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Florida Gardening

What's the "trick" to Begonias?

shear_stupidity

10 years ago

I have a bunch of different ones... Angel Wing, Rex, etc... They don't grow, they don't die, they don't bloom. What gives? "What do they want from me, blood?" (~Seymour, "Little Shop Of Horrors")

But seriously, where should I plant them? Full shade? Part shade? Morning sun only? Not too hot? I'm really scratching my head here. Any help would be helpful. *wink!*

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Comments (4)

theoj
10 years ago
Begonias are so much fun. So many different ones, each different. Some like more sun or shade, more or less water, etc. And when you know your begonia, the seasons change and their needs and desires change with it. They propagate easy and also die easy. Move a happy begonia from one side of the table to the other and it may croak, but they have such beautiful leaves and flowers that once hooked, you will forever love begonias.
theo
Carol love_the_yard (Zone 9A Jacksonville, FL)
10 years ago
Shear, I love begonias, too and sometimes have trouble with them. Try these bookmarks - they are some of my best:

http://www.bradsbegoniaworld.com/types.htm

http://www.bradsbegoniaworld.com/culture.htm

http://www.bradsbegoniaworld.com/canes.htm

http://www.begoniaweb.com/ (scroll down for hundreds of links)

http://www.begonias.org/care/culture.htm

Carol in Jacksonville
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shear_stupidity
Original Author
10 years ago
Wow! Thanks for the links! I can already see a few things I've done wrong. I'm looking forward to much better results after reading all that!

Again, thank you!
laura1
10 years ago
wow that is a lot of links. just bought a couple of rex begonias the other day. here is what they told me: plant them in Fafard 3B potting mix. Might be hard to find but it is around if you hunt for it.
Generally begonias like shade especially the rexes and they want to be cool...not too hot. This is a trick in Florida but you can find cooler spots in your garden I hope. There are some begonias that I might plant in the ground but those pretty ones will do better in pots imho. Good luck

Oh, and you should have gone to the begonia convention this past weekend in Tampa ;-(

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