Beguiling begonias

All it took was one look at Rodney Wohlgemuth’s begonias and I decided to break my own rule of not buying begonias before May 15.

Wohlgemuth owns Green Oak Gardens, located two kilometres east of Beausejour. The expansive greenhouses are tucked behind a large red barn in a picturesque rural setting with a winding creek and a sweep of mature trees in the background.

On my visit on May 1, the sun’s rays were warm and there wasn’t a hint of wind. I was primed to shop for plants.

Wohlgemuth grows a wide variety including annuals, perennials, shrubs and trees. He especially loves begonias which are displayed throughout the main greenhouse — luscious begonias on plant tables as soon as you step inside the greenhouse, begonias in hanging baskets above you and begonias in beautiful mixed containers on the floor.

The first pièce de résistance were two begonias — Nonstop Mocca Light Pink Shades and Nonstop Joy Mocca Rose, both with large 10-centimetre (that’s four inches), fully double, dreamy flowers and chocolate-brown heart-shaped leaves with serrated edges. The second was Begonia iCandy Vanilla Cream, an entirely new type of begonia that only a handful of garden centres will have available this spring. But now I will stop counting. Let’s linger for a while over these stunning begonia varieties.

Nonstop begonias produce voluminous, multi-petalled flowers which bloom continuously. They have a classic, upright habit which differentiates them from more recent begonia introductions which have a trailing habit. But a notable difference, as well, is that Nonstop begonias have somewhat weaker stems than some other types of begonias. They also will not tolerate being over-watered. “Nonstop begonias like to be grown dry,” says Wohlgemuth.

Eye candy

The new iCandy Begonia Series is from Syngenta Flowers. A new release for 2026, the iCandy series includes five colours — Coral Pink, Inferno, Lemon Yellow, Sunset and Vanilla Cream. This year, Wohlgemuth chose just one colour, Vanilla Cream, which boasts large, creamy double flowers that are impossibly beautiful along with nearly black foliage and strong branching. Pure eye candy. “Allow the soil to dry slightly between waterings,” recommends Wohlgemuth.

Gardeners love Solenia begonias, says Wohlgemuth, because they tolerate both sun and shade. “Everybody thinks of begonias as shade-loving, but Solenia begonias do well in the sun and their blossoms just last and last. They need a bit more water if they are grown in sun, but it’s important to not overwater them.”

A new variety this year is Solenia Red Orange from Dummen Orange. It belongs to the Solenia series of Begonia elatior, more commonly known as Rieger begonia, specifically bred for superior performance in full sun, with high heat tolerance and showy double flowers. Solenia Red Orange is an upright begonia (up to 30 cm tall).

“The other nice thing is that it is self-cleaning, so you don’t have to deadhead,” says Wohlgemuth. “It is also mildew-resistant. Plant it in well-drained soil.”

Wohlgemuth likes to plant three Solenia begonias in a 35-cm container. Why? “Because it’s lower-maintenance,” he says. “The soil in a smaller container dries out more quickly and needs to be watered more often.”

His other bit of advice is to avoid putting begonias outdoors if temperatures are below 8 C. “Begonias will pout for a while if the conditions are not warm enough.”

Wohlgemuth is also growing Move2Joy begonia from Dummen Orange. This recent introduction is a Rieger begonia but with quite a different growth habit than Solenia. Move2Joy begonias have a reduced peduncle length (shortening of the stalk). The double flowers sit very close to the top of the leaves. Last year I grew Move2Joy Hot Pink which I combined with moss, sedum, spider plant and ivy. I was delighted with its heat tolerance and the amazing longevity of the flower clusters. The flowers are smaller than those of NonStop begonias, but they are more plentiful.

Florencio begonias from Syngenta Flowers are a well-branched, interspecific boliviensis-type of begonia with superior heat tolerance. The vibrant, outward-facing flowers are notable for their large, button-like centres of bright-yellow stamens.

Whopper ‘workhorse’

You could call Whopper begonias the workhorses of the begonia family. “The Whopper begonia is our favourite because it is so stunning and grows so huge in a container or hanging basket,” says Wohlgemuth. “Grow it in sun or shade. The leaves on the Whopper begonia are like mirrors; they are so glossy.”

Whopper Salmon with Bronze leaf begonia is a vigorous plant with large seven-centimetre flowers, dark-bronze-coloured foliage and salmon -orange flowers. It grows to 76-86 cm tall and 56 cm wide. It has excellent heat tolerance.

“We also really like Begonia Canary Wings which has bright-chartreuse foliage and bright-red flowers. It needs deep shade, however. It does not like sun at all,” Wohlgemuth says. Both Whopper Salmon and Begonia Canary Wings grow bigger and better as the season progresses.

Dragon wing begonias, though, are even more popular, says Wohlgemuth. He has created several 35-cm baskets with eight plants — four dragon wing begonias, two Marguerite sweet potato vines and two Jade Frost ivy plants. “These are our best sellers because they get so huge,” he says. The baskets sell for $57. “It’s a finished container, just hang it up or take the hanger off and drop it into a container.”

Interestingly, Wohlgemuth likes to combine sun-loving annuals with shade-loving begonias. Some of his favourite fillers for container designs include bacopa and Lysimachia Sunburst which has large round leaves and red stems. “Sun-tolerant plants do fine in the shade. They may not grow as big, but they’ll still thrive,” he says.

He also combines begonias with Silver Cascade Artemisia (Dusty Miller), papyrus, Blue Rush juncus, Mezoo Trailing Red succulent and Lemon Coral sedum. In other words, Wohlgemuth does not believe in limiting creative container designs for begonias to exclusively shade plants. Don’t forget houseplants, too, he says. “Perennials such as coral bells also work very well with begonias.”

Wohlgemuth grew up in the Steinbach area, close to Sunshine Greenhouse. “I converted a playhouse to a retail greenhouse selling bedding and veggie plants when I was 17,” he says. In 1976, he majored in agriculture at the Steinbach Regional Secondary School which had a full-season glass greenhouse. He and his wife, Marg, built Green Oak Gardens in 2001.

“I know the farmers are saying we need the spring showers to get the soil warm,” Wohlgemuth says. “The onset of spring is later, it seems, but the fall season is almost four weeks longer than it was 25 years ago when we started Green Oak Gardens. When I was attending agriculture school, there was often a killing frost by mid-September. Now the growing season lasts until mid-October. Fall has just been marvellous the last five or 10 years.”

Begonias thrive in summer, but they also shine in autumn. One reason is that many gardeners naturally cut back on watering in the fall, so inadvertently give begonias the conditions they crave. Begonias are low-maintenance, easy-care plants — so long as they are not over-watered.

colleenizacharias@gmail.com