Beguiling begonias!

By Dorothy Dobbie

Once upon a time, begonias were what your granny planted in tidy rows along the shady garden walk. They had big, soft leaves and huge, blowsy flowers of a particularly fluorescent hue in red, yellow, orange or maybe pink, sometimes even white. They might have had ruffled petals edged in brilliant contrasting colours or blossoms that could be six inches in diameter, and they were spectacular! These rewarding tuberous begonias also occurred in a pendulous or cascading form that can be relied on to pleasingly fill and spill over a shaded pot. They came in several varieties; ‘Illumination’ was widely sold (and still is).

The Non-stop tuberous hybrids were all the rage a few years ago because as long as they were faithfully deadheaded, they would put forth copious numbers of small but double blooms in many shades of pink and rose.

The begonias bloomed from mid summer to late fall. You carefully preserved the tubers and overwintered them in a cool dry space in the basement.

Those paragons of yesteryear are still here, but they have amazing rivals. And I am not talking about the fibrous, well-behaved wax begonias with their single flowers and uninspiring habits. I am speaking of the begonia revolution, much of it occurring in the fibrous category which includes those waxy ones but have eclipsed them. These begonias can be grown from seeds rather than tubers and have fine, fibrous roots. They have been bred to explode into bloom in sunny spots or in shade, depending on the variety.

The fabulous, reliable dragon wing begonia.

Dragon wing

Let’s look at the wonderful dragon wings, so called for their shiny, wingshaped leaves. They are perfectly happy in shade and they simply never stop. The flowers are not that showy alone, but when you put hundreds together, they put on quite a display with their bell-shaped red flowers and dark green leaves. They are easy care, not fussy about watering habits (watering on the light side is better than overwatering) and grow in a pleasing bushy mound perfect for a hanging basket. They don’t mind heat or humidity.

Dragon wings can handle sun or shade, but light shade is preferable, and they do well in full shade. If you fall in love, take it inside and overwinter it. It will continue to bloom in bright indirect sunlight. They need no deadheading or pruning and don’t drop branches.

If you don’t want to take a big, oversized plant indoors, you can propagate from stem cuttings. Dragon wing begonias are truly one of the container garden workhorses.

‘Sunsation’

Sexier and just about as reliable are the new sun-loving begonias, particularly ‘Sunsation’, absolutely amazing double-flowered begonias with smaller rose-shaped blossoms that just keep on giving. A small plant will be smothered in blooms and happy as a lark in the brightest sunshine. They bloom all summer until freeze up. The famous fluorescence is still there in stunning shades of pink and coral and yellow that will knock your eyes out. And they are just as reliable as the dragon wings, even thought they don’t resemble one another at all.

Some rex begonias have maple leaf shaped leaves.

Begonia rex ‘Escargot’.

Rex

But it is not all about flowers, because begonias have other talents, and a key one of those is the production of stunning leaves, including variation in shape, colour, texture and variegation. This is the rex begonia (although there is a cane begonia with spotted dragon wing-shaped leaves that are irresistible in a house plant; more on the polka dot begonia in this issue).

The rex begonias do flower, but you won’t care, because you will be mesmerized by the leaves alone. Look for shapes that vary from maple leaf to round, to scalloped, to oval, pointed, ruffled to even snail-shaped!

Colours and variegations are endless in hues of pink to purple to silver to every shade of green, sometimes all in one leaf. You can grow them outside or take them indoors. Some get quite large, others are small. These are softstemmed succulents with hairy stems so watering needs care: be sure not to overwater, letting the pot get light before rewatering. They are also quite tender and will need to be brought in well before frost. Shade outside and indirect or filtered sunlight indoors are preferred. V

Illumination begonia.

One of the sun-loving begonias.

Tuberous begonia.

Begonia boliviensis.

Begonia quick list

Fibrous. The roots are stringy. Fibrous begonias include wax, angel wing, dragon wing and cane. They bloom all year round in their native habitat and you can bring them indoors as a houseplant in winter.

Rhizomatous. They have fleshy roots and stems along the surface of the soil. Rex begonias are rhizomatous. Usually grown as houseplants.

Tuberous. These grow from tubers like small sweet potatoes. They go dormant in the winter so are no good as houseplants. If you want, dig the tubers before the last frost and overwinter in a cool dark place indoors. Tuberous begonias have the most spectacular flowers and bloom from late summer until fall.

Wax. Useful as a groundcover in shady areas, wax begonias have fibrous roots, shiny leaves and they continue to bloom throughout the season.

Cane. Cane begonias have tough, bamboo-like stems. They include angel wing and dragon wing begonias. They’ll grow to 10 feet high in their native lands.

Angel wing and dragon wing. These two cane begonias are both hybrids. To see the difference, angel wings are typically spotted and dragon wings aren’t.