Do Begonias Come Back Every Year?

Watching the begonias, especially when they are full of flowers, is really great, isn’t it? But will the begonia bloom again? Will it come back again? I was curious about all these (just like you may be right now), so I researched, and here’s what I got.

Do begonias come back every year? No, begonias don’t come back every year because they are annuals. Plants that complete their life cycle in one growing season and die, are called annuals. However, you can replant them every year typically in the mid-spring.

Generally, there are two types of begonias. Those growing from seeds and those growing from tubers or bulbs.

Seed begonias are typically smaller and can be difficult to grow. Whereas the bulb begonias are larger, studier as well as easy to grow.

How Do I Keep My Begonias for Next Year?

As begonias are annuals, they complete their life cycle and die within one year. However, their bulbs or tubers can be saved and replanted in upcoming years. So you can start harvesting the bulbs or start the cuttings in the mid-spring season.

Tips To Grow Begonias from Tubers

What happens is, when the cold weather starts the begonia dies. So, if you are unaware of the importance of the tuber you may just throw it. But if you want the flowers to bloom again in the next year, then please don’t do that.

Instead, start saving and collecting the tubers to replant in the upcoming spring and thus enjoying its beautiful blooms.

So, here’s what you can do to save your begonia tubers:

Before frost comes, remove your begonia from the pot and then cut back most of the top of the plant. However, do keep the ball of the roots and the soil as it is.

Now place that in a dry cool area and allow the tubers to cure themselves.

After they have got enough time to get cured, remove the soil and root or stalks. Remember that if any root or stalk remains then it can cause rot which can later even spread to the tuber. So, make sure to remove them properly.

You can put the tubers on screen trays or use any other insulating material like dry peat, sawdust sand to pack them.

After that, place the tubers in a dry, dark and cold area.

Then, when the spring comes, try putting the tubers in dry peat moss in a warm environment. When you see the tuber growing and the roots and top parts start appearing, you can just sift and plant them in a pot that has good quality well-drained soil.

You can also bring the pot when the suitable climate occurs (the threat of frost has passed).

Thus, in this way, although you can’t keep the begonia plant itself for the next year (since it is an annual) you can keep its part, the tuber. And from that, you can grow a begonia again in the next year by planting it.

Tips To Grow Begonias from Cutting

Propagating and growing begonias from cuttings is also quite easy and simple. You can just take the cutting from anywhere of the begonia plant and insert it in the loose soil or just cocopeat.

You can insert the cutting to about 1 inch in depth. The stem retains a lot of moisture similar to any succulent plant cuttings and roots.

Do make sure to not overwater them. Overwatering the begonia is harmful and can cause root rot. So as a general rule of thumb, water only when the upper part of the soil (roughly 1 inch) becomes dry.

Give adequate bright but indirect sunlight and choose the location of the begonia accordingly.

Conclusion

So, I hope now you have a clear idea of whether or not begonias come back every year. And how to grow begonias from the tubers/cuttings for the next year. Hope all of your doubts are cleared. Thanks!