Begonias have gone to bed…

Tuberous begonias can be kept for many years and one that I always grow is Begonia sutherlandii, with its long, slender, trailing stems and small, orange-coloured flowers that are produced all summer. It’s ideal grown as a greenhouse plant or outside in containers over the summer, but as soon as we get some cold nights the plant naturally dies back and needs bringing into the greenhouse for winter. Once the stems have died back, pick over the plant to remove the last of the dead stems and leaves. You can also pick off tiny, round bulbils from the surface of the compost and keep them until spring to grow for new plants.