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Novice questions about hardy begonias

dbjc
18 years ago

I'm planning a shade garden on the north side of my foundation and would like to include some hardy begonias that I found at a local nursery. They are pink but there is no other identifying info on the containers. Could someone give me a quick primer on their ideal growing condition? How much shade? How tall/wide at maturity? Any pictures would be appreciated so I could decide where to place them.

Comments (5)

  • mingtea
    18 years ago

    hardy begonias are truly hardy. i see them growing wild under benches at greenhouses all the time, so they don't seem to mind too much shade. i gave some to my mom and she planted them in a corner of her shaded patio. they seem to be doing quite well.

    these guys are hardy in my zone, 8, and the PDN catalog lists them hardy from z6-9. they can get quite tall. from a foot to two, i think, and they produce bubils so if you don't pull them, the clump will get wider every year. they die back to the ground and come up in the spring. watch them in the height of summer, as they may need to be watered more.

    so you can do your own research, there are plenty of pages with general care info for "hardy begonia," but you may also want to look up Begonia grandis, in addition, as this is the species name.

    HTH,
    -ming

  • ljrmiller
    18 years ago

    If it's a hardy begonia, it's probably Begonia grandis. It likes dry shade, and doesn't like cats wrestling on top of it. Hopefully mine will escape the kitty olympics this year and actually grow big and flower!

  • indylars
    18 years ago

    Youre gonna love them! They like loose fluffy moist soil. The more shady the spot the shorter they will be. Mine get a bit of noon time sun and are about a foot tall now. At the end of summer when they bloom the flowers go up about another 6 - 8 inches over the foilage. This is alslo when the bulbils form. You will find them in the crook where the leaf attaches to the main stem. Let them fall to the ground and you can collect them and scatter about to increase your clump for next year. Let the foilage die back naturally and cut it to the ground to clean up.

  • chrystypas
    18 years ago

    I took a leaf cutting from a plant that's 105 years old. The present owner is not sure of the type of begonia. It's been indoors and my potted cutting is also. I'm thinking it's a hardy, has small pink flowers on a tall stem. The leaves have 8 main veins, but is not quite symmetrical, has lobes, but not asymmetrical like an angel wing. Any thoughts? Thanks for any info.

  • greenelbows1
    18 years ago

    Usually when you have a different question it gets more attention if you start a new thread. I just happened on this by accident. Looked at your member page to see what your zone is but you don't give it, so I can't form a reasonable guess about hardiness in your climate. Could you post a picture? If the 'mama' plant is 105 it certainly is hardy, tho' possibly not just anywhere outdoors. My guess would be maybe a rhizomatous, sounds like it could be B. ricinifolius or a cultivar of it. Maybe you could google that name and see if it fits. Takes a light soil with good drainage, not much sun, blooms in the early spring with small pink flowers on a tall stem. One of my first begonias and in my opinion a very good one.

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