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preparing tubers for overwintering
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Posted by crazyforcorelli z5 utah (My Page) on Thu, Jun 18, 09 at 0:26
| I purchased 3 dozen Nonstop Orange begonias from a local nursery this summer, and I'd like to try to keep them for next year. Overwintering here means storing dormant tubers.
These plants came in individual 4-inch pots; they're the type nurseries often sell as "premium annuals." I'm guessing this means that they were propagated fairly recently (presumably by cutting), rather than grown from established tubers.
Will these begonias have developed tubers big enough by October to even bother overwintering? If so, is there any thing I should be doing now (e.g., extra fertilizer) to help beef them up?
Thanks!
-Crazy
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Follow-Up Postings:
RE: preparing tubers for overwintering
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| The non-stops are a seed-grown strain, so that's most likely how they were propagated. I carry some over every year, and I don't do much except keep them in a cool location during the hottest part of the summer (our heat and humidity is anathema to most tuberous begonias) and water them sparingly (I've lost more of them to overwatering than anything else). They get some osmocote in the potting mix at the beginning of the season, then maybe a foliar feed at some point, if I think about it, but I don't do much else with fertilizer, either. You have longer winters with which to contend than I do, so that might affect the length on storage time - you might have to start your tubers indoors next spring before putting them out, but you probably also have cooler night temps in the summer, so it might all balance out. |
RE: preparing tubers for overwintering
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RE: preparing tubers for overwintering
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| Do they automatically form tubers? or should they be given more or less light to promote the tubers to grow? |
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