Begonia care

Ilikeplants

I have a begonia flowering in a pot at the moment, I don’t know if it’s from a tuber or fibrous roots. How do I take care of it and can it survive the winter? I would love to keep it going for next year.

Fran IOM

@Ilikeplants  I also have a begonia in a pot which is from a tuber. This is its second year or possibly third. It has been left in its pot after it has died down all winter outside. Apart from watering I have given it no special treatment. I may just have been lucky. I'm sure others may have methods of overwintering theirs. Pic below.

philippasmith2

Begonias whether the small flowered fibrous ( bedding type I think ) or the larger flowered tubers won't survive a winter outside.
You can keep the tubers dry and frost free but I'm pretty sure @Lyn can explain properly.

Ilikeplants

@Fran IOM thats a lovely begonia- hopefully mine has the same luck. I’ll try to keep it somewhere sheltered and dry over winter.
This is what my begonia looks like if that helps.

Buttercupdays

My Begonias live in the back porch which is like a mini conservatory. They gradually die back as the days shorten and I move the pots to a lower, less conspicuous shelf. I give them very little water over winter, just enough to stop the pots getting dust dry. As spring approaches I watch out for signs of buds and when I see them I begin to water again, just a little at first, increasing as there is more growth. They enjoy the sunniest spot on the shelves in summer. They could go outside for summer in a more sheltered garden, but we get very strong winds here and they would risk getting battered. I have a yellow flowered tuberous one and 'Glowing Embers' which flowers all summer and looks amazing.

Ilikeplants

So you treat it like a house plant? Should I clean off its roots before the winter and find out if it’s a tuber or fibrous root? Can you propagate it in case it doesn’t survive the winter?

Lyn

If you had picked the females off of your plant you would have had a lot more, bigger flowers.  Daily job here.
I always wait for mine to drop their leaves then remove from pot, check for vine weevils, pick any out then wrap separately in newspaper and store in a box indoors in a cool room. 
Start them off when they start to show shoots so check about mid March for signs of life. 

Buttercupdays

Yours looks like a tuberous begonia and they are not the easiest thing to propagate I believe, but relatively cheap to buy. I wouldn't disturb the roots now, but you should be able to see the tuber, it should be near the surface of the compost. Provided you don't over water and keep it warm enough while it is dormant there is no reason why it shouldn't survive. I've had mine going for about 5 years now with no problems. If it grows well in the summer you may find you need to re-pot it into a larger pot when growth restarts.

If you have a heated greenhouse you could keep it in there over winter, but mine is only kept frost free and that is not enough for tender plants like begonias. So house it is, for safety's sake, but they are good to look at when in flower and I have lots of other house plants in the porch and foliage begonias too, so why not?

Ilikeplants

I’ll keep it in the conservatory once it looses its leaves then, after checking for any bugs. So should I pick off the small flowers then? I guess they’re the female ones?

Lyn

The ones with the seed pods behind are the females.  
Doesnt matter much now as it will be dying off soon anyway, but you could remember to do it from the start next year.

Fran IOM

@Ilikeplants Do like your begonia. Mine seems to want to grow upwards rather than outwards like yours. You have had plenty of good advice now so I'm sure your begonia will live to see another Summer.