A single word on a begonia label might cause you to miss out on a beautiful steal : annual .
Most begonia are normally consider annuals and Modern starts may even have a tag that describes them as annuals at box computer storage or local nurseries .
But they are really perennialsgrown asannuals . If you keep that in head and incline to them properly , they ’re a reliable informant of devoid bedding plants for future time of year and indoor color in wintertime .
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Many gardeners trash thoseMother ’s Dayhanging baskets or aggregative plantings of wax begonias at season ’s oddment at the same sentence when they ’re pull in upzinniasand other summertime yearly .
But you know what ? You do n’t have to .
You may be gardening outside of the areas where begonias are stalwart : USDA zone 9 to 11 for tuberous ( B.xtuberhybrida)types , and Zones 10 to 11 for wax ( B.xsemperflorens - cultorum ) varieties .
But you could still institute plants or tubers indoors for the wintertime in colder areas . Tend them carefully for a few months and you ’ll have bedding flora or tuberous scratch line ready to go in the ground in the spring , with no need to bribe new ones .
Another species , the tuberousB. grandis , or stout begonia , raise as a perennial in USDA Hardiness Zones 6 to 9 , so gardeners in region of the Midwest , Southeast , and Northwest are able to keep this type alive in wintertime in the priming or in a container .
Winterizing is n’t ordinarily as much of an progeny for the rhizomatous and rex begoniasgrown as houseplants , though you might once in a while see them in the perennial landscape in Florida or other role of zone 10 to 11 .
you’re able to regain more information on caring for these in our template togrowing rex begonias indoors .
In this guidebook , I ’ll focus on winterise methods for wax , hardy , and tuberous begonias grown outdoors . Here ’s what to expect :
What You’ll Learn
Planning for the Cold
Do n’t think of winterizing these flora as an emergency response .
It ’s something you project as you project your garden and plant life , not a last - minute wash to drag potbelly into the service department and throw canvas around when snow is calculate that night .
One critical part of this planning isknowing the USDA Hardiness Zone for your growing areaand whether the begonia you ’re grow is hardy there .
The Begoniaceae category include dramatic tropical lulu , sweet little bedding plant forcottage garden , and hundreds of other diverse ornamentals .
If you last in a warmer climate in Zones 9 to 12 , you may be able-bodied to grow at least one type outdoors twelvemonth - round in a garden bed or container .
But those who exist in zone 6 to 8 must plan either to raise a hardy begonia , lift tubers to store , or poke up plants with sinewy root from the ground to overwinter in containers indoors .
Even intrepid begonia ca n’t withstand winter weather condition in Zones 3 to 5 , so gardener in those areas must opt for growing these plant as annuals , and then get the genus Tuber or plants indoors for the coldest months .
Be sure to distinguish your take variety early on to meet its specific needs for winter .
It ’s also important to recognize dormancy habits so you do n’t think a hold out flora has died on you , or a malingering plant is intelligent when it ’s not .
Tuberous begonias , for example , go dormant in wintertime even indoors , and overlook their leaves and die back . Wax begonia have fibrous stem and may do so well indoors that they not only keep their leafage or grow young one , they proceed to flower .
Hardy begonia engraft outside will die back naturally in Zones 6 to 9 . If you contrive to winter them in pots in colder regions , you ’ll demand to trim the stems back yourself .
design accommodations for any that must overwinter indoors well ahead of fourth dimension .
There ’s no stop saving these ornamentals for next twelvemonth if you ca n’t ply the right humidity , light , water , and temperature in your menage or any outbuilding where you design to squirrel away them until next leap .
Prepare a spot with optimum photo ahead of bring any live wax begonia works deep down .
You ’d be amazed at how few places you might have available for a plant that ask decent humidity and bright , indirect light , so start calculate before you actually require that ideal location .
You ’ll also postulate to winterize before it ’s too parky for your chosen type , so note when such weather typically arrives in yourgardening journalor define a textbook monitor on your cell phone .
Also leave clip to schedule an review of any plants you plan to protect for the winter . Look for plague likespider tinge , mealybugs , orscale , and grounds of ailments including root rot .
If a pest population or damage is divulge but it ’s minimum , rid of the problem before you make the drive to winterise .
When pestilence are proliferate or plants are insalubrious , destroy those specimen , hop winterizing , and find raw options for the next develop season .
Once you ’re done planning , here ’s how to fill in wintertime formulation for the various type of begonias :
Bring Wax Begonias Inside for Winter
Old - schooltime but ever - democratic wax begonia are one of the easiestmass - plant flowersto overwinter and arise again next twelvemonth .
They ’ll develop as perennials in Zones 10 and 11 , but those gardeners in zona 3 to 9 must provide them with a wintertime home if they ’re await to survive weather cold than about 60 ° degree Fahrenheit .
train for the transition by reducing irrigation by one-half starting in late summertime . By previous August , cease fertilizing .
Rake plant debrisfrom the garden bed or pick dead leaves and widow’s weeds from container - grown plant . The last thing you want is to bring bugs or fungal diseases deep down with the plant life .
To ease their transition to a raw indoor environment , lift the stems back to a height of about three inch . Some old - timers also tweet all the flowers in former summer , but I ’ve found it ’s enough to deadhead any that have turned brownish .
Container - mature outdoor plants can move inside in their outdoor pots if they ’re not too heavy and you have somewhere to set or flow them . Ensure they have drain mess at the bottom and a saucer to catch excess water .
If they ’re grow in a garden plot or landscape , you ’ll want to transplant them into lightweight , shallow pots filled with a sterile , well - drain potting commixture .
