Begonia Planting
I have to share my hubby's secret trick that his mom once taught him to always having a pretty front yard: it's the boring old ugly begonia planting day.
Years ago when we were first married we lived on a tee-tiny budget, but always loved pretty front yards. Like, we adore them more than almost anything else in our home.
On a Sunday afternoon, you'll likely find us hunting down a local nursery, because checking out new plants is our absolute favorite thing to do. Our kids have grown up meandering the aisles of every nearby garden center, because it's free to look, and we both just love hunting down the perfect plant for the perfect place.
But beautiful yards aren't always all that penny-pinched. So early on we focused on plants that didn't cost much, but packed a powerful punch.
Enter the beloved begonia.
Now, if you look closely at just one on its own, it's kind of an ugly little plant.
In fact, the dark-leaved begonias are extra not-so-pretty by themselves.
But plant these little begonias in a row right together, water them occasionally when it gets warm outside, and goodness, what a happy landscape border you'll create.
(Isn't it funny how even our plants grow prettier when they grow up together in community? I'm thinking there's a lesson there . . . but I'll leave it just at that.)
The best part?
If you find a flat full of begonias right now, you can transform your yard on the cheap.
A 36-pack cell pack of begonias early in Spring will cost you $12.99-$16.99.
Wait a few more weeks though, and the nurseries will let theirs grow up, and charge you 2-3 times as much.
So word to the wise? Pick up your begonias (and any other annuals you just love!) early in the Spring.
How to Plant Begonias?
I'm so glad you asked!
Planting begonias is easy, just dig a 2″ deep hole, and plop that sucker right on in. If your plant has been at the nursery long (or it's later in the season), loosen up the soil a bit to break up the roots from wrapping around themselves. (You can tell if you need to break up the roots as they'll be running on top of each other making a spider web formation.) But, if it's early in Spring (like when we planted this weekend), you can just drop your begonia right in.
Depending on where you live, you may want to wait on planting your begonia until later in the Spring. When we lived in Alabama we planted mid-March, in Kentucky we planted in mid April, and in Ohio we tried to wait until Derby Day (the first weekend in May). If you're not sure when to plant, ask your local nursery to be sure, but the general rule of thumb is to wait until after your last frost.
Begonia Care
Begonias grow best in warm sunny areas with well-drained soil. The soil we have here in Ohio is pretty good gardening soil, but we've planted these in our Alabama clay soil, and they thrived there as well! Water them twice a week if you don't get much rain, less if you do. Wait for the soil to dry out before re-watering. We use Miracle Gro plant food 1-2 times per month to help them really take off – we just order ours here!
Spacing
We space ours with about 6-7″ between each plant, and over the summer one row completely fills in and creates the perfect edging. We don't measure, instead we just dig holes about a hands-width apart. One thing that helps is mulching – it keeps the soil from drying out as quickly and keeps weed growth down.
In just a few weeks your plants will begin to fill in, and by the end of the summer you might just be the envy of the block.
Do Begonias Like Sun?
Well, it depends. Our begonias do best where they get plenty of sun ~ but there are some varieties that do well in shade too. If you choose a dark-leaved begonia (like the Bada Boom Rose that we chose this year), it'll do great in full sun. (You can tell ~ the leaves are just on the darker side.) But, if you have a more shady area and want to try begonias out try out a lighter leafed begonia and you should be fine.
Do Deer Eat Begonias?
NO!!! THANK HEAVENS!
Deer do not eat begonias, which is the happiest little gift ever in our front yard. Where we live we have so many deer. We've struggled to keep almost any plant safe from the deer, but these hardly little begonias make it every single year.
Are Begonias perennials (and will they come back?)
Wax Begonias aren't perennials, and won't come back again next year outdoors. They can't handle a frost, so be sure to wait and plant them after the last winter frost.
(Um, we're a little worried that we planted these too soon because we may get a frost this weekend, but will tuck them in at night with a blanket if we need to!)
Tuberous begonias are hardier and the tubers can survive a mild winter if covered. Or you can winter indoors if you want to bring them back – you'll need to dig them out and replant inside.
