The American Begonia Society has a long history of providing valuable educational programs to its members, including its Virtual Education programs. The Virtual Ed programs range in topics from how to produce and collect Begonia seeds, to conservation of species, to very important basics for growing begonias.
Here is a recent Virtual Ed program to help you learn about basics, “Begonia Basics: Lessons from a Begonia Boss” by Al Palacio.
About the program: Al’s program is a great introduction and guide to the world of begonias. Some topics include:
- A brief history of begonias and where they are found
- Types of begonias and general care
- Growing conditions to consider such as light, fertilizers, growing mediums, and more
- Common Begonia pests and how to manage them
About the Presenter: Al Palacio lives in sunny California and has been an ABS member for nearly 40 years. A past-president of several Southern California ABS branches, Al has given programs and workshops over the years and has covered such topics as Begonia care, terrarium cultivation, creativity with plants, and more, but says that “plant propagation remains my number one passion and brings me to my plant Zen.” Al hopes the program gives you a greater understanding of begonias, where to find out more about them, and some resources on where to get them.
Another Virtual Ed program open for the general public is “How to Keep your Begonias Pest Free” by Glenn Dickerson, Curator of the Begonia Collection at the Fort Worth Botanic Garden, Texas.
Please share these lively and helpful presentations with any Begoniacs you know, so that they can benefit from these informative programs!
ABS members enjoy access to videos of a Virtual Ed programs as well as other valuable resources in the Member Portal. The Member Portal is available to members by logging into the website. Once logged in, members have access to Virtual Ed videos, all past issues of The Begonian, and numerous other resources. If you’re not a member of ABS, join today!
