Begonias

[John Case]

My wife has convinced me that begonias, primarily cane and rex, will be the perfect understory for the palms.....

While they add a lot of color and interest to the eye. I am not certain that they are necessarily compatible.

I haven't seen many begonia photos here...am I just being suspect?

They seem to be very easy to grow here, I have propagated a number of ours into pots.

I'm looking for some response to determine if this makes sense......

Thanks,

John

[Moose]

John - they are pretty much water pigs. Bromeliads not as much and very colorful in my opinion. Heard that water is very expensive in Cal. so that may be a variable you want to take into account.

Best regards,

Ron.

[epicure3]

I've got a few angels' wing Begonias and some dwarf white varieties that I use as bedding. They're ok. I'm not in love with them but the angels' wing varieties are somewhat interesting. They do use a lot of water. Mine have been around for 5 years or so and still flower year round and look nice but I have also heard that they slowly decline after some years.

[bahia]

I'm not sure how many of the larger growing cane type begonias would be fully hardy for you in Brentwood, but I use them here in Berkeley/Oakland/San Francisco gardens. I would recommend some of the ones that hard more available from wholesale growers such as Monterey Bay Nursery, Suncrest and San Marcos Growers. Some of the deciduous herbaceous begonias such as B. boliviensis will certainly grow well for you, as long as it gets water, and the scarlet flowers on a plant that can get up to 3 feet tall by across with age are really colorful. A smaller growing species from South Africa, the winter deciduous B. sanderiana is another favorite of mine, with very nice apricot orange flowers on a plant that gets about 9 inches tall by across. Begonia 'Irene Ness' is an evergreen cane type begonia that can easily get 5 feet tall, and has deep pink flowers that bloom almost all year round if it is in a wind and frost protected spot. B. 'Ramirez' has great fuzzy deep green foliage and deeply reddish purple stems and undersides of the leaves, I would grow this one for the foliage alone. The largest growing Begonia I have is B. 'Paul Hernandez', which is a hybrid with B. luxurians, and has huge foliage and easily gets 8 feet tall if protected from the wind. I often combine these below Kentia or King palms or with Chamaedore plumosa or C. tepelijote, as well as things like Edgeworthia chrysantha, Illicium floridanum, Deppia splendens, Ageratum corymbosa, Heliconia scheideana, Ceratozamia mexicana, Dioon spinulosum and bromeliads such as Vriesea fenestralis, Aechmea caudata and Neoregelias. I also find that they all appreciate an automatic drip irrigation system that can be programmed to mist them down in the middle of the day to increase the humidity, which the bromeliads also really like.

All of these do best with morning sun or bright dappled shade and moist conditions, and always look best if they don't get much wind, which will tend to rip the foliage. The ones I've listed are also the most readily available ones from your local retail nursery if they get plants delivered from any of the wholesale growers I listed above. Kartuz Greenhouses which is in Vista, and does mailorder, has a lot more Begonia species and hybrids to choose from, but most of them would probably need more protection from winter frost. All of these do well for me with temperatures down to just above freezing, but kind of stop actively growing once the night time temps drop below 40F.

[peachy]

I have many varieties of begonia growing here. Dragon wings and some the of the 'droopy' species' in hanging baskets, but most of them in the ground. They are pretty tough. Although the majority of mine flower on and off (mainly on) all year, I do grow many for the colourful or unusual foliage. Begonia rex have very pretty foliage, but I have no luck with them at all, so I would say stay with cane and small shrubby varieties. One of my earliest memories is of my grandmother's very very long driveway that had palms down both sides and huge hydrangeas as the understory. It looked magnificent. As much as I wish to duplicate it here, unfortunately hydrangeas really struggle in the heat and just dont do well. I also have bromeliads here and there and a few different, unusual ferns. However, the begonia flowers are pretty and break up what would otherwise be all greens. BTW, those little bedding begonias that only get a few centimetres tall only give their best shows in sun.

Peachy

[John Case]

Thanks all for the input.....Next year will be my test year for understory and begonias....I am propagating a few different types and will progress as I can.....I have a few in planters that are tremendous looking plants with outstanding floral displays this year. I'll be using them as the source for my propagation. The canes take easily and I have started them already. They will be in cold frames over the winter. Tuberous and others will be done in the spring.

Thanks again!

[palmmermaid]

I have several - 50 or so - in my garden. It took me a while to figure out what they like. After they did really well underneath my pine trees I realized they like acidic soil. It should be very well-drained and loose with lots of organic matter. I actually made a begonia bed. I dug in tons of horse manure and peat. It gets irrigation twice a week unless it rains. It is on a slope so it drains very fast and gets only morning sun. I mulched it heavily and it is flourishing.

[SFloridacollector]

My wife has convinced me that begonias, primarily cane and rex, will be the perfect understory for the palms.....

While they add a lot of color and interest to the eye. I am not certain that they are necessarily compatible.

I haven't seen many begonia photos here...am I just being suspect?

They seem to be very easy to grow here, I have propagated a number of ours into pots.

I'm looking for some response to determine if this makes sense......

Thanks,

John

the only begonia I suggest is Begonia odorata 'alba'

[bahia]

There is an article on deciduous perennial Begonia species in the latest issue of Pacific Horticulture magazine, might be worth a look. I had assumed that you would prefer to grow the evergreen types when I mentioned they weren't as cold tolerant in inland valley situations. You can't beat Begonia boliviensis for wild scarlet/orange flowers if you don't mind ones that disappear in winter.