porch, they never stop blooming.

There was a discussion here about a blog written by a breeder of scented Begonias and now I can't find it. I think they were tuberous...?

Purple, I suggest you look into Begonia boliviensis and the hybrids developed from it as your first tuberous begonias, because they are supposed to be more heat tolerant. I'm trying to grow the new one, "Santa Cruz Sunset," from seed. More accurately, I have seedlings and I'm trying to not kill them. I know I can get a begonia from seed to flowering, because I grew "Illumination Salmon" and "Go Go Cherry" from seed last year. They did bloom, but the plants didn't get to their full adult size. I saved the resulting tubers and the survivors are waking up. This year they should come into their own.

I'm definitely curious about scented begonias and will check back to see what info people have. I've seen them in a couple of catalogs but have yet to sniff one in person. I love fragrant plants.

Thanks for the suggestions. I only buy in person but you never know when I'll go over the edge of WWW plant shopping!

Edie, your seedlings sound exciting!

Are tuberous Begonias usually sold with the annuals?

I put Castaway in with my hedichiums, and Lucerna in with my toad lily. I tucked in my tuberous begonias into a few pots to fill in dead space. So I am hoping to have my begonias somewhat integrated into my balcony garden and then I'll just move them out of pots they can't stay in in the fall. The Paul Hernandez pot can come in completely.

I want my begonias to add some lushness and height with blooms.

I have several leaves and such that I am trying to grow out. Those will probably end up going into new pots, maybe a few to a pot while they are tiny.

I forgot to mention above that, in addition to putting some in the ground, I'm going to mix cane Begonias instead of having pots of just one kind. Then fill with Tradescantia zebrina to trail down the sides. Some pots were already like that, but as the Trad continues to fester creep, there's more of it to decorate more pots.

Can't remember - did I send some of the Begonia pictured below? It makes hot pink flowers, which it hopefully will do again soon...

I like the combination idea! I love the begonias, but some of the taller ones are kind of bare at the bottom. Nice fix.

You did send me a piece! It is still living too lol. I have high hopes for it. When does it typically bloom for you?

I want to do more with propagating the wax Begonias this year, and start moving some to a spot where we altered the exposure by putting up a shed last spring, making a new strip of almost total shade.

Was noticing a hanging pot a few minutes ago that I filled last spring with almost horizontal cuttings. A couple of the pieces got heavy enough to lean over the edge, and the position caused many stout new tops to come straight up. So I want to place more of them like that in the future if they'll be hanging.

There are a lot of good branches in this yard for hanging plants and Begonias are at the top of my list to dangle and sway in the breeze in these pots.

My tray of leaves are doing well. And by well, I mean they are not dead lol. I figure this is still a good sign for it having been a few weeks. I need to plant the lucerna leaves that sprouted roots. Can't hurt!

Sorry for the confusion in my babbling, Julianna. The ones I planted sideways were Castaway, but that should work the same with this one too. Exciting about the leaves!

Wax Begonias, IME, don't take root as easily as the cane ones, but are worth trying, just snap off the tall parts and stick them in soil.

Sorry this pic is kind of fuzzy, but it shows how small the leaves are compared to other cane Begonias. The new growth is so pink it looks like flowers.

I planted my rooted Lucerna leaves today. I need to check on my tray of leaves that should be rooting. I'm a bit nervous because I am going away for the week this next week and my husband is in charge. Everything should be fine, but... :)

Good luck with things while you're gone - both with you and back home!

The tubers are sold with the summer bulbs - in with the caladiums and dahlias and such. If you're buying locally, look at them before you buy and check several stores. Some places sell dinky dried up things. The nicest bare tubers I've found so far are at my Agway. Nearly as big as my palm, firm, usually showing tiny "pinkies" when the store puts them out on display. So buyers can tell they're alive and ready to plant and which end is up. I haven't mail ordered tubers before but just splurged on a three-pack of Begonia odorata "Angelique" from Tulip World. Saw the company mentioned in another thread on scenteds. Their reputation on the Watchdog and the BBB looks OK. Their begonias are already marked down and they offer a St. Patrick's coupon code through Monday.

