Trailing begonia Cascade Salmon - Begonia Pendula

Begonia ‘Cascade Salmon’, or trailing salmon begonia, forms a cascade of large double salmon-coloured flowers which renew themselves from June until the frosts. Its flexible, trailing habit works well in hanging baskets, window boxes and tall containers from which it quickly overflows. It is cultivated as a tender tuberous perennial, and its tuber must be stored under cover at the end of the season.

A member of the Begoniaceae family, related to Begonia × tuberhybrida, this cultivar is classified in the Pendula group, resulting from old hybridisations involving notably B. boliviensis, B. pearcei and B. veitchii, native to the tropical Andes. 'Cascade Salmon’ belongs to the Cascade series, selected for its trailing habit. These varieties are distinguished from upright forms by flexible, fleshy and pendulous stems which trail 30 to 45 cm.
The asymmetrical, cordate, finely toothed, medium to olive green, 5 to 15 cm long leaves are borne on brittle, fleshy stems; the veins are very pronounced on the underside. 
The double to very double flowers are 6 to 8 cm across with numerous ruffled petals, salmon to peach depending on the light. The flowering period is very long, spreading from June to September-October if the faded flowers are removed. The inflorescences typically bear one large double male flower accompanied by one or two smaller female flowers, often single, so that a few single flowers may appear naturally within the plant as the season progresses. The plant grows in spring from a flattened tuber, which must be protected in winter; its above-ground parts are destroyed around 0 °C.

In a hanging basket, on a partially shaded balcony, ‘Cascade Salmon’ trails generously from containers. At the front of a large planter, it will be perfect next to a small variegated ivy 'Reef Shell' with shell-shaped leaves. Play with volumes by alternating it with the more slender Begonia boliviensis ‘Santa Barbara’. Its salmon colour forms a beautiful harmony with the cream Begonia ‘Nonstop’ and hardy Fuchsia ‘Mrs Popple’. On a sheltered balcony, combine it with Impatiens and Sunpatiens to obtain a mass of flowers and foliage.

The history of tuberous begonias begins in the 1860s when Richard Pearce introduced B. boliviensis and B. veitchii to Europe; these species, presented in Paris in 1867, served as parents for the first major hybrid, B. × sedenii, paving the way for the Pendula lines with a trailing habit.