Tuesday, September 15, 2015

Window box 4: brash and bright begonia



After a few decades of being out of the picture for most gardeners, with the exception of the most traditional, the tuberous begonia has made something of a comeback in recent years. I never liked them I have to honest, but they do well in shade and can brighten up the dullest window ledge. Recently some new small-flowered types have been developed that are more subtle and less like the bright pompons of the older types.



Most begonia's grown as pot plants belong to Begonia x tuberhybrida (Tuberous begonia). On the left one of the new types with large anemone-like flowers in candy pink on short upright stems. In a silvery pot it's almost hip! The best-known type is the overhanging or cascading begonia (middle), that always comes in bright colours like yellow, red, orange and pink. The flowers are mostly double and hang down. The begonia x semperflorens-cultorum -or Wax begonia- lacks the tuber and is grown as a bedding plant, although it is also used in window boxes. These types always have white, pink or red flowers.

No comments:

Post a Comment