Begonias are easy to care for and delight us for a long time with their colorful flowers. However, the plant is very sensitive to frost. So that you still have something of the colorful flowers next year, you can simply overwinter them!
Begonias are uncomplicated and bloom in beautiful colors even in shady places. The plant comes from South America and loves a tropical climate – frost, however, it does not tolerate at all. Even if you could buy them every spring for little money, it is worth to overwinter them. This way your begonias will grow bigger, bushier and get even more flowers every year. You can either overwinter just the tubers or the entire plant in the pot.
Contents
Overwintering begonias – the right preparation
If you want to overwinter begonias from outdoors, water them more sparingly from September. This way the plant dries out and draws its energy reserves back into the bulb. It is quite normal for the leaves to wilt and fall off.
How to overwinter begonia tubers
- Dig up the tubers before the first frost. Cut the plant back to five to ten centimeters and remove all shoots. Clean the tuber of soil and foliage and let it dry for a few days.
- Inspect the tubers for pests or rotten spots. You should remove these before you overwinter the tubers.
- Let the tubers overwinter in a dry, frost-free environment at about eight degrees. Since winter is a resting period for the tubers, they should also be stored in the dark. To do this, you can wrap them in newspaper or place them in a box with dry substrate or sand.
- The tubers need little water and nutrients during the dormant period. To prevent them from rotting, do not water them. However, you should also be careful that the tubers do not dry out. If necessary, moisten them slightly from time to time.
Overwintering begonias in pots
You can also overwinter your begonias in a pot.
- Cut the plant back to about two centimeters.
- You can overwinter the pot in a dark room at about eight degrees.
- Ventilate the room regularly. Make sure that it does not get too cold – begonias do not tolerate frost.
- Keep the plant dry so that the roots do not rot. You do not need to water the begonia in winter. To prevent it from drying out, you can lightly moisten it from time to time – this is quite enough.
Overwintering begonias
Your indoor begonia can stay in your home during the winter. Unlike the outdoor begonia, you do not have to cut it back. However, the indoor begonia also hibernates in the cold months – and needs suitable winter quarters:
- Find the plant a bright location. If the begonia gets too little light, it will lose its leaves. It is normal for it to lose a few leaves during the dormant period. But if it becomes very many, it needs more light. In general, the warmer the room, the brighter the begonia should be.
- Room temperatures between 16 and 18 degrees are ideal. An unheated room – such as your bedroom or a guest room – is suitable for this.
- Begonias do not need much water in winter – therefore you do not have to water them. It is sufficient to moisten them from time to time so that the root tubers do not dry out.
Planting begonias
For a long flowering period you can reactivate your tubers from February. Put them in a planting substrate with the leaf base facing up and place them in a warm, bright spot. Water them regularly – this way the first leaves will sprout after some time. Now you can start fertilizing the plant. After the Ice Saints you can put it outside. The same applies to begonias that have overwintered in pots!