Garden Supplies We Love:
Book: Easy Gardens of the South
Book: Any of the Sunset Landscaping Books
Begonia Propagation
Although I've never tried this, I've been told that you can take cuttings from a begonia and stick them in the ground and new roots will begin to grow!
You will want to try and cut right under a node that hasn't flowered. Choose stems that haven't grown woody and fibrous yet. You can also take a clipping and place on a glass of water and it will eventually grow roots. Reader Kate shares that you can even kick it up a notch by placing a little bit of indoor plant stick fertilizer from miracle grow in that water.
Find out more about how to propagate different species of begonias from leaves, roots and stems here!
Other Summer Annuals
We have tried oodles of other bedding plants in our front yard.
Impatiens. (They need way too much watering and sooooo little sun. They get leggy. And are just in general kind of temperamental little plants to deal with in many yards.)
Petunias. (We love a solid purple wave petunia and they work well in larger spaces. But good gravy, they're just about the most expensive annual you can find because they're rarely sold in single cell packs.)
Marigolds (I want to love them really, but just can't). And vinca (they get leggy too). So year after year we come back to these.
You can try whatever else you like, but I promise you'll come every time back for these.
(And I know, I know . . . perennials are the tried-and-true-penny-pinched way to go, but I adore these as border along our front beds. They just brighten up my mood every single day from May until almost October, so they're worth it for me!)
Next up in our garden series? Ferns (and how my smart hubby created this genius watering system). I've promised for years to have James write up this tutorial for you, so I promise it's next on the list ~ keep watching!
Here's a peek at a few other things I'm loving in our yard right now . . .
Our 3 Kwanzan Cherry Trees are all in bloom right by my office window and I simply adore them.
Our hostas are beginning to fill back in.
The viburnum bushes (the small flowering bush in the back), smell simply delicious right now.
And this cute girl of mine is growing right up too.
I hope you take time to get outside and enjoy your garden this week ~ praying a beautiful (sunny!) day for you!
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I planted begonias this year as a boarder and they did not do well at all. I’m now beginning to think that I watered them too much. We have a sprinkler system that runs 3Xs a week but I was watering my flower beds everyday. I did everything you described but didn’t feed enough and I think I watered too much.
I was just about to plant some begonias for the first time, but I was going to put the black plastic between the dirt and the mulch. Is that a bad idea to put the plastic on there? Will that affect the fullness later?
Hi Pella! No – that’s a great idea, just cut holes to put the begonias in so they get plenty of good soil. Your plants will look great, and you’ll keep the bed weed free!
Love the garden content!! Keep it coming !
Thank you for this post. I have not had any luck with annuals in my flower beds in front of the house…. early morning and late afternoon hot sun. Most things wilt or the birds eat them (zinnias). So I bought a flat from Walmart this week. Thankfully, I did not plant them in this cool Ohio weather…. they are tucked under blankets at night. You have a beautiful garden. I have enjoyed your decorating posts too. You have an eye for decorating and gardening that I do not have. I appreciate you sharing this!
Your Begonias are beautiful !! Question, how about maintenance to them to keep them blooming….need to do dead heading regularly?
I love your instructions because so many neighbors say “oh it’s so easy, just plant this and that.” But I literally don’t know how deep, how many inches apart, how many rows, etc. I need the basics! Can you give tips in fall on what to do w annuals-ie- do you cut hostas back and do you remove all these begonias after Fall? I am a true novice! Also would love tips on planting multiple types like you have in your garden beds- such pretty varying height levels and colors!
Thank you!
I’ve never tried the begonia because I’ve not paid attention to what they become later in season. These are beautiful as your border, Laurie. I’ll have to try a few out now lol What part of AL did y’all live in? I’m half way between Mobile and Montgomery.
On the begonias… did you plant just a single row or an alternating second row? They look beautiful in your flower beds!
A single row – they’re so easy Casey and it’s crazy how big each one gets. You won’t believe it until you see it!
Beautiful yard! Thank you for the tips. Here is the rule of thumb for Ohio….wait to plant annuals until AFTER Mother’s Day!
Thank you Pat! And goodness, I’m a little worried that we planted so soon – we usually wait but were just itching to be out in the sunshine! Crossing my fingers… if not we’ll be sure to cover them!
I’ve never been happy with our landscaping, we try to add plants here and there, but the area is so big, they just get lost in a bunch of mulch. I’m going to try your trick with the begonias…my husband loves color! The virburnum mention is a coincidence too, we drove by a house earlier today and he exclaimed how big those shrubs with the “big, white balls” on them had gotten, but we didn’t know what they were. Knowing that they smell good too is just what I need to start searching for a couple!! Thanks for these tips!!
Yes – you will LOVE the viburnum! 🙂 And, we’ve tried adding just a few plants here or there, but there’s nothing like a group together to make them really fill in. Hope that helps and that it works for you!
Yikes! I’m nervous for your little plants too- I don’t think frost free is for a couple more weeks in Ohio! Fingers crossed for you!
Wow-I can’t believe that begonia border is just one row– I’m going to try it this year around the base of our deck. I’m also interested in your fern plans and watering tutorial! Thanks!
I know Beth – I’m a little worried for them too! But we’ll cover them for sure this weekend if we need to – after being stuck inside we just couldn’t help ourselves!
The fern tutorial is AMAZING – I promise it’s coming soon! 🙂 🙂 🙂
Can you please share what the other plants you have in your front yard along with your
Begonias. Thank you so much for your gardening ideas. Love them
Hi Debbie! Goodness, we have so many other things in the front yard, but a few of my favorites include hostas, hydrangeas, viburnum and a Japanese maple. Hope that helps a bit! 🙂
These are so beautiful! So I went and bought some and they came in a packs of 6. Do I plant all six of them together like the tag says or break them up and plant one single one in each hole?
Hi Jeanae! Definitely separate into each pack (each one is a plant, so you’ve got 6 plants!) Plant about 6-7″ apart, give them water and sunshine and watch them grow! 🙂
We just moved from So California to our dream home in Prescott, AZ! THE cutest town!
As we are 5,000 feet above sea level we don’t get the heat like normal Arizonans do! Thank heavens!
I am going to check out the begonia situation as I always had some for borders in my home before…
Thanks and your home and. Yard are beautiful!
Diana
I’m betting they would do so well there – they just work so well almost everywhere I’ve seen them planted! Enjoy your new home – it sounds lovely!
Super helpful! I’m going to try it as I’m a novice gardener.
I hope it works well for you Karen! 🙂 I think you’ll love them!!!
Laurie,
Your yard is beautiful! (Loved your post from this weekend). Do you regularly fertilize your begonias throughout the summer? If so, what product do you use?
Hi Patti! We use Miracle Gro every few weeks – it works so great! Hope that helps (thank you for taking the time to comment!) 🙂
I recently found these too a few years ago Laurie! but I remembered after awhile that my grandma had them in the house blooming; hers I believe in east window on her sofa table and or around the rooms. So I brought some in to save over the winter and see..low and behold they continue to surprise me as I put them in my kitchen window facing south and they bloom all winter long making an Iowa winter feel just a bit better 🙂 I sometimes need to freshen up the pot with one or two. I also have similar luck with geraniums or ivy geraniums thanks to my grandma.
I love that Julie – thankful for sharing! And goodness, geraniums are my favorite – I’m going to try that!
Thanks, your yard is beautiful, I love the easy gardening tips and tricks to, I need to try them!
They look beautiful!! How many rows do you do for them to be that full?
Just one row does all that Alecia – it’s crazy how well they grow!
Awesome, great tips! Thank you! One of my closest friends in San Antonio when I lived there taught me to also buy hanging plants and if you want the abundance of more they always have several plants in them you can sub-divide them for your pots etc..,
Thanks for sharing
What a great tip Stacy! So smart!!!
Beautiful! Yes, please keep the garden series coming! I am a wanna-be gardener 🙂 The books are so overwhelming, so any tips and tricks would be awesome, thank you!
Thanks for taking the time to comment Nicky! We ONLY do easy gardening stuff at our house but have a few tricks that make life so much easier. I told my hubby it’s time to get them all posted (because after doing jillions of DIY projects that feel like work, I love that these are just what we like to do best!) 🙂