Marianne's Response
Leaf spot on arbutus unendo, and splitting begonias
HI Marianne, tried to get you on Ciscos radio show yesterday, but none ever went to the phones. My arbutus unendo has awful black spots on all the leaves. What can I do? Also I have a begonia Bolognese ‘bonfire’ in a 20-inch pot and the tuber fills the whole pot. Can I split that and have more plants? Thanks for your answer!
Dianne
Posted by Dianne Boerger on April 13, 2014
Marianne's Response
Hi Diane,
We were busy answering questions in person while on the radio show Saturday, so sorry nobody answered the phone. Sounds like your arbutus has leaf spot and the best answer is to remove all infected leaves now and try to increase the air circulation. Put a fresh mulch around the roots to seal in any fungal spores that may have dropped. Your Bonfire begonia sounds very happy and that tuber will give you a lot of blooms this summer. It is possible to cut up the tuber much as you would a seed potato but you also risk allowing rot to invade the cut areas. I would be safe and just move the giant tuber to a larger pot and enjoy the explosion of blooms this summer. The humming birds will love you.
Keep growing,
Marianne Binetti
