Cool blooms
Tuberous begonias are one of the few summer bulbs that enjoy shade. These tender plants are some of the longest-flowering and most flamboyant plants for containers.
For an outrageously bright window box or hanging basket, try ‘Inferno’, with dangling flowers in scintillating orange; or trailing ‘Parisienne’, a mix of scented blooms in warm yellow, apricot, pink and red.
✣ Plant tubers in pots in March-April, and keep them warm (18C) until the leaves appear.
✣ Transplant into larger pots and, after hardening off, move them outdoors in May.
✣ They’ll flower June to October/November, and you can store the tubers over winter to replant next year.