RE: Begonias for baskets

Begonias

Begonias are a commonly used bedding plant that can provide striking color in the landscape throughout the year. The begonia family contains more than 1,300 species and hybrids, many of which are commonly grown as potted foliage plants.

Begonias that do best in the landscape generally fall into three groups: wax begonias, cane or angel-wing begonias, and rhizomatous begonias. Other types like tuberous, Rex, and Rieger begonias prefer cool temperatures and do not usually make reliable landscape plants in Florida, but you can always try them as houseplants.

Wax Begonias
In the landscape, wax begonias (Begonia semperflorens) are most popular, with flowers that keep their rich color, even during the summer. While considered annuals, they can often survive in the landscape for several years. There are numerous single- and double-flowered varieties in shades of red, pink, and white, with either bronze or green foliage. Popular and reliable, wax begonia thrive in sun or shade and perform well in landscape beds or containers. They are tender to the cold, so should be planted in the spring, after the danger of frost has passed.

Cane Begonias
Cane begonias have stiff, upright stems that give them their common name, and produce clusters of dangling flowers in shades of red, orange, pink, or white year-round. Leaves are spotted, banded, or splotched with color, and wing shaped, giving them the once-common name angel wing begonias.

Landscape favorites include ‘Torch’ (red flowers) and ‘Alba’ (ever-blooming white). ‘Sophie Cecile’ is a reluctant bloomer, but its robust, five-foot foliage makes it a landscape standout. For South Florida gardeners these plants provide year-round interest; however, in North Florida they usually die to the ground during the winter.

http://gardeningsolutions.ifas.ufl.edu/plants/ornamentals/begonias.html