November 07 2014 | Posted in Begonia Care, Begonia Tips, Dormant Tubers
Begonia Care – Dormant Tubers
How To Prepare Your Begonia Bulbs for Dormancy??
Begonia tubers may be grown successfully for many years if given proper care. When blooms on your begonia plants begin to decrease and the foliage turns pale and yellow, dormancy is approaching. The time of year when this occurs will depend on the climate. In most places it will be October but in temperate regions, where the nights are warm, plants may be delayed until December. Watering should be discontinued at this time.
- If you have been growing in a warm greenhouse, plants in autumn should be moved to an unheated greenhouse or outdoors. Leaves and stems will fall off the begonia plant and should be removed before they decay. At this stage stop watering, allowing soil to dry.
- In climates where soil may freeze, ??tubers in ground should now be dug and washed free of soil. If a portion of the stem remains attached to the tuber, leave it on temporarily. After a week or ten days of storage it will naturally detach itself. Cutting it or breaking it off may??damage the tuber.
- If a tuber is cut or bruised in digging, expose it to the sun and air. It will heal itself. Tubers may be badly cut and still grow well next season.
- In climates where soil does not freeze; tubers may be left in the ground.
- Begonia tubers grown??in pots, they do not have to be removed. Turn pots on their side and store them in a dry, non-freezing??location.
- Tubers must be completely dried before storage , whether they have been washed or not. The best method is to place them in the sun or any dry, well ventilated location. This will allow excess moisture to evaporate and takes about two weeks. Make sure any remaining??stems have fallen off or can easily be removed before storing.
- Store dry tubers in single layers trays, shallow boxes, paper or net bags in a dry area between 38-50??F for winter. If desired, cover them with dry peat or clean, dry sand.
August 25 2014 | Posted in News
Begonia Fields 2014
During the month of August and into early September our begonia fields are in full bloom. They are absolutely a sight to see. This year we have roughly 15 acres of begonia tubers that will be harvested in late December and available for sale in the beginning of February 2015.
AmeriHybrid On Top Begonia Fandango??
??AmeriHybrid Picotee Begonia Sunburst
??Hanging Basket Begonias in the field.
White & Pink Picotee Begonia
AmeriHybrid Picotee Begonia Calypso
Unfortunately at this time we do not give tours or allow visitors to??our Marina, CA begonia fields. We hope that in the future we will be able to share the beauty of the begonia fields.
August 21 2014 | Posted in Growing Begonias, Growing Begonias From Seed, News
Starting Tuberous Begonia Seeds
Begonia Seed Germination??
Sowing Media:??Standard plug mix of 60% peat 20% perlite 20% vermiculite. Adjusted to pH 5.5-6.0. Wet thoroughly before 
sowing seed.
Sowed:??Single or double in a plug flat or lightly and evenly in an open flat.??Temperature:??73-77?? F
Light:??Begonia seeds??germinate in light; do not cover seed with media. Provide 14+ hours of light. Ten foot candles are sufficient to germinate but 350 candles are necessary for growing on.
Humidity:??During germination of seeds 100% humidity is required. This can be done on a small scale by covering the flats with translucent plastic or other covering, such as glass, that will retain humidity while allowing some light to pass through. If media is sufficiently wet, additional watering should not be needed during germination.
Germination Time:??At 7-10 days the radical emerges and the flats should be removed from the 100% humidity environment. After 2 weeks, germination should be complete.
Fertilizer:??Feed early with 50ppm N to encourage seed germination (studies ??how KNO3??may work better than other fertilizers). Avoid high EC. Begin feeding with balanced fertilizer after germination.
After Germination Is Complete
- After germination is complete, the growing temperature can be reduced to 64-70?? F.
- Fertilizer should be increased to regular feeding with 100ppm N from a balanced fertilizer source such as 20-10-20 or 15-5-15. Fertilizer can be increased to as high as 200ppm to promote growth but watch for high EC.
- Begonia seedlings like to be kept evenly moist, however, during later seedling stages water can be cut back somewhat to encourage root growth and develop a sturdier plant.
- If germinating begonia seed in open flats, the seedlings will need to be pricked out after 5-6 weeks and grown on in another container until transferring to pots 4-5 weeks later. Growing in open flats will cause the time to bloom to be longer because of the additional transplant step.
- If germination in a plug flat, transplant to the final container after 9-10 weeks.
- Media for the pot should be a loose, well drained mix that stays uniformly moist and contains a lot of organic material with a pH 5.5-6.0.
