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Tuberous Begonias from Seed

16 years ago

Curious how difficult is it to start the tuberous begonias from seed? I've done fiberous begonias with NO problem and have always wondered what it would be like to attempt growing tuberous begonias... Many descriptions (don't let them dry out at all they'll for tubers right away and die, etc.) have scared me away. How difficult ARE they???

Tom-

Comment (1)

aftermidnight Zone7b B.C. Canada
16 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
I have grown tuberous begonias from seed a few times quite successfully. I buy my seed from Antonelli's, so that I don't miss a step I've copied their instructions verbatim.

GROWING TUBEROUS BEGONIAS FROM SEED

Tuberous Begonia seed is sown in January and February. Best germination results are from seed sown February 15th to March 1st.
Begonias require soils rich in humus or other organic matter such as leaf mold, forest humus, shredded firbark or spagnum peat moss - from best to worst in the above order. To this humus material should be added light sandy loam or river sand. The usual recommended mixture is 2/3 leaf mold to 1/3 sandy loam. An alternate could consist of 1/2 well decayed forest humus or redwood soil conditioner, 1/4 sandy loam or river sand, and1/4 spagnum peat moss. Packaged seed mixes like Jiffy-Mix, Pro-Mix, etc., are excellent for Begonias. Planting medium and containers should be sterilized with steam or soil fumigant to prevent growth of fungus and weeds.
Use shallow flats or seed pans with ample allowance for drainage. Fill to a depth of one-half inch with moist, planting medium and level. Using a piece of ordinary window screen, sprinkle a thin layer of planting evenly over the surface. Sterilize soil and containers. Moisten throughly with a light spray of sterilized water. Broadcast the seed, taking care to spread it evenly over the flat to avoid overcrowding. Dusting the seed with Rootone wil make it easier to see on the dark soil.
Water carefully with a light spray of sterilized water. Do not cover seed. Cover the flats with sheets of glass and darken with newspaper (about 2 sheets thick) until germination. Seed will germinate in six to ten days at a constant temperature of 65 to 75 degrees. Fog lightly with sterilized water during the fourth day. As soon as the seed shows small white specks, the paper should be removed. Do not remove glass until after the tiny plants appear. Use extreme care in watching that the surface of the soil does not dry out at this stage of growth. Two or three days later small plants will show.
The glass should be gradually propped open and then removed. Water carefully with sterilized water as needed. Sterilized water should be used, at least, until the third leaf shows on the small plants. Then the plants may be watered with fresh water for fifteen to twenty days before transplanting.
At first transplanting, the seedlings are spaced one inch apart in flats filled to a depth of 1 1/2". When they become crowed they are transplanted again. This time they are spaced two or more inches apart. After the first transplanting. the seedlings respond very well to weekly or bi-weekly applications of fertilizer solution prepared by diluting one tablespoon of Romeo Soluble Fertilizer in three gallons of water. In five or six weeks they will be ready for potting or planting in the garden.

ANT NELLI

I have grown some very nice exhibition type Begonias from Antonelli's seed. The main thing is to get your seed from a grower instead of off the rack. The seed has to be fresh to achieve any kind of success. You don't want to go through all of the above and then be disappointed if nothing germinates. Hope this has been of some help.

A......
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I uses to live in San Francisco and had no problems with begonias growing under a porch. They always bloomed profusely and tubers always got bigger each year. Even the seeds i started in march of 2011 made tubers the size of a baseball. Albeit, we have a long growing season and the right temps. I gave them all up and moved to MA and boy is gardening different. I started with Blackmore and Langdon seeds feb of 2013 indoors in Boston. Those that survived the move outside all created tubers the size of a peanut to the size of a golf all. Out of about 100 seedlings, I culled out about half that did not have double blooms and the next spring, only about 20 made it. I kept them too cool in the basement. None bloomed summer of 2014. Mainly because I used regular topsoil with some weird mulch incorporated. They did all survive and their tubers were slightly bigger. I have started more Blackmore and Langdon seeds.mi started a batch dec 15 2014 and about 100 have been reported into 50 cell trays. I just started another batch last week just for backup. They grew really well when I had them under a 4foot shoplight on a shelf above the stove but started dying and damping off when i moved them to the basement with no bottom heat. My advice is to start very early if you want tubers and enough time to evaluate flowers to cull, being feb a the latestThey generally create tubers in the fall when day length decreases so they need enough leaves and a big enough root system to do that by September. Also give them bottom heat and use a looserepackaged potting mix. I made the mistake of potting them up in whatever was around only to find the the pH of the black mulch I used was close to 7.5
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Thanks for the compliment. The begonia in the picture was planted in mid March under fluorescent lights in my basement, once the tuber had new pink sprouts it was planted, I have found that if the tubers are not sprouted before they are planted and watered they tend to rot, so don't rush things and only get them planted and growing when they have shoots starting on them. The tubers were first put into 4" pots, shifted once into a larger 6" pot as the plant grew larger, and then put into their final 10" pot. The begonias are put into the greenhouse in mid April and I know that not everyone has a greenhouse to work in, but you can get the same results in a very sunny window or under fluorescent lights. Begonias like a lot of sun, give them as much as you dare without burning them - full sun in the morning or late afternoon or both, but shade them from mid day (11 am to about 3 pm) during the summer. Dappled sunshine that would be under an open (not too dense) tree all day long works too. I grow my tuberous begonias in Pro Mix BX, you can use any good potting soil that is light in texture and has a good amount of perlite so it drains well. The plants get a timed release fertilizer like osmocote, and also fertilized with half strength liquid feed (Miracle Gro, etc.,) almost every time I water during the summer. Make sure the soil gets a chance to dry before you water your plants, and don't ever water begonias when they are hot and dry with the sun shining on them - they don't handle that very well - sit them in the shade and let them cool off for an hour or so before you give them water. Hope this is helpful to you, now go grow some of the nicest baskets you've ever had this summer! Good luck with your begonias.
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Hi Bayard: Those are absolutely beautiful! I was looking at the Blackmore and Langdon tubers this past winter, but they were so expensive! You grew these from seed - I've never seen seed offered in the catalogues I get (in Canada); where did you order them from? And is it difficult to grow from seed? Thanks a lot for any info you can give! Judith
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