Does anyone have experience growing Begonia boliviensis in Florida?
Out of a few seed-grown plantlets last year, I ended up with one plant which held on through the winter. It was doing OK, was about six inches tall with maybe half a dozen leaves. It hadn't yet bloomed, but I was hopeful it would take off this summer. However, a couple weeks ago, it fell apart.
First the leaves dropped, then the stem fell apart into segments. I feared overwatering, so moved the pot into a dry area. Today I was dumping old pots into a tub to reuse the soil. The begonia hadn't resprouted so I figured it had died, so I dumped it as well. There was a large rootball in the dirt, which on closer inspection turned out to be a large and quite healthy tuber. Large, considering the parent plant had only been a single six-inch stem. The tuber was about two inches in diameter and about one inch thick.
It was quite healthy (no soft spots) so of course I replanted the tuber into fresh quick-draining soil.
I've read B. boliviensis can go dormant in winter then regrow in spring. But this is Florida, and a lot of things don't follow northern rules. I've also read B. boliviensis doesn't do well with heat.
So I'm wondering if I have to wait until cool weather for the tuber to sprout, or can I expect regrowth soon?