- Feeding for the pot should be constant at 100ppm N or occasionally at 200ppm.
- Feeding in the pot with a high phosphate fertilizer, such as a 12-55-6, will cause the leaves of the finished pot to be smaller. The plant will be shorter and stouter than with a 20-10-20 type material. The time to flower will not be lengthened.
- Lighting during seedling and pot stages should be minimum 12 hours. However, we grow under 20 hours per day and find this gives us a sturdy, well-formed plant.
- Picotee On Top?? should have 20-50% of the plants in flower 15 weeks after seeding when sown in a plug flat. This is 5-6 weeks after transplanting.
Shop Our??Tuberous Begonia Seed
Hanging Basket Begonia Seed??|??On Top Begonia Seed??|??Picotee Begonia Seed??|??Ruffled Begonia Seed
August 21 2014 | Posted in Growing Begonias, Growing Begonias From Seed, News
Seed Germination of Tuberous Begonias
Sowing Media (Seed Starting Mix): Standard plug mix of 60% peat 20% perlite 20% vermiculite. Adjusted to pH 5.5-6.0. Wet thoroughly before sowing seed.
Sowed: Single or double in a plug flat or lightly and evenly in an open flat. Temperature: 73-77?? F
Light: Begonia seeds germinate in light; do not cover seed with media. Provide 14+ hours of light. Ten foot candles are sufficient to germinate but 350 candles are necessary for growing on.
Humidity: During germination of seeds 100% humidity is required. This can be done on a small scale by covering the flats with translucent plastic or other covering, such as glass, that will retain humidity while allowing some light to pass through. If media is sufficiently wet, additional watering should not be needed during germination.
Germination Time: At 7-10 days the radical emerges and the flats should be removed from the 100% humidity environment. After 2 weeks, germination should be complete.
Fertilizer: Feed early with 50ppm N to encourage seed germination (studies ??how KNO3 may work better than other fertilizers). Avoid high EC. Begin feeding with balanced fertilizer after germination.
Apricot Picotee Lace Begonia Seed Germinating
Shop Our Tuberous Begonia Seed
Hanging Basket Begonia Seed | On Top Begonia Seed | Picotee Begonia Seed | Ruffled Begonia Seed
August 19 2014 | Posted in News
History of Scentiment Begonias – Fragrant Begonias
Fragrant tuberous begonias originated from Begonia baumannii. Begonia baumanni was discovered in Bolivia in the late 1800???s and later hybridized in 1938 by Brown Bulb Ranch, now known as our parent company??Golden State Bulb Growers. B. Baumanni is the most fragrant begonia species. The first fragrant hybrids were located virtually by crawling on ones knees and smelling each individual bloom through acres of begonia plants. It was a very tedious chore that was straining to the knees and nose. Brown Bulb Ranch’s??original scented begonia was called “Fragrance” and only produced single flowers. It eventually fell out of commercial production, only to be found in a few begonia enthusiasts??? gardens and greenhouses.
A reintroduction of the scented tuberous begonia came about in the early 1980???s when begonia hybridizer Howard Siebold approached Golden State to continue his work. For 50 years Siebold bred tuberous begonias for scent as a hobby. He had a passion to see scent return to the magnificent tuberous begonia flowers. Siebold was late in his years and sought a home for his fragrant begonias. Golden State bought the patents for two of Siebold’s scented tuberous begonias, Golden Anniversary and Sweet Dian. Our begonia breeder Andy Snow worked with??Howard for years. Siebold would send Andy the seed of????his most promising crosses. Andy would then have Siebold’s breeding stock planted in the Marina begonia fields. They would then go through the crosses in the field once or twice a year, Siebold would stake what he wanted to be harvested for himself and leave the rest to Andy. The plants would then be cloned. ??Scented begonia plants are cloned because the fragrance is so elusive. ??By the late 1980???s the first introduction of scented begonias were produced for sale to gardeners across the US. Unlike the earlier types, these later hybrids were exceptionally fragrant and had the distinction of having multiple petals on each bloom.
Today, there are three varieties in our??fragrant begonia??line, Scentiment??Begonias??. Pink Blush PP12826 (left), Sunrise??PP12808 (middle), and Just Peachy PP12786 (right). All are slightly pendulous and can??be planted in hanging baskets or containers.
Want to known more about fragrant begonias? Check out??Andy’s blog post on Breeding Scent in Tuberous Begonias.
*The varieties are protected by the patent number shown and may not be propagated.??