The potted, growing plants are usually sold with the annuals. My local nurseries offer baskets of the pendulous types in spring, as well as 4" pots of the uprights. I bought a basket of "Bonfire Scarlet" two years ago and it was just gorgeous. Kept the tubers but only one survived the first winter. However I discovered that it makes viable seed, and now Scarlet has babies. Seedlings are definitely exciting!

Seeds are generally sold with annuals. Mail order only. I've bought from Summer Hill and Swallowtail, but there are many other vendors. Seeds germinate easily. The difficult part is that they stay tiny and fragile for months.

This explains a lot. I was not really into Begonias when I lived in OH, and sounds like they won't make it here, definitely hot. The heat kills Fuchsias too, I am NOT going to waste my $$ on another one this year.

I would have seen them with the packaged bulbs if they were there. I check these displays thoroughly at any store that has them.

Hopefully the government will start one of their expensive programs to teach these ignorant deer to read. Really, how are they going to cross the road if they can't read the signs?

Thanks for sharing this info. Good luck with your seedlings!

It's possible the stores don't carry them in your area because they had complaints from customers whose begonias didn't do well. There are plants people down south report finding at all their supermarkets and big box stores that I've never seen sold up here.

Those canes are beautiful! How do they do indoors? I might have to try a cane begonia. Growing tender plants up here in the great white north means they are houseplants for eight months and outdoors for four. I won't buy a rex until and unless I set up a terrarium, because the indoor air is dry dry dry for those eight cold months.

LOL at deer literacy programs. Cornell actually has a program to get them spayed.

I'm probably not a good one to ask about growing any plant inside if it's not one that I had in OH (which includes cane Begonias.) The way we heat here doesn't remove the humidity from the air, so it's a lucky coincidence that the plants also love that, but I can't give an accurate report because of it.

Wouldn't you know it, I "accidentally" bought a tuberous Begonia in New Orleans. The tag just said "Reiger" and I realized after I got home it's a tuberous. So I guess part of my plan this year is to watch this thing succumb to heat, erf!

So I've taken all Begonias that weren't already in hanging baskets and put them in the ground.

Also got 9 little wax ones to add to existing hanging baskets (which I'll put in the ground when frost starts to threaten, they're hardy here.) I could use about 50 more! The ones I put in the ground last year are looking so cute poking up with new growth and buds.

Also found a pretty dragon wing that I put in a hanging pot with Syngonium.

Also bought a really pretty pink/purple Rex I've had my eye on at the garden center for a couple months. First trip, not enough $. Second trip, it was sitting in water, so I passed it by. Third trip, it was too cold. Fourth trip, it wasn't killed by the "pond experience" and looking great - brought it home!

It's been having a tough time since I felt compelled to repot it. Has very little roots and I've had to prop it between other plants so the wind doesn't pull it out of the pot again.

So what are y'all doing with Begonias so far, if anything yet...? Really a slow start this year - tomorrow night it's supposed to be down to 42 here! Holy moly!

Sure would like to find more tall, pretty cane type, but that's not easy to do!

A tall white cane sounds awesome to me. Mine are still plodding along, probably making roots in the cool weather.

My begonias are standing still. Maybe they are not a fan of the cooler weather. Maybe they are waiting for more 80s+. I'm guessing it means they are working on their little root systems.

Took this pic Saturday, that plant is on the little shelf thing toward the right under the canopy. It's been in that area since I brought it home, where the sun hits it, dappled through leaves, after about 4:30 for about 2 hours, then in shade until dusk. So far, it I think it's blooming about the same as it was. I'll put a closer pic after lunch.

Incidentally, you can also see some of the Begonias that have already been placed in the "plan," tall canes and a lot of wax's, and a few wax's still in the little trays, waiting to be adopted into some nice pot or other spot. There's a lot of canes stuck in the pot hanging at the right corner of the canopy too.

Yes, that's a Reiger I was talking about. Just took this pic. After it grows a few more new leaves, I'm going to take those ugly ones off, they got mangled on the ride home from New Orleans, then while repotting.