East of Scotland Begonia Society

Watering


              This, without doubt, is one of the most important aspects in producing the perfect flower. It is especially so in the early life of the plant. Begonias do not thrive well on a daily watering whether needed or not. In their early life keeping them on the dry side is much better and only watering when required. When the plants have filled their final pots with roots they can benefit from a little more water. At this stage they should not be allowed to dry out too much.

 Growing on    

                Towards the end of May the plants should be ready for the final potting. A seven inch pot will usually suffice for the cutting tubers whether grown as a single stem plant or for a cut bloom. A stake should be inserted after potting and is best placed at the back and parallel to the side of the pot leaning away from the stem. If grown with two stems then two canes will be needed. The leaves on a begonia point towards the direction from whence the buds will come. At this stage it is necessary to keep removing the buds until a fortnight before the bud is taken. This is accomplished by leaving a bud one and one eighth inches across 42 days before the show date. Sometimes one bud is too large and the next one too small. in this case leave both till nearer the show date. If plants are required for greenhouse decoration only, the first two buds on each stem must still be removed as they are never a true indication of what the plant is capable of.

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