I started tiny wax begonia and African violet seeds while in a new tiny town in South Dakota. I used an old terrarium as my grow container in my bright dining room. When we moved away, I had gifted that town full of these blooming plants.
How fun! I've had luck growing wax begonias from seed that I collected and although they take forever, they are well worth it I feel. I collected seed from tuberous begonia this year and will be experimenting with those. The seeds are definitely like dust for all begonia plants. I live in zone 5b and plan to sow my begonia seeds within the next month. 🌻
Hi Amanda, great info! I’m new to all this but I did try starting Lisianthus seeds, after watching your video. My Lisianthus seedling finally came up, but just one. It is very leggy so I put it closer to the grow lights. You have inspired me to start seedlings, but we are now upgraded to zone 8b in North Texas, and with our summers of heat and drought, I’m very nervous about putting these seedlings outside. So many plants just sizzle and fry in my yard, nevermind seedlings. I will keep watching to see how you do it. Thanks for all the tips.
Totally understand … just need to harden off your seedlings before exposing them to the harsh sun … it’s also good to start thinking of our growing seasons as spring and fall … summer isn’t the best for growing in our area.
I am not the biggest fan of wax begonias either, but I tried them in the front beds/containers this year and was happy with how well they bloomed. I even cut them back after summer and they are still blooming now!
Thanks for this video going to try growing them from seeds. I had bought some tubers from easy to grow bulbs but they didn’t do good for me some of them looked rotted and old when I got them. They gave me a hard when I tried to reach out and explain to them that they weren’t good from the start. I have only two that made it out of like 15 but no flowers
Begonias are sooooo slow and stay tiny forever!!! Good luck! You have some beautiful varieties. I'm not sure I'd try begonias again as it was so hard to have them taking that long and taking space on my indoor sowing shelves.
Are you keeping the begonias under grow lights until planted outdoors? I started tuberous begonias about a month and a half ago and they are still minuscule, not sure if they should be a little further along.
Hi there! Okay, as soon as I started fertilizing my to tiny begonias and then potted them up, they took off and got big! Yes, I kept then under the grow lights for 14hours a day until I brought them outside/
How are your begonias doing? I was going to give up because I have no growth after 24 days. I guess I need to be more patient. I got several package from swallowtail as well. Hoping they come up soon!
I had about 10% germinate … I ended up with only 8 plants out of all of those I started …. However I am thrilled with the 8 because they are big lush and beautiful!
I just noticed that my zip code here in Southwest Oklahoma has gone from zone 7b to 8a. I’m going to keep following the “old” zone and see what happens.
Hi Amanda, How do you find these Begonias in the hot sun,like you I have extremely hot summers but I do have a place I could keep Begonias out of the sun but they would still feel the heat. Can they handle the heat? 😊
@@shesamadgardener thanks Amanda, I’ll try them in shade and see how they do, like you I’m not keen on wax begonias and the last time I had them they didn’t do well at all. 😊
