I T LIVES, AFTER A WINTER IN THE BASEMENT, a winter with no care (the way the cannas get no care and just sit there, except this guy stayed in his pot, soil and all). Begonia ‘Bonfire,’ a selection of B. boliviensis that we all wondered out loud together how to successfully carry over last year, lives. Proof:
Tada! (That’s it, waking up.) It wasn’t a cheap plant; I had bought two hanging baskets, and feared they’d be throwaways. But B. boliviensis and its descendants make tubers, and as commenters Peter, Ed, Amy and Manny guessed last June during our discussion, you just let them rest in a cool but not anywhere near freezing place, if you don’t have a greenhouse. (You may recall that another one I bought, not in a hanging basket but dormant, just sat and sat there…and sat there…and then decided to awaken just as winter was about to start. Not nice behavior, and actually terribly inconvenient, but it, too, is growing just fine now. They are tough.)
That unearthly thing below is another outcropping from the pancake-like ‘Bonfire’ tuber, an even-later riser waking up across the pot from the livelier eyes above. I think a key is not to overwater, and to let them show you when they want what, and when they want to get going. I never let them go so dry for prolonged periods that they shriveled, but I never really watered much, either, except then they were in active growth, so the tubers stayed firm and healthy. I just kept checking each month through the winter with my finger: Were the tubers still firm? Yes. And like I said, tada!
I look forward to ‘Bonfire’ returning to its glory state (top) as the season heats up here. And one more thought: You have to love a plant that resurrects in a recession; so thrifty, such an unexpected bonus.
I just wanted to report back that I pinched back the shoots on my plant, moved it to a little bit sunnier place, and made sure to only water when dry and it has bloomed beautifully! I am so excited! I think it may be prettier than it was last year. I’m really not sure which of the three things helped it to finally curve over and start blooming but I am pleased with the results. Thank you!
Mine are doing well, also. I should have pinched mine back when they first started to “awaken” because they are quite leggy and not as full as I would like. I’m hoping that they will begin to fill in as the warmer weather progresses. Maybe I should have put more than one tuber in the pot so they wouldn’t be so skimpy. Oh well, there’s always next year!
I just got one today in a hanging basket and didn’t know whether I could keep it alive over winter or not, so this info is helpful. The lady at the garden center where I got it didn’t know anything about it.
Glad to help, Ancy. I have had some of mine for four or so years now and they are big. I actually like them when they are smaller, too, so my next task: learn to divide them. Need to do some homework on that first…
Mine is doing beautifully now st the start of fall in Indiana. I moved it to the gound, it was too heavy hanging. Protected it during storms, has held up well. Thanks for tips for letting it go to sleep this winter! Love it!
Good tips, Lynnie. It does like to store really dry, and about now I move it into the garage to let it get started in that direction.
This might sound super strange to you guys, but I bought a bonfire begonia from Gurney’s mail-order last spring. It was NOT a tuber when it arrived in the mail. I planted it according to directions, and it did well for a couple of months, then shriveled up and went away. Now, in November, a small shoot has emerged from the soil…no tuber. I have taken it up and potted it in a small clay pot inside my house. Why is it not part of a tuber? It had quite a few beautiful orange blooms this summer before it died. Do they have cycles of growth? Does the tuber come later?
Hi, Linda. It was probably a rooted cutting, but will form a tuber eventually as it ages if it’s a B. boliviensis cultivar like ‘Bonfire.’ No tuber when young.