The National Garden Bureau has included the begonia in its “Year of” category for 2016. Chosen for its adaptability, popularity, genetic diversity and versatility, nearly all are easy to grow. Dozens of varieties are available in spring at garden centers throughout the country. Some have attractive leaves while others don’t shine until they show their large, fluffy flowers. Some hybrids even offer both.

Diane Blazek, Executive Director of the National Garden Bureau, says it’s high time the spotlight shone on a plant many consider to be one of grandma’s. “There has been a lot of new breeding work over the years…,” she said. “There is certainly something to suit everyone, including the begonias like Rex that are grown just for foliage.”

The type we’re most familiar with is the wax begonia (Begonia semperflorens-cultorum): diminutive, tight clusters of green or bronze waxy leaves with smallish flowers ranging in color from white to red. Versatility is its strong suit—it will thrive in deep shade or bright sun, remaining compact and colorful until frost turns it to mush in the fall.

Tuberous Hybrids

While some gardeners have recently discovered the perks of growing wax begonias, others are smitten by the tuberous hybrids with blooms that rival roses for their petal-packed beauty. And like roses, they come in every color but blue.

Tuberous begonias plants can be found at most garden centers in late spring. They are grown from tubers, a flattened-out version of a bulb. If the varieties offered at your garden center aren’t enough to set your heart racing, you can start your own, but they take lots of time and patience before they dazzle you with flowers. According to Blackmore and Langdon’s, world-renown begonia specialists, a good rule of thumb is to plan on four months after planting tubers to see flowers. I planted mine in mid-March, so my begonias won’t be blooming until sometime in July.

Mail-order sources for fibrous begonias typically don’t ship the tubers until March, so holding over your own plants from the previous year can buy time and earlier blooms. An excellent source of detailed information about storing and starting the tubers can be found on Brad’s Begonia World site.

Differences in Growing Begonias Indoors and Outdoors

Tovah Martin probably can grow begonias in her sleep. She spent 25 years as begonia curator at Logee’s Greenhouses in Danielson, Connecticut. In her latest book, The Indestructible Houseplant, she declares, “All begonias are irresistible.” Her next statement contains careful caveats, and recommends starting on the rhizomatous group, a houseplant that will wet your appetite for more.

Rhizomatous begonias grow from stem-like structures that creep along the surface of the soil, so they do better in shallower pots than deep ones. For use indoors, Martin recommends placing them in an east- or west-facing window, through which they’ll get bright light but not baking sun.

You can even grow them outdoors. “I would recommend begonias that aren’t prone to powdery mildew,” says Martin. “So I would avoid the rex types. Instead, work with the rhizomatous cultivars and cane types.”

Care Tips

The American Begonia Society describes the cane type begonia as resembling bamboo with flowers. Those we are most familiar with have “angel-wing” leaves that grow along a stem. It’s the leaves that make the biggest statement although they do produce flowers. One readily-available example is ‘Pegasus’, a Proven Winners hybrid that thrives outdoors in shady locations. Bring your cane type begonias indoors for the winter and grow them in an east- or west-facing window.

Martin stresses the importance of pruning the cane type, especially when grown indoors. Otherwise, she says, “…they’ll turn into a forest of naked stems with leaves at their tips.”

One of the biggest breakthroughs in begonia hybrids for outdoor use has come from B. boliviensis, a species that falls into the tuberous category. This Bolivian native typically has orange flowers, grows from a tuber, and is a stunner in part sun to shade. There are hybrids now that are available in creamy white and red, as well as orange, and with flowers that range from compact to long and dangling. More varieties seem to be coming out each year, bred to be heat tolerant and long-blooming.

The NGB lists the major classes that you will see in North American garden retailers:

1. Begonia semperflorens-cultorum or “wax begonias” are the most common. Plants are small (8-12”) mounds with rounded leaves and blooms. Flowers range from white to scarlet red.
2. Begonia tuberosa (tuberous begonias) typically have large flowers in a broad color range. Flowers can be huge and double. Since the plants are monoecious, there are always both single (male) and double (female) flowers on the same plant. The leaves are usually asymmetrical, hairy or fuzzy and have a serrated edge.
3. Begonia boliviensis is more heat tolerant than other types. The plant branches cascade down in hanging baskets or window boxes. The leaves are similar in shape to tuberous begonias but are narrower and smooth. The flower has long, strap-like petals forming a soft trumpet.
4. Begonia hiemalis, also called elatior or Reiger begonia, typically have small to medium double flowers in a wide range of colors. Shops often sell these around the holidays.
5. Begonia masoniana has bold color patterns on their textured and coarse leaves.
6. Begonia rhizomatous has thick, fleshy stems with large, colorful leaves. The leaves can be round or heavily lobed like a grape leaf. Some have small white flowers in the spring, and a few varieties bloom all summer.
7. Begonia rex have beautiful leaves, which are quite hairy or fuzzy and usually covered with multicolored, intricate swirled designs.
8. Begonia hybrida is used by plant breeders to show that a variety is a cross between two different classes.

Although your local garden centers should carry all the begonias you could ever grow, there are always the more unusual varieties that can more likely be found through specialty nurseries.

ONLINE BEGONIA SOURCES:

• Kartuz Greenhouses, California
• Logee’s Plants for Home and Garden, Connecticut
• Steve’s Leaves, Texas
• Taylor Greenhouses, New York