General Culture:

Best grown in moist, organically rich, well-drained soils in part shade to full shade. Soils should not be allowed to dry out. Winter mulch is advisable in the St. Louis area where plants are not reliably winter hardy. Deadhead flowers to extend bloom period. Self-propagates by tiny bulblets which form in the leaf axils in autumn and drop to the ground. Bulblets may also be harvested from the leaf axils and planted as desired. New season growth is usually late to appear.

Noteworthy Characteristics:

'Alba' is a white-flowered form of hardy begonia. It is a clump-forming, tuberous-rooted perennial that typically forms a bushy mound of foliage to 2' tall on branching stems. Large, ovate, olive-green leaves with red-tinted undersides, red veining and heart-shaped bases form an attractive foliage mound. Red tints in the stems and leaves are less pronounced in this botanical variety than in B. g. subsp. evansiana (see B680). Drooping clusters of white flowers (to 1" across) appear in July, sometimes blooming to frost.