GREENGOLD GARDEN CONCEPTS
CARE AND MAINTENANCE NOTES

Begonias - Plants For All Seasons

These notes on BEGONIAS are provided by courtesy of Arthur Yates and Co. Pty. Ltd.
Visit YATES pages at Greengold on the Internet for all current gardening information.

Begonias are some of the most beautiful garden plants and, because they’re so versatile, it’s never the wrong time of year for begonias," says Peter Sharp from the NSW Begonia Society, who is the secretary of the International Begonia Convention that’s being held in Sydney this Easter.

As you’d expect, Peter is a dedicated begonia lover and grower, but he also has the ability to communicate his enthusiasm and knowledge to others. In fact, the only time he couldn’t answer one of the begonia questions I put to him was when I asked him to name his favourite type of begonia.

Peter found it just impossible to choose.

"One problem with begonias is that they’re so very hardy they’ll never give up and die. Even when grown in the worst situation, the plants will struggle on, but when you see well-grown plants you can appreciate their true beauty. Tree begonias, with their cane-like stems are good examples. They’re often left to languish in dry, dusty, heavily shaded spots, but happy plants always look superb. Because of the shape of their leaves, these are sometimes called ‘Angel’s Wings’. I can’t decide whether it’s the leaves or the flowers that are the most beautiful."

Peter also nominates the indoor rhizomatous begonias and the shrub-like garden species as special favorites. "And trailing begonias are good for pots or hanging baskets," he adds. " But the most commonly seen begonias are the little bedding, or Thousand Wonders, begonias. I’ve been fascinated by a streetside planting of these along the edge of a very busy main road near where I live. They’ve bloomed for months, and coped incredibly well with all the pollution."

Some of the best begonias for year-round-performance are the elatior begonias. These are perfect for indoors and produce the most beautiful blooms – just like little rosebuds - in a wide range of colors. Elatior begonias are hybrids between tuberous begonias and an interesting species called Begonia socotrana from the small island of Socotra, off the Horn of Africa. Because the island gets so hot in summer, this native begonia species becomes dormant during the heat, and grows and flowers well throughout the cooler weather. This, of course, is just the opposite to tuberous begonias (which die down in winter), so the resulting cross flowers all year round and makes an ideal plant for a well lit indoor position.

In most parts of Australia, many begonias will grow outdoors in a lightly-shaded position and, because of the huge range of varieties, there’s a begonia for almost any situation.

• Their main enemy is frost but, even in relatively cold areas, lower growing begonias can be used as ground cover under shrubs like azaleas and camellias.

• Pot begonias into a good quality potting mix such as Yates Macroblend. Peter always adds some perlite to lighten the mix.

• Control powdery mildew (a fungal disease that causes white powdery patches on the leaves) by spraying with Baycor®.

• All begonias enjoy hard pruning. When? "Whenever they need it", says Peter.

• Loopers and other types of caterpillars, are insect pests that find tender begonia   leaves positively irresistible. If you’re vigilant, you may be able to catch them before  they do too much damage, but synthetic pyrethroids such as Baythroid or Mavrik  give effective, low toxic control and have a repellent action that discourages the   pests from returning.

 Peter’s book "Growing Begonias" published by Kangaroo Press  mid 1998.