Your Garden Questions Answered
Episode: # 11 16/06/07
Presenter: Melissa King
Tuberous Begonias (Begonia, Tuberous Group) are one of those plants that stop you in your tracks when they are in flower. They are flamboyant, feminine and very sexy.
These little beauties have the undeserved reputation for being finicky to grow but .t is not as hard as you might think and they are a spectacular choice for the shade house, patio or sun room.
Melissa catches up with Gideon Cox, Product Manager of Ball Australia to find out more.
Gideon: Once they are established it is quite easy to keep going, as long as you keep them regularly fed and out of the full sun as they like a shady position.
There are several varieties available also. There are fully double ones called non-stops, with green leaves that are also being bred in a bronze leaf version. It really shows up the difference between the foliage and the flowers.
There is also the more pendular types which are perfect for hanging baskets because they hang down and look terrific.
They come in almost every colour but blue. There are also sought-after bi-coloured varieties and some even boast sweet fragrance. Most varieties stand between 30-60 cm tall so do wonderfully in pots and containers.
Flowering in these plants is triggered by the length of day. So when there is more than 12 hours of day light they burst into bloom. That generally means from just before Christmas till late autumn. If you want, you can nip off the earliest buds to encourage later flowering and bigger, better blooms.
Tuberous begonias are one of those plants that induce fanatical devotion among plant lovers. Plants are grouped according to shape of the flower – so you will hear them described as singles, doubles camellia-flowered – or the like.
Up close the flowers are really quite unique. The flower head is made up of one big flower in the centre – that is the male – and two smaller flowers at the sides – the females – that is one lucky man! But growers often remove the female flowers to make room for a bigger better male flower – now that is the ultimate sacrifice!
Around this time of year begonias go dormant. So the best time to plant the tubers is sometime from the middle of winter to early spring. With displays like this to look forward to, what are you waiting for!
Winter is the perfect time to reassess your garden and the Gurus have just launched our very own Garden Design Management and Maintenance team in Victoria so for more information check out the website.
If you would like to be kept up to date on all of the things you can be doing in the garden right now then join the Gurus Online Garden Club.
Presenter: Melissa King
Tuberous Begonias (Begonia, Tuberous Group) are one of those plants that stop you in your tracks when they are in flower. They are flamboyant, feminine and very sexy.
These little beauties have the undeserved reputation for being finicky to grow but .t is not as hard as you might think and they are a spectacular choice for the shade house, patio or sun room.
Melissa catches up with Gideon Cox, Product Manager of Ball Australia to find out more.
Gideon: Once they are established it is quite easy to keep going, as long as you keep them regularly fed and out of the full sun as they like a shady position.
There are several varieties available also. There are fully double ones called non-stops, with green leaves that are also being bred in a bronze leaf version. It really shows up the difference between the foliage and the flowers.
There is also the more pendular types which are perfect for hanging baskets because they hang down and look terrific.
They come in almost every colour but blue. There are also sought-after bi-coloured varieties and some even boast sweet fragrance. Most varieties stand between 30-60 cm tall so do wonderfully in pots and containers.
Flowering in these plants is triggered by the length of day. So when there is more than 12 hours of day light they burst into bloom. That generally means from just before Christmas till late autumn. If you want, you can nip off the earliest buds to encourage later flowering and bigger, better blooms.
Tuberous begonias are one of those plants that induce fanatical devotion among plant lovers. Plants are grouped according to shape of the flower – so you will hear them described as singles, doubles camellia-flowered – or the like.
Up close the flowers are really quite unique. The flower head is made up of one big flower in the centre – that is the male – and two smaller flowers at the sides – the females – that is one lucky man! But growers often remove the female flowers to make room for a bigger better male flower – now that is the ultimate sacrifice!
Around this time of year begonias go dormant. So the best time to plant the tubers is sometime from the middle of winter to early spring. With displays like this to look forward to, what are you waiting for!
Winter is the perfect time to reassess your garden and the Gurus have just launched our very own Garden Design Management and Maintenance team in Victoria so for more information check out the website.
If you would like to be kept up to date on all of the things you can be doing in the garden right now then join the Gurus Online Garden Club.
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