How to Overwinter Begonias

How to Overwinter Begonias

A single word on a begonia label might cause you to miss out on a beautiful bargain: annual.

Most begonias are commonly considered annuals and new starts may even have a tag that describes them as annuals at box stores or local nurseries.

But they are actually perennials grown as annuals. If you keep that in mind and tend to them properly, they’re a reliable source of free bedding plants for future seasons and indoor color in winter.

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Many gardeners trash those Mother’s Day hanging baskets or mass plantings of wax begonias at season’s end at the same time when they’re pulling up zinnias and other summer annuals.

But you know what? You don’t have to.

You may be gardening outside of the areas where begonias are hardy: USDA Zones 9 to 11 for tuberous (B. x tuberhybrida) types, and Zones 10 to 11 for wax (B. x semperflorens-cultorum) varieties.

But you can still bring plants or tubers indoors for the winter in colder areas. Tend them carefully for a few months and you’ll have bedding plants or tuberous starts ready to go in the ground in the spring, with no need to buy new ones.

Another species, the tuberous B. grandis, or hardy begonia, grows as a perennial in USDA Hardiness Zones 6 to 9, so gardeners in parts of the Midwest, Southeast, and Northwest are able to keep this type alive in winter in the ground or in a container.

Winterizing isn’t ordinarily as much of an issue for the rhizomatous and rex begonias grown as houseplants, though you might occasionally see them in the perennial landscape in Florida or other parts of Zones 10 to 11.

You can find more information on caring for