SPOTLIGHT ON...

BEGONIAS are sold as dormant tubers roughly from January to the end of March. They come in a range of colours and several different types of flower: the large showy double sorts, fringed fimbriata types and picotees, whose petals have a thin rim of contrasting colour round the edge.

There are also pendula varieties, perfect for hanging baskets.

Plant dormant tubers now in five-inch pots half– filled with a 50:50 mixture of John Innes No 1 and peat–free multipurpose compost.

Press one tuber into the surface of each pot so that only the bottom half is buried, then water just enough to moisten the compost and sit the pots on a windowsill over a radiator. Buds will emerge in a few weeks.

Once the young shoots are an inch or so high, select three of the strongest and rub out the rest.

As the remaining stems grow longer, start topping up the pot with compost, half an inch at a time, over several weeks until it is full almost to the rim. This makes the stems less likely to snap off at the base.

From then on water and feed regularly and gently tie each stem up to a short green split cane with raffia to support the weight of the flowers.

The one must–do tip for spectacular blooms is to nip out the tiny side buds that grow each side of the main flower.