The tuberous kind of begonia should be allowed to be touched by frost...a killing frost that does in their foliage. At that time you then remove the foliage and dig up the bulb, let them dry for a day or so in your garage or shed, then store them in your cool basement, away from light, away from heat, away from water. Make a note of which end is UP...store them in a way you know which is which. Then in March, bring them out and you can put them ontop of the refrigerator--there they might begin to grow a root. Whatever, pot them up, just barely under the soil surface...their tips might even be seen, water them, give them sunlight and pretty soon a little bit of fuzz shows on the surface....it might look like like mildew...but its not...its the bulb beginning to grow. Keep the soil damp...but not wet. Tuberous begonia is one of the slowest forming bulbs and it might be June or July before they come to sizable growth and bloom. The bloom they produce is worth the wait.

I like your looping staking idea! I�m in Illinois, mine never grew enough to need much staking, but you have a great idea. I have a rose with long canes, too: never thought about using it that way. Snapping off the thorns might take a while. The orange/peachy one on the left in your second photo is really lovely.

I think what you are growing may be a tuberous begonia. The key to uniform growth is to make sure that the tuber sprouts before planting. The tuber may have some small red, pink or white eyes (pips) which are the growing points which turn into stems. If they are not visible at time of planting, you would need to "coach" them to sprout. This can be done by placing the tubers in 70F-75F room for 7-10 days. If no sprouting, then soak tuber for 20 minutes in 70F water and then return to the storage room as above. Once you plant the tubers, plant them covered by atleast 6" of soil with the hollow side up (rounded side down). So the sprouts face upwards. The tuber needs to be covered by soil because roots grow from the top as well as from the bottom. The medium should be well draining (such as seed starting mixture of container potting soil) but it should never allowed to dry before the growth is 3-5" tall. The comments about watering when soil is dry only applies after the begonias has grown to larger plants. Once the new sprouts are 3-5" tall, you should repot the bulbs into larger pots. This will give the roots a chance to expand. You may find that they are very rootbound if started in small pots. Once repotted, the begonia plants will increase in size dramatically and soon start to develop flower buds. Make sure that you water the begonias very well so the water flow from the bottom. Then do not water until the surface of the soil is dry 1" below surface (finger test). At this time water well again, so water drain from the bottom. Begonias do best at temperatures 65-85F with filtered sun or moderate morning sun. Avoid hot afternoon sun, and do not put in a sunny southern window (too hot). If you need more help, please feel free to ask. Red double tuberous begonia Several tubers with various stages of sprouts showing. Some of the ones in the back has no visible sprouts and need "coaching" to get them going" This tuber has sprouts very visible

Thanks. The closet is the coldest place in my basement, but like you said, it is just not that cold. About half the pots have only the begonias and caladiums left in them, so could be easily stored whole. About half the pots have ivies and such planted in them, that I carry over, so I have to dig out the begonia tuber (corm?) to store. Though come to think of it, maybe I would be better off digging out the ivy and transplanting those to small pots? Then storing the pot with begonia. I keep the ivies because I have some unusual ones. I have seen that recommendation, too, to "check them monthly." But then, I think, what do you do if they are NOT firm? Scold them? :)