GROWING TRAILING BEGONIAS

I like to grow trailing tuberous begonias but I don't want, like the ivy (hedera) that I mentioned in the post before this one, to grow a begonia that has a single, straggly, trailing stem.  Pathetic!  First, I want mine to have lots of stems and then it can start to trail.  This, below, is 'Super Cascade' Orange. I bought it as a tuber just starting to sprout.   When it started producing leaves and getting a little tall, I pinched out the growing point (as I think you can see in the image) with my fingernails to force it into producing more shoots which it is now doing from the base as well as producing side stems.  I plan to grow this one in a pot on its own (I may have to transplant it into a bigger pot), possibly as a display on my marble garden table as I did once before, in 2013 (see middle image).

 

Tuberous begonia 'Super Cascade' orange

Here is one that I grew in 2013.   It's a trailing tuberous begonia 'Illumination' pink.  I had pinched out the growing tip and the multiple stems produced many flowers, as you can see.  It grew so well and so big that I had to stack its pot on top of another two terracotta pots turned upside down!







Trailing begonia 'Illumination' pink.  Multiple stems providing many flowers

By the way, I still have the tuber from the above plant, 'Illumination' pink.   It's enormous!  It must be about 5" diameter.  I have it in a big pot where it is just starting to sprout.  Actually, accidentally, I had left it outdoors all winter and found it buried in some old compost. It's a wonder I didn't kill it off.



I've also planted up the trough under my kitchen window with trailing begonias.  There they will get partial shade.   Below is a picture of begonias growing in my kitchen window trough, 2012, along with blue and white trailing lobelia.





Tuberous trailing begonias in garden trough

The label for begonia 'Super Cascade' Orange says that it likes sun to partial shade, achieves a height of 10" and trails 12-14".  It is a floriferous plant with double and semi-double flowers in a strong orange. It is outstanding in hanging baskets and window boxes.