Garden Guru: The glorious Solenia begonias withstand the heat, thrive in mixed container gardens

Norman Winter
·4 min read
Solenia begonias known as Rieger begonias open up a new world of art and elegance to the mixed container. Here Solenia Chocolate Orange looks like an old-world painting with its large rose shaped blossoms.
Solenia begonias known as Rieger begonias open up a new world of art and elegance to the mixed container. Here Solenia Chocolate Orange looks like an old-world painting with its large rose shaped blossoms.

By the time you read this, the Garden Guy will be zooming past the 100-day mark with his begonias. You may think that is nothing special, but your perspective is the determining factor. State College PA, home of Penn State University, has a growing season of just over 150 days, so I look to have a begonia homerun from that comparison. But in Columbus, Georgia, our growing season is 100 days longer, so you see what I mean about perspective.

I'm also talking Rieger begonias, or botanically speaking Begonia x hiemalis ― I’ll chase that rabbit in a minute.

When Proven Winners tossed some Solenia begonias my way to trial, I was beyond skeptical after seeing how they grew in the Pacific Northwest and in photos taken on Mackinac Island, Michigan. But we're in West Georgia, where we do heat in a big way.

While I might have had a bountiful amount of skepticism, I also knew if they worked, my garden would be home to some of the most beautiful blossoms in the world. My mission impossible began with Solenia Chocolate Orange, Yellow, and a rich Apricot ― the rarest color in the world of gardening.

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The rabbit chase

Now for a little rabbit chasing. When you do the obvious Google search, you will see scholarly articles that say Rieger begonias bloom during the winter with dainty flowers. Mine were planted in early April and have huge 3-inch flowers that look for all the world like roses. But you will see Rieger, Hiemalis and Elatior all used and soon, you get that feeling of being in Taxonomy Class and your breathing starts to get rapid.

This is where I go back to Penn State and their flower trials. They did two trials with the Solenia Apricot, one in the sun and one in the shade. While the trials in the sun showed excellent and good performance reviews the one in shade was very good to excellent. They rated four times, and the sun score was 4.5 out of 5 and the shade score was 4.78 out of 5.

Solenia Chocolate Orange begonia has dark bronze leaves and large 3-inch blooms. Here it is paired with Supertunia Persimmon petunia, Unplugged So Blue salvia and Supertunia Mini Vista Yellow petunia.
Solenia Chocolate Orange begonia has dark bronze leaves and large 3-inch blooms. Here it is paired with Supertunia Persimmon petunia, Unplugged So Blue salvia and Supertunia Mini Vista Yellow petunia.

Planting your very own Monet-type garden

All of my Solenia begonias were planted in containers with the very best potting soil. I have more sun starting in the spring and somewhat diminishing as we move toward the middle of summer. Since they are in mixed containers they get watered daily and fertilized with a water-soluble fertilizer every two weeks. They did get about 12-inches tall with a 12-inch spread that elegantly tumbles off the rim of the container.

Everyday when I look at these begonias, it is a Garden Guy love fest. I have Surefire Cherry Cordial and Surefire Red planted in the ground, but the Solenia begonias in containers give the feeling of having a Rembrandt or Monet-type plant in the garden.

I have three turquoise tall planters staggered on the side of a slope in my backyard and immediately knew they would be the home of the Solenia Apricot plants. I used Queen Tut papyrus in the center and Superbena Whiteout, Superbena Cobalt and Supertunia Mini Vista Ultramarine petunia as companions.

Solenia Apricot shows the dreamy potential when combined with the new Supertunia Mini Vista Ultramarine petunia.
Solenia Apricot shows the dreamy potential when combined with the new Supertunia Mini Vista Ultramarine petunia.

The containers with the Solenia Chocolate Orange were more bowl shaped and had Supertunia Persimmon petunia and Superbells Grape Punch calibrachoas as partners. As my sunlight diminishes it is to the benefit of the Solenia begonias but becomes a challenge to the Supertunias, Superbells and Superbenas.

This coincides well however, to the summer cutting back which usually keeps them alive until the shifting sun returns for fall and winter. Since the containers look thin from the standpoint of color after cutting back, I usually drop in a quart-sized caladium as a new partner for the rest of summer. This year the caladium I used was Heart to Heart Flatter Me which paired well with the orange-red of the begonia blossoms.

I split the Solenia Yellow begonias with my neighbors, Dave and Cynthia. Their container was a grand slam with Superbells Yellow calibrachoa, the new Supertunia Hoopla Vivid Orchid petunia and Augusta Laender heliotrope as companions.

The Garden Guy’s neighbors Dave and Cynthia created this container with Solenia Yellow begonia, Superbells Yellow calibrachoa, Supertunia Hoopla Vivid Orchid petunia and Augusta Lavender heliotrope.
The Garden Guy’s neighbors Dave and Cynthia created this container with Solenia Yellow begonia, Superbells Yellow calibrachoa, Supertunia Hoopla Vivid Orchid petunia and Augusta Lavender heliotrope.

The Solenia begonia trials at The Garden Guy’s house have already exceeded all expectations, and I am past 100 days and they are still going. There is a new, wonderful begonia world opening up. Proven Winners will be adding Solenia Scarlet in 2024, and I can’t wait to get my hands on them.

Follow Norman Winter on Facebook @NormanWinterTheGardenGuy for more photos and garden inspiration. See more columns by Norman at SavannahNow.com/lifestyle/home-garden/.

This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: Garden Guru: Plant a Monet-style garden with Solenia begonias