Re: Begonia from seed

At 09:46 AM 10/11/98 -0400, Sonnie Croft wrote:
>How come I never can get begonia seeds collected from my own plants to
>germinate ?  I have had good success growing these from purchased seeds,
>but I've never been able to germinate seeds I collect from the growing
>plants.  The Begonias are not hybrids, just regular fibrous type and,
>specifically, B. partitas.  Any hints or suggestions ?
>
>Sonnie Croft

Sonnie, 
         It sounds as though the seeds you are collecting are not viable.
Begonia seeds are so small it is hard to see if they look fertile, but you
can test your seeds by the "40 degree roll test".  Crease a piece of plain
white paper in the middle and place your seeds in the crease.  Tilt the
paper 40 degrees and the viable seeds will roll smoothly (because they are
round) while the others will sort of bump along (because they are
irregularly shaped). I check my Begonia seeds under a magnifying lamp
attached to my drafting board.
         When you say "regular fibrous type", are you referring to
sempervirens (the so-called wax begonias) or the rhizomatous/rex begonias?
It's pretty hard to get a semp that isn't a hybrid and many of them are
sterile due to incomplete flower parts.
         Partita is a semi-tuberous species begonia and should germinate
readily if the seed is viable. However, although many species Begonias will
self pollinate, many must have cross pollination to produce seed. I would
refer you to the American Begonia Society discussion list for further
information, but sadly the list has been closed due to very unfortunate
circumstance. 
        There is a web page in progress however, with lots of good
information about Begonias. Marilyn 
Marilyn Dube'
NATURAL DESIGN PLANTS
Hardy Perennials, Choice Tropicals
Portland, Oregon,  Zone 8b
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