Double Begonia Superba Bolero - Tuberous begonia

Begonia Superba Bolero is a very beautiful tuberous begonia from the Superba series. Its large double apricot-orange flowers bloom on a low and stocky plant, perfect for planters, pots and sheltered borders. Its flowering, which only ends with the arrival of autumn, as well as its ease of cultivation, make it an excellent variety for decorating terraces and balconies in partial shade.

A member of the Begoniaceae family, Superba Bolero is a cultivar of Begonia × tuberhybrida. This group is the result of cross-breeding between several Andean species, notably B. boliviensis, B. pearcei and B. The 'Superba' series brings together tuberous begonias with very large double flowers on dwarf plants with an upright-bushy habit, reaching 20–30 cm in height.
Growth is rapid in season; the plant grows from a flattened tuber, which emits several shoots. The stems are fleshy, brittle and green, sometimes tinged with red. They bear asymmetrical, heart-shaped, 10-25 cm leaves with a toothed margin, matt dark green on the upper side, paler on the underside; the foliage is deciduous and disappears in winter. The inflorescences bear male and female flowers: in Superba 'Bolero', the very double male flowers resemble small camellias 13 to 15 cm across; the more single female flowers produce small winged capsules containing a dust of mature seeds in late summer-early autumn when polinated. Flowering renews from June to October. The plant is frost-tender: the tubers are destroyed below 0 °C, so bring them in before frosts, allowed to dry, then store them dry at 5-10 °C until spring.

Plant your Superba Bolero begonias in generous pots or at the edge of a border, in partial shade, in rich, well-draining potting compost; regularly remove spent flowers. Pair it with heuchera Marmalade in warm tones or Citronella in an anise green, with double white fuchsias like 'White King' and dwarf hostas for a play of textures in light shade. To enrich the scene, add other compact tuberous begonias from the series, such as Superba Yellow, Superba Pink or Superba Red.

The rise of tuberous begonias stems from the Andean collections of Richard Pearce in the 1860s and the work of European horticulturists, with B. pearcei notably bringing the yellow colour to the hybrids; since then, the horticultural Tuberhybrida groups have been classified by flower type. The "camellia-flore" and "double" forms are characteristic of the Superba series.