Hi Misslemonverbena,
I've been growing Antonelli begonias for some years now. I had to import them :O(. I have also grown some beauties from their seed. Up here I usually start my tubers into growth in February, in flats in the greenhouse (minimal heat). Mine go out in the garden around the middle of may. I have had them flowering in June. I only grow the hanging basket type at present but have had some of the others in the past. Did you ever have Antonelli's Pink Spice? fragrant but not as fragrant as Sweet Lady or Sweet Dreams which are available in most garden centers early in the year. These two are really fragrant, smell like roses.

A......

Hi, My garden is in Shoreline WA. Just a few miles from water but we still get good freezes. I grow the Non-Stops and buy them in bloom in late April or early May. They do beautifully as long as they are not stepped on by the 100lb Akita who rules the house.

Last year I brought them in and some rotted, this year I will keep them dry - or almost - and try to see how many live. I buy small containers - not too empensive and I can see the colors right away. They are really huge by the end of summer.

I bought tubers at the end of April and planted them in hanging baskets. It took them until the beginning of August to start blooming, but they have been blooming non-stop. I used to have some in a large planter and even left them outside all winter. They lasted several years. I will probably put the baskets in my non-freezing garage this time. The fragrant ones sound interesting, AM, I'll have to look for them.

Thanks folks.
I was a pretty good begonia grower at one time, but I'm still confused about when & how is the best way to start them here in zone 8. I can't start them in the house, that's completely out. I do have an unheated garage but it has very little natural light. I have no experience with grow lights but the idea of leaving hot lights on in the garage makes me worry about fire (& electric bills). Begonias do so well in a maritime climate, which we don't have in Portland. I'm worried I'll put in all that effort & money, get a just a couple blooms & then they'll succumb to powdery mildew. I want to grow a bunch of the hanging ones. Thanks for the input.

You can buy cheap flourescent shop lights at any homecenter that will put out plenty of light with no heat risk and no wiring necessary, just plug it in. Two 4' fixtures with two bulbs each will give you great light for a 2.5'x4' bench top in the garage. Each fixture generates less heat than a couple 40 watt incandescent bulbs in the house; nothing to worry about even if they were on full time.
Most have chains to hang them so you can adjust them to right above the plant tops. A basic household plug-in timer works good with these also.
The fixtures are about $8 each and it costs about $0.15/day to run 4 bulbs.

Yes, el cheapo florescent shop lights would be great. There is a growing under lights forum here with lots of info.

I have seen hundreds of magnificent tuberous begonias at Butchart Gardens in Victoria BC but have never grown them myself. They were easy to kill when I was a retailer and I haven't gotten over my distaste from that experience.

Thanks so much all of you. I had no idea about the cheapo lights working. I could easily do that in my garage, & it sounds like, from the comments here, the head start would be a good idea.

buyorsell I had the same experience with them as a florist, but I think it's because we were always putting them in those awful mixed plant arrangements that had no drainage, where they drowned; or else we lined them up all close together on a display shelf. They hate to be crowded, or knocked around, or over-watered.

Twenty five years ago I rented a basement apartment in Carmel, Ca. that overlooked my landlord's huge collection of award winning begonias. It was amazing. He entrusted them to me once when he went on vacation. Got me hooked. But then, that's the perfect climate for them.

I'll check out the gardening under lights forum. Oh boy! Begonias back in my life!

I start my begonias in unheated garage that has one small window in Feb.
Funny this year story. Last fall i found something that looked like begonia bulb in a pile that lawn maintenance company brought me. I saved the bulb and almost forgot about it by the spring. I found it again some time in March, by this time I already started my begonias in garage, so i found a small pot and put bulb there. Later i checked on bulb and it was not growing, checked again, no signs of life. I decided to undig it and (oh, my shame and busy me) i found that i have planted it upside down and it was trying to grow from this position. I replanted it and moved to greenhouse.
By end of July i had this nice looking "adopted" baby.

Here is a link that might be useful: