Dear Helen: Even though I planted them a bit late, my hanging basket begonias have been wonderfully showy all summer. I need to know how to handle the plants as frosty weather approaches. I’d like to preserve the tubers for planting again next spring.
L.B.
Keeping begonia tubers in good condition over the winter is not difficult. I’ve over-wintered and re-grown the same tubers for around eight years. The main thing is to protect them from hard frost. As temperatures begin dipping close to freezing, I move the baskets up against a house wall, under a broad roof overhang.
I wait to clear away top growth until the stems detach easily at a slight touch. Wrenching them away can damage points of future growth on the tubers.
You can leave the tubers in place, in their baskets, for storage (if you have the room) or you can unpot them, brush away excess soil, and store them in a shallow box, covered in vermiculite. Ideal storage conditions are dry, dark, and frost-free but cool (5 to 10 C.
Check the tubers occasionally over the winter. If they begin to soften, lightly spray-mist the storage medium with water and move the tubers to a cooler location. Start them back into growth indoors in March.
Dear Helen: For the second year in a row, very few female flowers have appeared on my zucchini plants. I’ve had only three fruits from six plants. I tried transferring pollen to the few female blooms, using a cotton swab.
L.W.
In plants that bear both male and female flowers, a batch of male blooms commonly appears first, as a preparatory phase that ensures plenty of pollen is around when female flowers form and open. In growing conditions that are difficult for the plants, they will stay mainly stuck in this preliminary stage.
The most common stress to cause almost exclusively male flowers on zucchini plants is high heat. The effect is made worse in dry conditions. Late planting sometimes leads to the plants’ blooming phase starting as the weather turns hot.
Try planting earlier, in April, in fertile, humus-rich soil. Keep the site modestly but consistently moist. A preferred method of hand pollination is to pick a male flower, remove or pull back the petals, and gently push its pollen-bearing anthers into several female flowers.
I’d also experiment with a few different varieties, such as the ridged Italian Romanesco types, listed in most catalogues, and Middle Eastern zucchini varieties. William Dam Seeds lists Cassia, a good Romanesco zucchini, and Deema, a high-yielding Mid-Eastern variety.
Another one that has been a reliable producer in my garden for many years is Tromboncino (West Coast Seeds), a climbing plant with long fruits holding all the seeds at a small bulbous end. It's a treat too peel and slice.
GARDEN EVENTS
Cuttings and propagation. Dinter’s Nursery, 2205 Phipps Rd. in Duncan, is offering a free, one-hour, drop-in seminar on Cuttings and Plant Propagation on Saturday, Oct. 7, at 10 a.m. dinternursery.ca.
HCP workshops. The Horticulture Centre of the Pacific, 505 Quayle Rd. in Saanich, is offering the following workshops. To register call 250-479-6162. Details hcp.ca.
• Kombucha, Saturday, Oct. 14, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Learn how to brew this healthful tea and take home everything you need for making it at home. Cost for HCP members $25, others $30.
• Willow chair, Sunday, Oct. 15, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Make and take home your own bent willow rustic chair. All tools provided. Members $250, others $275.
Nursery workshops. Russell Nursery, 1370 Wain Rd. in North Saanich, is offering the following workshops. Register by mail at [email protected] and include your phone number. Details at russellnursery.com.
• Tool sharpening with Brian Russell, Saturday, Oct. 14 at 10 a.m. or 1 p.m. Learn how to take apart, clean and sharpen hand pruners and other pruning tools, and how to sharpen shovels and spades. Bring one or two tools to work on. The workshop is free.
• Lasagna gardening with Dave Friend, a.k.a. Mr. Organic, Sunday, Oct. 15, at 10 a.m. The class will construct a lasagna bed and learn how to create a rich, productive soil using common organic ingredients. Cost is $20.