Growing Begonias in Pots – How to Grow Begonia Bulbs

August 06 2015 | Posted in Begonia Tips, Growing Begonias, News

Growing Begonias in Pots

Growing begonias in pots is easy! Here’s our step-by-step visual of what growing begonias in pots should look like week-to-week.

1. Plant bulb in moist soil.

2. 1-2 weeks: Keep soil moist, not wet. Ideal temperature is 70-75?? F.

3. 2-3 weeks:??This is when the first leaves typically begin to appear. Ideal temperature during the day is 65-70??F.?? Ideal temperature during the night is 55-60??F.

If planting multiple begonia bulbs, at this time you should orient the leaf points towards the rim of the pot. Flowers grow in the same direction of the leaf points, so it is important to do so to make room for the blooms.

4. 3-4 weeks

5. Water and Fertilize: Clear water should be used for every third watering. Standard 20-10-20 fertilizer should be used.

6. 5-6 weeks

7. 7-10 weeks

8. 10-14 weeks: This is when the first blooms should begin to appear.

9. 15-20 weeks: This is when your begonias should be in full bloom!

Growing Begonias Month by Month – January

January 06 2015 | Posted in Growing Begonias Month by Month

Growing Begonias Month by Month – January

This is the first month of the tuberous begonia year!

Planting Begonia Seeds

January is when most begonia growers sow seed. You can successfully grow begonias from??seeds that are started as late as February and March. Learn more on how to successfully start??begonia seeds.

Planting Begonia Tubers For Early Bloom

Tubers harvested from plants that went dormant early in the fall can now be stated indoors. Starting begonia tubers indoors in January will produce blooms early in the season, sometime in May.

Planting Begonia Bulbs – How Many Tubers Per Pot?

November 19 2014 | Posted in Growing Begonias

Planting Begonia Bulbs – How Many Tubers Per Pot?

The best performance of tuberous begonias is achieved when a relatively large pot is used, 8??? or larger. Good root systems will result from using large pots and frequent drying of soil will be avoided. A good rule of thumb for upright begonias is to choose a pot 4x the diameter of the tuber.

Starting Tuberous Begonia Seeds

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 KNO^3??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.

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Hanging Basket Begonia Seed??|??On Top Begonia Seed??|??Picotee Begonia Seed??|??Ruffled Begonia Seed

Seed Germination of Tuberous Begonias

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

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