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ellie479

Nonstop Begonias ?

ellie479
11 years ago

Hey y'all,

Anyone grow nonstop begonias? I have a shady front yard (thank you oak tree) and have been researching some floriferous plants that will work out there. I stumbled upon the 'Non-stops' and thought they were gorgeous. Just wondering if they do well here in Central FL, what some of their quirks are, etc. Thanks!

Comments (8)

  • KaraLynn
    11 years ago

    I have never even heard of these but they sure are gorgeous!

    Kara

  • hester_2009
    11 years ago

    These are truly gorgeous begonias...I grew them "up north" a long time ago (they were a different name then, but basically tuberous begonias)
    I think they would croak here in Florida - at least during the summer...too hot and wet. I've tried various ones since I lived here and they don't do well at all.
    You could try them indoors but that's not what you need, I guess.
    If you like begonias, angel wing or dragon wing are the way to go. Lots of folks here at GW grow them. I have many in pots or in the ground in full or part shade. Colors vary, mainly pink , reddish and white. I love them
    Maybe others will add more info on the non-stop in case I'm wrong.
    Hester

  • L_in_FL
    11 years ago

    Never tried the non-stop, but I have to second the recommendation for the angel wing and dragon wing begonias. They do beautifully for my mom. She grows them on her porch, where they get bright indirect light most of the day and a little direct sun early in the morning. Two small plants completely overflow her large urns within two months and they bloom constantly until frost. Actually, they will survive light frosts (they have already survived a few here this year), but a real freeze will do them in.

    Up here, the angel wing and dragon wing begonias almost always die in winter, but they root easily from cuttings. I don't know if they would die in Orlando or not. If you're concerned about it, you can take cuttings in fall and keep them indoors over the winter, then plant them back outside in the spring.

  • alys_esmond USDA 5b Toronto
    11 years ago

    I have one in a hanging basket in the shade of my big red maple tree.

    I was ---this--- close to tossing it about four weeks ago as it had sadly declined over the summer, losing all but one leaf and looking brown, spongy and rotten...

    a couple of weeks ago it looked like this!

    Now it's absolutely spectacular again. So, non-stoppISH Begonia as it took about 6 weeks off!

  • ellie479
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    Wow Alys!!! I can't believe the size of those blooms!! That is gorgeous. So it's safe to say it wilted in the heat huh? I'm actually kind of surprised because the descriptions mentioned how 'heat tolerant' it was...guess we're in a class of our own down here lol. How long have you had it?

    As for the angel wing and dragon wing...I'll have to look into that. But I definitely have my heart set on this beauty ^_^

  • katkin_gw
    11 years ago

    One of the things I learned about gardening here is when they say full sun, they don't mean summer time Fl full sun. Most plants really suffer in our summers, and a lot of it is the nights are too hot and humid. Plants like the cooling down in the evening. :o)

  • User
    11 years ago

    this is the true non-stop begonia....four to five foot tall, still blooming in dec, started in april will be under cover the next few nights........m

  • ellie479
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    Whoa, that's pretty amazing too wallisadi. Far too big for my space at the moment, but still pretty dang amazing! Those canes kind of remind me of bamboo. What's the full name of this one? I want to keep it in my arsenal of plants haha