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gwenhart3

BIG begonia

gwenhart3
18 years ago

I have a big beautiful begonia that (thanks to the advice I recieved from forum members), is putting out beautiful angel wings and getting taller every day. I now need some advice as to how to handle the fast growing situation....it is healthy and gorgeous but it is starting to look too big for the pot....I partially solved the problem by putting the small pot in a larger one just for aesthetic reasons but I am wondering if I should "let well enough alone" or, repot. The cane seems stable at this time. One more quick query, when can I expect blooms, and is this affected by the "rootbound" state of the plant?

Comments (7)

  • greenelbows1
    18 years ago

    My earliest begonia mentor used to say 'if you want a big begonia, put it in a big pot.' I don't think there were as many begonias that stayed small and would be prone to rot if over-potted then, but if it's already large and looks too big for its pot I'd say, pot it up! Spring is the best time to do that anyway. As for when you can expect blooms, that's much harder to say. Some begonias are very shy bloomers and you expect blooms when everything is just right, or you hold your mouth just so, or--I don't know. I have a couple that have never bloomed for me, and some hardly ever stop, even tho' my care is not what it should be these days. You might spend some time on the American Begonia Society web site and on the Houston Astro Branch site, which is linked on it, and see if you can spot your plant so you know its name. Then you can post here, or do some research on the web, for information as to whether you have a spring-bloomer, or summer, or shy, or intermittent--you get the idea. And most varieties bloom better if they get plenty of light, including some sun.

  • hc mcdole
    18 years ago

    Angel wing begonias can be in the same pot for years and bloom year after year. For best blooms they need lots of light - morning sun would be best or dappled light through the day. Fertilizer is a good idea as well, but I'm not sure what the best program is (1/2 dose water soluble type on a weekly basis through the growing season seems to be the most prescribed from the experts). If you have space for a larger pot you can pot it up - if not, then prune it and start some new ones with the cuttings.

    Green Elbows is right about "if you want a big begonia, put it in a big pot". The converse is true but harder to maintain - "if you want bonsai, keep it in a small pot but be prepared to water, water, water". My bonsai florist azalea kicked the bucket when my daughter forgot to water it when my wife and I went to Key West for a week a few years ago and it was INSIDE the house. I had babied that plant for years. Oh, well.

    Case in point about the bigger pot for a bigger begonia. I had a no name (maybe 'Persian Brocade' or similar) from Target that came in a five inch hanging basket. I had it for 3 years before I propagated it. I gave two starts to my mother and she put one in a 12 inch fiberglass pot. The other one was moved to a six inch pot. I also moved my starts and the mother plant to six inch clay pots. While the six inch pots look good, the 12 inch pot grew to a size I wouldn't believe possible. The bottom leaves are nearly double the size of the other plants, the rhizomes have about filled the 12 inch pot, and the new leaves are on stems twice as long as the six inch pots. This is in the course of one year. Now, should I move this plant to an even bigger pot?

    I would recommend one of those "pickle pots" you can buy at Wal-Mart or one of the building supply stores for canes. The nice thing about them is they are decorative, glazed, thick-walled, affordable, heavy pots. They come in different sizes and have limited colors. Plastic pots are easily blown over during storms or even small wind disturbances. Clay dries out quickly which can be a good thing but even they can be blown over as easily as the plastic ones if the cane is large and the soil has dried out. Cane begonias are top heavy by nature so you need some weight on the bottom. Rocks in the bottom may help but they can also cause problems.

    I bought ten 18 inch pots (so far) at Sam's this year to put my largest rhizomatous begonias in (only six pots have begonias in, one for a Norfolk Island pine, one for a gunnera, and the other two have not been used yet). I filled up the bottom 2/3's with Nature's Helper for drainage and cost savings. You have to be careful not to overwater these so I have them on my front porch to prevent the rain from soaking the pots. Let the growing begin.

    Butch

  • greenelbows1
    18 years ago

    I think it was my very first begonia convention where I found out what 'big' pots really mean. My clearest memory is of a B. 'Ginny' which must have been in a pot at least 16" wide. I grow 'Ginny', and I had read up on it and it's supposed to be around two to three feet I think. With the pot on the floor that one was about five feet tall, and not a leaf missing anywhere that I could find. Most gorgeous thing--I still drool thinking about it. But of course if you have limited space, you can't grow 'em all that size!
    Nancy

  • hc mcdole
    18 years ago

    Nancy,

    I bought 'Ginny' this year from Lauray. It certainly will be a while before I move it up to a 16" pot. I moved it to a 4 inch pot shortly after I got it (a couple of months ago is when I received the plants) and just moved it to a 6 inch pot yesterday. Hard to believe it can get that big (2 to 3 foot). Mine is maybe 6 inches high now.

    All of Lauray's plants come in a very tiny pot (2 inch probably) but so far no losses. I'm anxiously waiting to see 'Crestabruchii' and crassicaulis really put on some growth. They are just sitting there so far.

    Butch

  • greenelbows1
    18 years ago

    I usually get cuttings from Lauray so I can get more plants, and because it always seems like they adjust better--Connecticutt isn't very much like Louisiana!--and I can only think of one I lost, and then I'm pretty sure it was my fault. Really reliable place to order in my experience, and I like that I can count on her names too. (With minor quibbles, like it should be 'Silvermist' instead of two words, but when it first came out it was two.) I think she's pretty much a one-woman operation now too.

  • hc mcdole
    18 years ago

    This was the first time I ever ordered from Lauray. Never got a confirmation from them and then the web site disappeared for weeks. Luckily I paid with credit card. I started to wonder if their operation closed down to health or other reasons.

    Orders from Logee's, Rob's Violets, Accents for Home and Garden, Earth's Mine and Yours, and Yucca-Do came in fairly quickly which were ordered about the same time.

    I then ordered from Glasshouse Works and some more from Rob's Violets weeks later. Rob's came in the next week.

    Finally a package appeared at my door - lo and behold it was from Lauray. Two out of ten plants that I ordered weren't in the order and no explanation as to why. Other than the long, long wait and very tiny plants and the missing two plants, I am pleased with their growth since I received them.

    If it is the only place that carries a particular name then I may order from them again but now I know what to expect.

    P.S. GHW came in several weeks after that with 3 or 4 plants that aren't right. I wonder if they know what is what there, but they always send a couple of freebies and even if the plants are wrong they are usually worth keeping.

    I went to Miami the end of April for the begonia show and sale plus a trip to Palm Hammock so I got what I wanted there. Just need some more time and a bigger vehicle next time. Nothing like buying in person. One day I would like to go to all the nurseries that offer all these great begonias.

  • greenelbows1
    18 years ago

    Oh now that would be a trip! Also--if you haven't been to a convention by all means go. (If you have been you won't need to be told!) There always are plants at conventions I've only read about, and not in catalogs or on-line, and often things I've never even heard of. And plants grown so beautifully you can hardly believe they're the same ones you have at home (well, maybe not you!. You've shown us pictures of some really beautiful plants.) The plant sales at conventions are worth the trip by themselves.

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