| Finally, a Begonia grown just for the garden! Bayou is the best landscaping variety I have ever seen. The pelleted seeds germinate easily, producing sturdy seedlings that demonstrate terrific get-up-and-grow in full to partial shade. Overflowing with large, handsome foliage and big handfuls of blooms, this is the Begonia you MUST treat your beds and borders to at once! The large, deep green leaves with a faintly lighter edge arise up and out all over this 10- to 14-inch-tall plant. In summer they are joined by big nosegays of bright 1-inch pink-and-white blooms. Not only does Bayou grow strong, it fills in quickly and is ready to cover ground in your garden in no time! Unlike many Begonias, which tend to flop a bit after the first flush of bloom, Bayou keeps its vigorous growth and strong, compact plant habit. Spreading just 8 to 10 inches wide, it makes a bold statement at the front of the border or bed. Begonias are such a welcome blast of bright color and tropical-looking foliage (in miniature!) for the shade garden! The scarlet blooms really stand out among the blue and green foliage plants and pastel hues of the shade -- a cheery way to add some accent points to any sized planting. And if you like the look of Bayou Pink Bicolor but would prefer something in red, you've got to try Scarlet! We've also got a mix of pink, rose, scarlet, and white. Begonia Bayou is sold as pelleted seed, which makes sowing a snap! Sow it in the Bio Dome or in a seed flat on top of the soil, since it needs light to germinate. Make sure the soil is moist and its temperature remains above 70 degrees F (if you are sowing in late winter for a spring planting, a heat mat is perfect for this purpose) throughout germination, which takes 2 to 3 weeks. When the seedlings appear, gently apply a mild liquid fertilizer. Six weeks or more after sowing, transplant the seedlings into pots (if grown in seed flats) or, once they have at least two sets of true leaves, into the garden. Pkt is 50 pelleted seeds. |
