Begonia × tuberhybrida Nonstop® Scarlet - Hybrid tuberous begonia

Begonia Nonstop® ‘Scarlet’ is a scarlet red tuberous begonia from the Nonstop® series, renowned for its double flowers and continuous flowering. It is compact, ideal for decorating pots, hanging baskets, and shaded borders. Its flowers resemble small red roses, enlivening the garden or patio until the first frosts.

Belonging to the Begoniaceae family, this cultivar is classified in the horticultural group of Tuberhybrida, a group that brings together tuberous begonias. It belongs to the Nonstop® series created and improved by Benary to obtain compact, very floriferous, and early plants; within this series, ‘Scarlet’ corresponds to the selection with bright red flowers on green foliage, different from the sub-series Nonstop® Mocca characterised by chocolate brown foliage.
The plant forms a small, bushy, dense, naturally branched clump and grows very quickly during the growing season. It reaches 20 to 30 cm in height with a spread of 25 to 35 cm. Its flattened, brown tuber produces several shoots in spring. The stems are fleshy, smooth and green with short internodes; the deciduous foliage is composed of asymmetrical ovate to heart shaped, 8 to 15 cm long, bright green leaves, with fan-veined patterns and finely toothed margins. From June to October, flowers appear in clusters: the double male flowers are larger than the female flowers, reaching 7 to 8 cm in diameter. They are filled with overlapping very bright red tepals. At the end of the season, the foliage yellows; the tuber enters dormancy.

Begonia Nonstop® ‘Scarlet’ flowers in shade but will benefit from a few hours of sunlight per day. It appreciates light, organically rich soils that do not retain moisture. It can be grown in pots or containers, but also in open ground after the last frosts. In this case, the tubers must be lifted at the end of flowering and stored in a sheltered place until the following spring. Widely planted in urban flower beds, Nonstop® begonias make excellent bedding plants. They are also easy to succeed with in pots, accessible to beginners. This 'Scarlet' cultivar, with its majestic red, will be enhanced by ground ivy, forget-me-not 'Indigo Compacta' and lobelias 'Anabel Blue'.

Introduced to Europe in the 19th century from Andean species (Bolivia, Peru), tuberous begonias have been the subject of extensive hybridisation programmes. The Nonstop® series is obtained from F1 hybrid seeds and provides very uniform plants.