Here in southern Louisiana (z9a) the hort. department at the university tried tuberous begonias. I think they got a flower or two. That was in the greenhouse with cooling. A number of people I know tried them, but nobody succeeded. I grew them when I lived in western Washington (state) but believed the locals when they told me not to try here, so I don't really have personal experience. If you would be satisfied with two or three flowers, okay. Otherwise, i would say there are So Many begonias that really love it here and do so well so easily, that torturing some for such a disappointing display doesn't seem productive to me.

That's Pink Jasmine, Tressa, or sometimes called Chinese Jasmine (Jasminum polyanthum). But again, it also likes to vine more than trail, so you'd constantly be fighting its nature to want to grow upwards and along your hanging basket chains. And it is VERY prolific. Smells wonderful, but very vigorous plant, at least for us here in the coastal S. California climate. I considered it for my arbor/patio cover, but my landscaper and I decided against it due to it tending to look ratty and scraggly during a large part of the season. If you can get to it to prune, it's not bad, but I'm not inclined to climb up 10 feet to the top of my patio cover to clean it up :-) Patty S.

As far as "best mix", IME, there is no such thing. Particularly with the the hybrid phals, it typically comes down to what your particular watering practices and conditions are. I have used mixes containing various combinations of: coconut husk chunks or med-large grade bark, large/med grade horticultural charcoal, hydroton/primagra/the little puffed clay balls, medium-large grade perlite, corks, lava rock/pumice, and sphag -- depending upon what I have on hand at the time. I have on several occasions grown them in straight sphag without any issue. I have also grown them mounted on cork with no media at all. I've known folks who grow them in semi-hydro. They really are not fussy plants ... you just have to determine what will work best for you in your conditions. The biggest thing is to remember that the media should be coarse/airy or the roots are likely to suffocate. When I use straight sphag, I do not pack the sphag tightly ... but then I don't pack any media I use tightly though I know many growers who do. I recall one phal in particular that had many folks at my old os rather flabbergasted. Friends of mine had purchased one of those mass produced generic phals at Costco. It was in a 8-10" pot of tightly packed sphag. Not being plant people, I gave them some advice about watering which was to water sparingly as it was fall and the plant was in a shady window and the fact that a solid mass of sphag like that would not dry out quickly. After the blooms died, they gave the plant to me. When I removed the plant from the pot, the sphag came with it in a perfect pot-shaped mass. The roots running along the outside of the sphag were in good shape, surprisingly. So I decided to experiment since a generic white phal was, IMO, expendable. Rather than soaking and removing the moss, I left it as it was -- didn't even put it back in the pot. Rather I sat the pot-shaped mass of sphag on a large shallow saucer and watered it off and on with the goal of keeping the moss barely damp on the outside. Sometimes I would forget an the moss got very dry though not parched. So I'd just give a little more water to rehydrate the moss that next water. Plant did great. The following year I donated it to the society for their summer picnic auction ... still in that pot-shaped mass of sphag. "How do you soak them without getting the grown of them wet? Or do you early in the morning and not worry about it. I have fans blowing and the heat from the lights would evaporate any water that gets on the leaves in my warm room within an hour or two. Would you still be concerned?" I don't worry about getting them wet though when soaking my potted ones (which is what I, personally, do) I do pour the water directly on the media. but if some water splashes on the leaves I don't fret. In your conditions, with the leaves and crown drying off that quickly, you shouldn't have to worry. Just make sure the water isn't really cold.

I think they like cooler nights than I can give them in Atlanta so it seems like you would have better luck than me. The other thing is they seem to prefer drier soil as mine rot when the soil stays wet too long. The bulb seems to stay firm but the stem like your description just starts to rot above the soil line. The pictures I see of the species are growing in cracks of cliffs so very little soil to survive on - maybe the tuber is to keep them going for the next rainy season? They certainly are an enigma. Check some of the FB groups for begonias. There is a guy in England that grows champion tuberous for the big shows there. Maybe he can give us pointers. Also in CA, they can grow some very large tuberous.