Begonias

Sent for some begonia seeds iIumination type ive been told that they will not flower this year is that true any advice please regards MICK

 

John , I grow Begonia Illumination from tubers every year . They are a great reliable plant for shade / semi shade positions . I grow from saved tubers every March . You will find lots of garden centres sell begonia Illumination from Mid April in packs of four , for about £5-£6 . Three plants will fill a 14" basket . I have never grown Begonia from seed as I understand it can be a little tricky.

 

Thanks all the seed ive got is pelleted and intend to start them next month in a heated propagator then transfer them to a heated green house which will be holding my leeks and onions I bought plug plants from a local nurserie last year in feb and brought them on the display was amaseing not that i used them they were given to my sisters now the rest of the family wants them this year so i thought ill grow them from seed to save money and was told by a friend that it took 2 year for them to flower from seed so great news cant wait to get started now cheers all merry christmass

 

Begonia seed is very slow growing for the first two or so months, especially the tuberous types.
I think the seedlings will need 60F min to grow on, quite a bit warmer in fact than leeks or onions.

 

I agree with Pete that they will need 15c/60f to keep them growing at first, they are slow and fiddly to prick out, buying mini plugs is a better bet.

 

just to add , dont over water the compost they will "damp off" get a fungus , I have tried seed you need patience and a close eye on them everyday

 

Just to add to what has already been said. Begonia seed needs light to germinate, so should be sown on the surface of the compost and left uncovered. I am not sure how this will be effected by the fact that your seed is pelleted. Presumably the pellet will dissolve leaving the seed exposed to the light.

The method I used was to sift some multi purpose compost, then put the fine stuff that had gone through the riddle to one side for the moment. The rough stuff that was left in the riddle was placed at the bottom of a seed tray to provide good drainage. A layer of unsieved multi purpose was then added and finished off with the finely sieved stuff on top. The tray was watered from the bottom and the seed (mixed with silver sand) was sown on the surface. This was then placed in a propagator under a grow light. I used to get nearly 100% germination of Begonia Rex using this method.

 

That is exactly how I sow fine seed...except for the 100% germination