Begonias - newbie question

GDB2222

I've never been green-fingered, so please forgive me asking a pretty basic question!

I planted a couple of begonias in a window box, and they trailed over the side, making a splendid show. They have now started to wither away, They have stopped blooming, and bits are falling off. 

Should I now pull the remains up and stick them on the compost heap, or can the plants survive the winter?

KajiKita

Hi GDB 😊

Begonias are frost tender so the recent cold weather has killed the top growth. However, they might be recoverable for next year. To find out, gently cut off the top growth and dig up the corms. If they are squashy and mushy - no good, off to the compost heap with them. If they are still quite firm, clean them off, dry them out for a few days and then wrap in newspaper or store them in dryish multi purpose compost ready for next spring. 

KK

Farway

If they are suitable for storing away, check them first for vine weevil grubs, small white maggot looking, these will cheerfully eat your corms over winter

GDB2222

I'm terribly sorry, but I'm not quite sure what a corm is!  I clipped off the foliage, and dug up what I could. Here are a couple of photos. Are these corms?

KajiKita

Yes, they are. 

Give them a really good wash, (dunk them in a washing up bowl of water that you can then throw on the garden) so you can check for vine weevil grubs as per Farway’s comment and any squidgy bits and then leave them to dry for a day or two, somewhere well ventilated but coolish. 

KK

PS - are you sure they are Begonia? From the little I can see of them, they look a bit more like a dahlia tuber? 

35har1old

Farway said:

If they are suitable for storing away, check them first for vine weevil grubs, small white maggot looking, these will cheerfully eat your corms over winter

Have had a begonia which must be 7 years old and has never been lifted and stored it may have been repotted just to liven up the compost now are again
At 54% North

KajiKita

35har1old said:

Farway said:

If they are suitable for storing away, check them first for vine weevil grubs, small white maggot looking, these will cheerfully eat your corms over winter

Have had a begonia which must be 7 years old and has never been lifted and stored it may have been repotted just to liven up the compost now are again
At 54% North

I tried that - worked for the first year and then last year’s -10 blasting week did for them ☹️

KK

YoungBlueEyes

A corm is the thing you bury that the plant then grows from, like a bulb. 

Gotta say I don't think they're begonias either. Mine finished flowering and went all dark and squishy so I fished them out of their pots and binned them. They didn't look anything like that. I'm not an expert mind. 

Edit - could you give them a wash and then take another picture?

GDB2222

I'm pretty sure the garden centre sold them as hanging begonias. But ...  They gave a fabulous display of bright red blooms - lots of them, hanging down over the edge of the window box.    Does it make a lot of difference to their care whether they are dahlias or begonias?

I'll wash them, inspect them, and dry them as you advised. 

KajiKita

GDB2222 said:

I'm pretty sure the garden centre sold them as hanging begonias. But ...  They gave a fabulous display of bright red blooms - lots of them, hanging down over the edge of the window box.    Does it make a lot of difference to their care whether they are dahlias or begonias?

I'll wash them, inspect them, and dry them as you advised. 

No it doesn’t make much difference at all 😊
Not so newbie as you think 😉😊

KK

Eldi_Dos

35har1old said:

Farway said:

If they are suitable for storing away, check them first for vine weevil grubs, small white maggot looking, these will cheerfully eat your corms over winter

At 54% North

Thanks to Energy Forum this morning I now know it is 54 alt 0176 North.
Every day is a school day on these forums.