July part 2

July 19^th was the stopping date for this years show, this consisted of removing any buds larger than an old 10p piece and removing the growing point of each shoot leaving two blooms to develop.  Pot plant blooms develop slightly quicker than cut blooms and are much easier to transport if they are still fresh.

The high nitrogen feed given at the beginning of the month has softened plant growth and this allows for further shaping of the plant.  I use green canes for positioning side shoots as these are unobtrusive.  If the plant is grown correctly all will be hidden from view.

Plants are top dressed as they have been in these pots for a while and are now full of root and benefit from the extra compost, this has the added benefit of reducing watering slightly as during hot weather a gallon can does three plants, so this means 15 trips back a forward to the water barrel. A full strength balanced feed is added to the water in the barrel and the plants will be fed this at every watering until about three weeks before the show. At that point it will be changed to a high potash feed as blooms can be hardened up once they have been positioned.

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British Begonia Champion  12 Cut Blooms   2012