Illumination® Orange (Begonia/tuberous/pelleted)

Long flexible, cascading stems up to 18-24 in/46-61 cm long are crowded with long-lived double 2 in/5 cm orange flowers. Upright when young this profusely branching begonia develops a trailing habit with a lot of flowering shoots as they mature, making spectacular hanging baskets and window boxes. Pkt. contains 50 pellets.

BEGONIA - Tuberous Rooted

Germination temp. is critical.

CULTURE: Sow from Dec. - Jan. 15th for June sales and about Nov. 15th for Mother's Day in 6 in/15 cm pots. Soil temperature and day length (light available) are two critical factors. Production of tuberous begonias from seed is fairly easy if you follow the cultural directions closely. To germinate, you must maintain a constant soil temp. of about 75°F/24°C - a few degrees above or below will reduce germination drastically. Seed is very fine, and can easily be washed away when watering, etc. - so you soil medium or germination medium is very important. We use a mixture of 1/2 Jiffy Mix and 1/2 fine perlite or sand. Firm the surface of the Jiffy Mix so that the particles will not float on top of the seed. Them mark out rows across the flat, about 0.5 in/13 mm wide and 1/8 in/3 mm deep. Broadcast the seed as thinly as possible within that 0.5 in/13 mm wide row. Sprinkle a minute amount of fine sand between the seeds (do not cover seeds) in the row to prevent the seeds from washing out of the row. Keep the flats covered with clear plastic. Check once or twice a day to make sure the surface is damp. Water with a Superfine Fog-it-nozzle. (Small growers can use a Windex atomizer). You should see some signs of germination in 15-30 days. You must have a source of additional light after germination, to lengthen the day to 12 hours or light for 4 or 5 hours in the middle of the night. Unlit seedlings will usually start to form tiny tubers at once. This causes them to become static in leaf growth while they are trying to form the tuber and they slowly die because they do not develop enough leaf surface to feed the tuber. Transplant about 50-60 days after sowing into 6 in/15 cm pots of 4 in/10 cm peat pots.