Begonia Display Wows Visitors
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 Recent visitors to the Victorian Garden Greenhouse have been treated to the dazzling sight of over 150 tuberous Begonia cultivars in full bloom.
The plants were donated by Kevin and Elaine Vickery, whose impressive collection almost completely filled up the display beds and hanging baskets in the Temperate House. Many of the cultivars in the collection are not commercially available any longer. It is intended that many of the plants will be regular features of the Greenhouse, so if you missed the display this year you will have the chance again. There are over 1000 species of Begonia. Gardeners tend to divide the species into groups according to the type of root system; the main three groupings are fibrous-rooted, rhizomatous, and tuberous. Tuberous begonias are allowed to dry off after flowering. In NZ this generally means that they aren't watered after about April. The leaves and stems die back and the tubers are stored in dry conditions until they start to sprout, which usually happens around August. Then they are repotted. In Hamilton, the vegetative growth period is best done outdoors under shade cloth. If the plants are grown in greenhouse conditions they achieve faster growth but are more likely to need to be staked. This is especially true for many of the varieties with very large blooms. |
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L-R: Begonia 'Ada Hudon'; Begonia 'Billie Langdon'; Begonia 'Rhapsody'. |
