• Skip to main content
  • Skip to footer
  • Garden design
  • Container gardening
  • Food to grow
  • Gardens to visit
  • Events for gardeners
Garden Making

Garden Making

Inspiring ideas and information for great home gardens

Home » How to store tuberous begonias for the winter

How to store tuberous begonias for the winter

By Dugald Cameron Filed Under: How to, October in the Garden

Potted Begonia waking up in late winter
Potted Begonia waking up in late winter (Photo by Dugald Cameron)

It seems a shame, but tuberous begonias are often flowering at their best in late summer, just when it’s time to bring them indoors. Like most bulbs, tuberous begonias need a period of dormancy – several months where it’s dry, dark and cool. My bulbs spend the winter in a dark corner of our basement. I discovered my storage trick by trial and error over the many, many years I’ve enjoyed these amazingly floriferous plants. It’s actually super simple.

It’s best if they first get nipped by frost. Wilted foliage is fine, but the the most important thing is to not let them freeze. Better to bring them in a little early. This tells the tubers it’s time to go dormant.

Be gentle with them at this time of year as their fragile, water-filled stems and swollen tubers are easily damaged. Begonia tubers have thin skins and a tiny nick or scrape can become an entry point for infection that will rot your tuber; minimal handling is best. Bring them inside, pot and all, if they’re potted. If you planted them in the garden, leave as much of the root ball as you can manage. Cut the plants back a bit if they’re huge, but try to leave as much growth as you can.

Leave potted begonias in their pots. Those planted in the garden can be carefully cleaned of their surrounding soil and stored in dry vermiculite, sawdust or peat moss in open paper bags. A cool, dark spot is best. Now you let them dry out, and then remove the stem and foliage. By leaving your tuber unmolested, it can dry (ripen) slowly, forming the thicker skin that helps it retain the moisture it’ll need when it begins to sprout again.

Our modern, thermally efficient accommodations tend to be extremely dry in winter. Indoor humidity varies so check on your tubers from time to time. Give your potted tubers a bit of water if they’re starting to shrivel. Bagged tubers can be removed from their bags (media and all) and given a light misting of water.

Another good reason for these checkups is that your begonias may well start to wake up in February or March which is a good thing. I’ve all too often heard sad stories from begonia lovers with neglected tubers that have grown tall, thin white stems while in storage. This won’t kill them, but will give a poor performance that summer. An early awakening tuber can be restarted early indoors. Remember, with tuberous begonias, the earlier they start the sooner they’ll commence their superb, summer-long display. Besides, aren’t we all dying to get something growing in the depths of winter?

By now some of you may be wondering if this is worth all the bother. Well, you’ll know if your begonias were properly grown if the tuber is larger at the end of the season than when you started. If not, then they were missing something they need. An important lesson that, if acted upon, will make you a better gardener. If it has grown bigger it may be big enough to divide into two. Even an undivided tuber will produce a larger plant with more flowers. Like potatoes, begonias grow from tubers, can be divided provided each piece has an “eye”.    

More on tuberous begonias

  • Starting tuberous begonias
  • Growing tuberous begonias

 

Print Friendly, PDF & Email
Share this article

Published: October 7, 2015 | Updated: October 8, 2018

About Dugald Cameron

Dugald Cameron is a horticultural consultant based in Toronto. For 32 years until December 2014, he owned and operated the Gardenimport mail-order nursery.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Jennifer Wingate says

    October 8, 2015 at 4:35 pm

    Great to see the articles by Dugald Cameron, a good deal of very useful information was given in the article about peonies so I was glad to see the new one on begonias. Dugald is a clear, practical writer so even though we cannot enjoy his bulbs etc. he is an excellent source of garden ideas and advice – a credit to your magazine. JW

    Reply
  2. Karen says

    October 8, 2015 at 1:32 pm

    What fantastic advice. I have been growing and storing begonia for years but had no idea you could divide the larger tubers. Thank you!

    Reply
    • Jane says

      October 27, 2015 at 10:25 pm

      Thank you for the good information on tuberous begonias.

      Now can we learn how to store fibrous begonias. please. Thanks, Jane

      Reply
      • Dugald Cameron says

        October 28, 2015 at 11:11 am

        Hi Sulta:

        Fibrous begonias don’t grow from tubers. As their name suggests, they’re fibrous rooted. They’re most often treated as annuals that can easily be grown from seed indoors in early winter.

        Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Footer

Garden Making website

explore

  • Books for gardeners
  • Containers in your garden
  • Events for gardeners
  • Food to grow
  • Garden design
  • Gardens to visit
  • Growing from seed
  • How to
  • Plant ideas
  • Prizes for readers
  • Tips for gardeners

Members

  • Member login
  • Register for free membership
  • Manage your email preferences
  • Add your event listing
  • View events you’ve submitted
  • Backup form to submit event

Events for gardeners

May 9
7:00 pm - 9:00 pm

For the Love of Bees

Organizer: Georgina-Brock Garden Club
(905) 722-9569
May 9
7:30 pm - 9:00 pm

Succulent Gardening for Beginners and more with the Shannon Sisters!

Organizer: Oakville Horticultural Society
May 10
6:00 pm - 9:00 pm

Woodstock Plant Auction & Geranium Sale

Organizer: Woodstock Horticultural Society
519-533-0356
May 10
7:00 pm - 9:00 pm

Melanie Kramer talks about Top Native Plants for your Yard

Organizer: Orangeville and District Horticultural Society
May 11
7:00 pm - 9:00 pm

May meeting: How to keep your soil healthy & how to have happy container plants

Organizer: Beaconsfield Garden Club
View Calendar

Get email updates

Join 9,717 gardeners who get our email updates. We do not share emails.

Check your inbox or spam folder to confirm your subscription.

Copyright © 2022 Inspiring Media Inc. | GARDEN MAKING is a registered trademark | About | Service | Terms of use | Privacy policy