Still curious about begonias.

Whilst messing about in the garden, I got to wonder: how does a begonia manage to store energy to flower next year?
They flower their socks off for months, usually more flowers than leaves. They probably haven't finished flowering by the time you need to store them yet they come back twice as big next year? What's their secret?

 

Do they flower but not produce seed? Lots are double so may be infertile.
I must say begonias seem to do well whatever the season, rain or sun they keep going!
My only problem is the slugs like them.

 

I believe they only use the tuber as a storage method of getting through a dry spell, once in growth they are like other plants and use the water and nutrient available to them in the growing season.
They have adapted to a climate that has a dry season mostly in tropical or sub tropical conditions.

 

Always good to carry a spare @pete

 

I used to grow the large double ones and they have male and female flowers, the large oversized flowers are the male and you usually get a couple of singles behind on the stem, theyhave a strange triangular seed pod behind.

Usual practice is to remove the singles and allow all the strength to go to the big doubles.

 

I seem to struggle to get mine going again after the winter. This year was my second overwintering some. They feel firm when I pot them up in Spring but each year just one actually gets going. The rest sulk for ages and gradually soften and go mushy?

 

Mine took ages to sprout this year, but I think it was because I put them in the greenhouse, which was not warm enough. I prefer to put them on top of the cupboards in the utility in February, where it gets warm, but the corms are so big.

Mine are meant to be 8in high ones, but I say they are 3ft. Enormous.

 

I start mine off in the GH too. Am not sure where I could start them off indoors,as you say they are quite big. We haven’t got an airing cupboard

 

You could try soaking for a couple of hours in tepid water before planting with the top showing, I read once to not fill the pot right the way up, and only cover the tuber once the stems are a couple of inches high.
Spraying the top of the tuber every day rather than heavy watering might help to break dormancy, even a window sill in a heated room should be OK for starting them into growth, but a cold greenhouse in March might be pushing your luck a bit.

 

I had one this year that just keeled over for no apparent reason. I composted the stems but never got around to dumping the tuber. The other day, I picked it up bone dry to dump it, but it had sprouted all over so I've put it in a small pot with fresh compost to see what happens.