The FalStaff Begonia

As you might expect, the deep-pink blooms of this vigorous upright plant are robustly luminescent and almost bawdy. 'Falstaff' produces voluptuous, cup-shaped blooms from June through October, up until first frost.

The Tuberous Begonias we offer produce spectacular flowers in a wide range of colors over a long season, and do all this in shade. In the North, tubers should be started indoors in late winter or early spring to bloom by summer. They need well-drained soil, indirect light, and moderate temperatures. Please note: These are not plants for the Deep South or the desert Southwest. For timely planting, we recommend early orders, which start to ship in mid-March. Plant 1 tuber per 7–12in pot.

Common Name: Tuberous Begonia
Exposure: Full Shade, Part Sun
Bloom Time: June-Oct
Height: 24"+ Spacing: 18"
Ships as: Tuber

The FalStaff Begonia Plants well with the following:

Sugar Candy Begonia   Blackmore and Langdon upright variety. A fine clear pink, not the carnival variety at all. Plants are vigorous and very floriferous. The blooms keep coming right up to frost. The hybrid Tuberous Begonias from the world-famous English nursery Blackmore & Langdon are a treasure beyond description. People come hundreds of miles every summer to see our greenhouse display. The plants' luminous colors, huge flower size, exquisite shapes, and long season of bloom put lesser varieties to shame.   Snow Goose Begonia   Frilled blooms of deep, creamy white in perfect, downy layers. This hybrid Tuberous Begonia comes from the world-famous English nursery Blackmore & Langdon, and is a treasure beyond description. People come hundreds of miles in late summer to see our greenhouse display of B&Ls. The plants' luminous colors, flower size, exquisite shapes, and long season of bloom put lesser strains to shame. These varieties are not offered elsewhere in America and almost always sell out. Please order early. Shipped as bareroot tubers, with complete instructions for planting and care. Delivery begins in March.     Sceptre Begonia   Brilliant orange flowers glow against the green leaves. The world's best Tuberous Begonias, bred by Blackmore & Langdon, are a treasure beyond description. People come hundreds of miles to see our display at the nursery in Connecticut. The plants' luminous colors, exquisite shapes, and long season of bloom put lesser strains to shame. These outstanding varieties are not offered elsewhere in America and almost always sell out. Please order early. Supplies limited.

Begonia Fact

Begonia is a large genus of succulent herbs or undershrubs in the family Begoniaceae, with about 900 species in tropical moist climates, in South and Central America, Africa and southern Asia. Many are tuberous. The flowers are usually showy and large, white, pink, scarlet or yellow in colour; they are unisexual, the male containing numerous stamens, the female having a large inferior ovary and two to four branched or twisted stigmas. The fruit is a winged capsule containing numerous minute seeds. The leaves, which are often large and variegated, are unequal-sided.

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Begonia (Tuberous Begonias)

Tuberous Begonias are frost-tender plants that thrive where they receive bright light but little or no direct sun. Given an early start, they put on a glorious display all summer long. We grow our Begonias in pots and hanging baskets, but they can also be planted in the ground (once the danger of frost has passed). Either way, unless you live in a frost-free climate, you must lift and store the tuberous roots in fall to carry the plants through winter.

Starting Tubers in Flats or Pots.
To get a jump on a short season, plant tubers on arrival in flats (shallow containers with drainage holes) or 4-5in pots. The potting mix should have a light texture and be well drained; a soilless mix, mixed 3 to 1 with builder's sand, meets both requirements. Begin by placing potting mix and sand in a plastic tub or bucket. Slowly add water and stir until the mix is moist but not soggy. Put moistened mix in the container, stopping about 1 1/2in shy of the rim. Handling the tubers with care (especially if they have begun to produce new growth, which is very fragile), place them, hollow side up, on top of the potting mix. Space the tubers 2-4in apart in a flat (one tuber per 4-5in pot) and cover them with 1/2in of potting mix. Then water sparingly and place the container in a window that provides bright but indirect light. Keep the potting mix moist but not soggy. To hasten growth, set the container on a heating mat or a radiator (with a few magazines between container and radiator to prevent overheating). Tubers that have not already begun to sprout when you receive them will generally show signs of growth within 2-6 weeks after planting.