Ask the Master Gardeners

Q: Are tuberous begonias and other begonias the same?

A: In a word, no. But you will see many tuberous begonias in our area because they’re beautiful, they provide much needed color in full shade and they bloom all summer.

They can be upright or trailing, plain or ruffled, single (female) or double (male). (And usually there are two females to every male — just like life).

Tuberous begonias like humidity and we all know the Hudson Valley is good for that. They come in a wide variety of colors and can be grown from seed, but most gardeners prefer to buy the tubers. Select firm, large tubers.

If started indoors, plan on eight weeks before the first frost of the season. Or just purchase established plants at the nursery. They like moist but well-drained soil and are not partial to wind.

Once planted outdoors, watering and fertilizing are the only maintenance required. Be careful that those planted in pots do not dry out. Tuberous begonias are also good to eat. The tubers will not survive the winters in our area and must be brought indoors for a period of dormancy and kept in an area not subject to freeze — about 40 to 50 degrees.

Probably the most common among the thousands of begonia species is the long-blooming Semperflorens or wax begonia. More tolerant of heat than their tuberous cousins, these annuals with round, waxy leaves come in a variety of colors and are very impressive when planted en mass because the individual blooms are not large.

These begonias can be grown in full sun although the plants with bronze foliage do better in the sun than the green-leaved varieties.
— Judith Phillips, New Rochelle master gardener, Cornell Cooperative Extension of Westchester