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Last Year's Begonias Sprouting Nicely

sprog

By sprog

7 comments


I am on oxygen 24hrs a day and with other physical problems I am no longer the ‘proper’ gardener I was! However, now the greenhouse has been overhauled I can order my Begonia plug plants tomorrow ready for potting up after Easter.
However, all of the tubs and borders are full of last year’s Begonias starting to sprout. What am I to do?? Leaving them there would ensure they grow undisturbed but they are going to be very late in the season coming into flower. If I had someone come in to help dig them all up and pot them up, there wouldn’t be room in the greenhouse for the new plugs, etc. What to do , what to do, what to do! Oh dear. Will have deep thoughts.

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Comments

 

Quite a quandry Sprog. I would forget about the new begonia plugs and plant some seed in your pots and borders instead. There are several quick growing annuals available in pelleted form which will flower very quickly. I sowed allysum directly in to the pots last year and they have never stopped flowering. They will fill the gap until your begonias which have overwintered outside because of the very mild winter come in to flower. I had forgotten that I planted pendulous begonias in my pots last year and was surprised to find they are still flourishing.

17 Apr, 2014

 

Hi Sprog, nice to see you back. It sounds as if you have had a hard time but glad to hear you are looking forward to getting stuck in to getting your hands back in the soil. I would scrap the idea of buying new begonias and opt instead for some annual seeds. There are quick growing seeds available nowadays which give you flowers very quickly. They are called 'Fast Flowers' and live up to the name well. They will fill up your pots and borders with colour until the begonias get going again out in the garden. I had forgotten I grew begonia corms in my long pots last year. They too have come through the winter and seem to be healthy. I planted some arabis and saxifraga in the pots to keep the colour until the begonias come up. Let us know how you get on with whatever you decide to do.

17 Apr, 2014

 

Sorry but the site took so long to put my first comment up that I thought it had not worked. Oh well old age does not come alone. LOL.

17 Apr, 2014

 

It sounds like you've been in the wars, Sprog. Hope you'll soon be on the mend.

17 Apr, 2014

 

Thank you all for such lovely - and helpful - comments. I truly think gardening friends are the best people. Always helpful, always knowledgeable and always caring.
I hope you all have a lovely Easter.

17 Apr, 2014

 

You too Sprog. The weather forecast is for nice weather which is a great help if you like to roll Easter eggs with the children.

18 Apr, 2014

 

Decided to get someone to dig up a lot of the sprouting Begonias and they are potted up in the greenhouse. 70 'ready' plugs received from Jersey Plants - all looking healthy. They are now also potted up. Another 200 yet to be delivered. Then I will be continually moving the pots around as the greenhouse will be full. I will see if there is any room left for the rest of last year's sprouting Begonias.
The man who was due to come tomorrow to take out all the fence panels to treat them flat on a tarpaulin had to be delayed for a couple of days - here in Chepstow we have had torrential rain for several hours so the fencing is sodden. Oh, dear more delays. Can't get the borders tidied up until the fence man has finished walking over them. He is a very skilled and careful man but I can't expect him not to tread somewhere.

27 Apr, 2014

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