Remember , while they need humus - rich soil to help in drain , they do n’t need fertiliser during the wintertime , so avoid premade mixes that hold back time - release plant food .
Dig up the plants before you anticipate temperatures below 60 ° fluorine to arrive , and repot them at the same level they were in the priming coat , backfilling with fresh potting mix .
When they ’re indoors , the plants require plentiful collateral light . Direct sun will singe the leaves , so deflect that .
Water slenderly in winter , only when the ground is dry to about an inch and a one-half below the aerofoil , which you may check with your pinky or asoil moisture meter . If in dubiety , skip the piddle since these ornamentals are particularly prone to steady down rot from overwatering .
During the winter , keep the plants goodly by consistentlydeadheading the bloom , remove dead leaves with a sharp , neat paring knife , and right away removing any plant debris from the soil surface to discourage disease .
These ornamental do n’t like passage ( I can relate ! ) , so ease their stress by introducing them to new condition gradually .
set about with a few hours a day in the new location , whether moving the plant to a warm indoor point in autumn or a cooler outside spot in leaping .
total an hour or two per day until a workweek has come about . By then , your begonia should be acclimatize .
Learn more tips for acquire and caring for wax begonia in our pathfinder .
Save Tuberous Begonias for Next Year
Their green foliage is so sprightly and those double - bloom of youth rosettes so fairly that of course , we ’d all care to bringB.xtuberhybridainside for the wintertime .
But this variety would only have a inadequate life as a blooming houseplant in moth-eaten atmospheric condition . It go dormant as the days get shorter , whether it ’s out in the wintertime weather or not .
As a budget - load alternative , dig up and store the tubers during the cold months . Then utilize them to start out new plant you could transplant outside in outpouring .
To prepare tuberous begonias for wintertime storage , melt off water to a fourth part of the common amount and stop fertilizing in tardy summertime , about eight weeks ahead of the average first freeze engagement in your country .
design to lift the tubers a few 24-hour interval after the first frost in your area but well before the ground freeze . Be sure to hit dead leaves , green goddess , and any other plant dust so you wo n’t be ask in fungi or bugs to winter with the tubers .
Use a trowel or small spade to dig up the plants , Tuber and all .
Gently shake all but a flimsy coating of stain loose from each tuber .
exit the theme attached , but bring down them to be an inch long .
rent the tubers “ remedy ” in a cool , dry infinite like a shed or garage for a couple of week . This permit them to dry out , so they ’ll stay fresh in storage .
You ’ll love that they ’re ready when the stay stem stub are loose and dry .
Then dust off any ground that is still holding on with a all right paintbrush or houseclean toothbrush , and nestle the bring around tubers into a couple of in of sawdust or apeat alternativein a cardboard container . I like to use shoebox , or something of a standardised size .
Vermiculite
Organic vermiculite is my top pick for indoor gardening task like this one . rude horticultural vermiculite is available in eight - quart bagsfrom Burpee .
plow the Tuber with another inch of sawdust or vermiculite and stow the box somewhere that ’s dependably 40 to 50 ° F .
They should be fine until you are ready to replant them alfresco or start new plants from the genus Tuber indoors . But do check first to check that the tubers have not become too moist , mushy , or odiferous , and destroy any that are .
Some common people like to use a separate little paper cup of tea to contain each genus Tuber , so if one goes bad it wo n’t move the others and can be readily disposed of .
To learn more about propagating tuberous begonias from tubers , see our templet .
Prepare Hardy Begonias for Freezing Weather
Hardy begonias offer nurseryman in Zones 6 to 9 a prospect to rise these works outdoors year - round .
They are hardy down to about 23 ° F , though a protective mulch may be require to help them through the winter in the coldest Zones within their range .
The heart - shape leave are lovely even without blooms , but they also produce bunch of fragrant flowers in snowy or shades of pink .
They have a endearing trait of blooming from midsummer through recent fall and are a hit withpollinators .
As the days get shorter in fall , they begin to go dormant , with the first planetary house being yellow leave .
The coolheaded matter about these is that during dormancy , they form pea - sized bulbils that will set down to available grime and sprout into new hardy begonia plants issue forth spring .
If you wish , you may harvest these bulbils yourself and imbed them where you ’d like to see more begonia .
Hardy begonias have tuberous roots but the overwintering process is not the same as you ’d use for less cold - resistant tuberous types .
To help them thrive in dormancy , verify to weed around the plant life , deadhead drop flowers , and apply aheavy stratum of mulchto any you are keeping in the ground in the weeks leading up to the ordinary first hoarfrost escort in your expanse .
you may also dig them up to overwinter in containers in a frost - destitute shed or service department , or anywhere that ’s cool but not freezing .
Cut the stem to stand four inches above the tuberous roots first , and raise them from the filth the same mode you would wax begonias .
Note you wo n’t be growing these as houseplants within in the winter . They wo n’t flower indoors when the days are little and will still go dormant .
Container - grownB. grandiscan but be move directly into your chosen assuredness - but - not - freeze spot after the first freeze , but be certain to mulch the plant heavily first .
amount leaping , out they go , but only after a week or so of hardening off in their spate .
A Winter Break with Begonias
I ’m a fan of keep begonia live over the winter so they ’ll grow again next season , and not only because I love a buy .
tend these flowers all year long gives me more opportunities to sponge around in the stain , and I ’m charmed to have a piece of music of the garden kept at bottom under my watchful eye in the gloomy months .
We ’ll also respond ASAP if you have a doubt about overwintering these diversity that you did n’t see cover in this guide .
Foradditional strategies for winterizing flower , read these article next :
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About
Rose Kennedy
