How to care for begonia

To start a new plant, you first need to know its character and understand how it suits you. The main requirements for caring for all begonias without exception are as follows:

• Temperature: does not tolerate heat (above + 20 °) and winter cold (below + 15 °).
• Watering: plentiful, but avoid stagnant water.
• Air humidity: all begonias love humid air. Place containers of water next to the pot or spray the air around the plant (not the leaves themselves!).
• Lighting: bright light, but not direct sunlight. In winter, it is useful to expose the begonia pot for several hours to the lightest window.

What is so great about begonia?

1. Huge bright flowers

Tuberous begonias

The largest flowers are found in tuberous begonias. They are double and non-double, of various colors and reach 8-10 cm in diameter. Plants like this can be found in flower shops all year round. After flowering, watering is stopped, the stems are cut and the tuber is removed from the ground. In winter, the tubers are stored in a cool room in moist peat in order to plant them in a new pot in spring, bring them into a warm room and wait for shoots.

2. Decorative leaves

Decorative leaf begonias

There is a whole group of begonias that are grown for the sake of beautiful leaves. They bloom with unremarkable small flowers. This is, first of all, the royal begonia with asymmetrical leaves, striking in their iridescent colors. This species is often used in compositions to contrast with the uniformly green foliage of other plants. There are species with oval, star-shaped (like maple) and pointed leaves. They can be smooth and shiny or matte and rough, with a variety of specks, patterns and shims, as well as a contrasting color on the underside of the leaf. The only drawback of these begonias is that, even with good care, they live no more than 1–2 years. But this is not a reason to refuse such interior decoration, because a new plant is easy to grow by rooting a leaf.

3. Constant flowering

Ever-flowering begonia

This is probably the most popular begonia. It blooms all year round without requiring much maintenance. A plant dug from a flower bed in the fall can be transplanted into a pot and used as an indoor plant. This begonia can have double flowers – white, yellow, pink, orange or red. In addition to monochromatic leaves, there are hybrid forms with color – from yellow-green to dark red.

4. Giant plants

Coral begonia

Among the begonias there are those that reach a height of two or more meters. The most famous of this group is coral begonia – it has large carved leaves with white spots and bright red flowers collected in panicles. For greater decorativeness, so that the plant branches better, it is cut off in the spring. The stems resembling bamboo are tied to supports. And the best pot for such a giant would be sustainable ceramics.

5. Beauty in hanging baskets

Ampel species

Some begonias are grown in hanging baskets. Among the ampelous plants there are plants with both decorative leaves and decorative flowers. The drooping stems of the latter are decorated with bright terry “pompoms” from spring to autumn. These begonias are usually grown from seed and discarded after flowering. But there is one variety – salivary begonia – which does not require dormant period.