Allotments 4 All

I have just been out to the greenhouse to clean my begonia corms and I thought it a good time to speak of my way of planting them in the spring.  It used to be said that you should not bury the corm because of water staying in the hollow crown. Blackmore and Langdon now say it is essential to bury them. The reason for this is that the whole surface if in contact with soil can form roots if left exposed it connot so you get less roots also if it is buried  the compost will draw out any water from the hollow and prevent rotting. I think in my photo you will see the roots are all over the corm. That corm is about 18 years old.
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Thank you for that, Laurie. My Mum got some free this year and I grew them on for her in total ignorance, but the results were lovely.  I've stored the corms in a cool dry place - what's the best time to start them off again?  I can manage most conditions. I'm sorry, I have no idea about the variety, but I assume the treatment is fairly generic.

Starting really depends on what conditions you have and what you want to do with them .I start mine beginning of March in gentle heat, in trays, I find if you do them in individual pots they tend to be stay too wet. I pot them on as they grow, if you plant them outside do not keep them inside too long, I plant in tubs early but with fleece nearby in case of frost. You can see some varieties on my website.

I doubt if I could do better than copy you, exactly! Thanks.

Thank you for the compliment. Happy Christmas and New Year to you.

Laurie, your begonias are fabulous!
Do you have a favourite variety?  I don't think I would be able to choose, they are all so beautiful.

I have never grown this type of begonia, only the small-flowered bedding ones (semperflorens?) for the first time this year.  I was really impressed with them, they flowered all summer until the frost in November.

I think my favourite would be Billy Langdon as it is such a perfect white, I also like one called Zulu which is a very dark velvet red but that one does not overwinter so well. They are Blackmore & Langdon varieites which are quite expensive to buy but you can easily propagate by cuttings once you have them.