‘A wee reminder that this is an imperfect world.’
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Q. Have you ever had hanging basket begonias turn out to be markedly different from what the descriptions and photos promised? Last summer, though some of the flowers were a disappointment, I saved and stored all the tubers, the really lovely ones along with less desirable. Now I’m wondering whether to restart and plant them all in the spring.
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A. This has happened to me only once — a wee reminder that this is an imperfect world.
A few summers ago, when I found a few unexpected and slightly disappointing colours on the begonia plants in the hanging baskets across the front of the house, I inserted new labels next to the original labels that identified the varieties. On the new labels I noted the colour, and a brief comment with my estimation of the quality of the blooms — for example: “beautiful pink and white” or “dingy salmon.”
In the fall, when the plants had died down, I unearthed the tubers and carefully inserted both labels into the storage medium next to their tuber, for easy identification and placement of the plants the following spring.
In the spring, once the tubers had been started into growth, I kept their labels in place as I moved them into small pots for growing into transplant size,
As the weather began warming in the spring and it was time to move the plants outdoors into hanging baskets, I separated out the plants labelled as having produced the beautiful, expected flower colours and planted them in baskets that hang at the front of the house.
The “semi-rejects” still put on a pleasant display of flowers in baskets hung from a structure alongside a path leading into the back garden. Extras were planted in pots and placed on the spiralled platforms of an old wrought iron display stand — a discard from a friend’s house. Positioned at an edge of the back lawn, it has proven useful for potted “extras” among the spring’s flower transplants.