Begonia at home, began to be grown by Europeans about 200 years ago. The French botanist Charles Plumier named this plant after Michel Begon, a philanthropist who sponsored his research on Central American plants. Begonia has a large number of varieties and hybrids, differing in a wide variety of shades of leaves and flowers. Each variety has its own characteristics and is used for various tasks of decorating a garden or a personal plot. Begonia can also be grown as a houseplant.
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plant species
There are three main types of begonias: tuberous, bush and deciduous. Each variety includes hundreds of species and their hybrids. Tuberous begonias can also be grown outdoors, while the latter two are traditionally used as houseplants.
Sometimes they can be used as garden annuals. These plants do not have a stem. Their decorative leaves have fluffy branches growing directly from a developed rhizome.
leafy begonias
The tuberous begonia has received the greatest popularity among gardeners. In beauty and abundance of flowers, begonias are second only to roses. The plant has a fairly long flowering interval: outdoors, it lasts more than four months (from June to September); at home, it can have a flowering time of up to six months or more. The plant does not like windy areas and direct sunlight.
Nothing worse than roses
The size of begonia flowers is very diverse: there are varieties that have flowers up to 20-25 cm in diameter, however, most have smaller flowers that compensate for this disadvantage with a large number of flowers in inflorescences.
Variety with a large number of flowers in inflorescences
The shape of the flower is also very diverse.. In a separate group, ampelous begonias are distinguished, which have a characteristic shape of inflorescences and branching long shoots. There are also ever-flowering begonias, which are a kind of flowering champions - it lasts for these plants up to 8 months.
Ampel beauty
The main difference between club begonia is the presence of a large rhizomefrom which rather thick stems with heart-shaped leaves grow. The stems are covered with fluffy petals.
Tuberous
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Begonia is quite simple to breed, but there are a number of rules, non-observance of which can lead to the death of the plant. One of them is the conditions of keeping tubers.
The begonia tuber has a pronounced asymmetry: one of its sides is convex, the other is concave. Landing in the ground is allowed only with the convex side!
Pre-germination of tubers should be carried out from February to the end of April. In this case, the tubers are best planted in separate small pots filled with peat substrate; before planting, it is recommended to slightly moisten the peat.With such a nutrient-rich soil, the begonia will develop quickly enough and begin to form healthy leaves.
Landing should be done at room temperature. Immediately after this, the tuber should be moderately watered. Stagnation of water during further cultivation should not be allowed, however, it is not worth overdrying the soil.
Tuber planted in a peat substrate
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Begonia transplant
As soon as the begonia sprouts reach a height of 5-6 cm, the plant must be transplanted into a larger pot.. The minimum diameter of a begonia pot at home should be at least 25 cm. Begonia tolerates transplanting well, so at this stage there should be no particular problems.
A larger pot will enable the plant to begin the growing season to the fullest: during the second month, the begonia will give a large number of new leaves, the first ovaries of flower buds will appear. Further transplants should be made in two cases: either when the begonia's root system grows too large, or if it is necessary to plant the plant in open ground. This should be done as soon as weather conditions allow (temperature 15-20 ° C).
Plants in need of repotting
Transplanting into a pot
The procedure for transplanting a plant with a formed root system is somewhat more complicated: the flower must be completely removed from the pot and the roots cleaned from the soil. After that, they are treated with a solution of potassium permanganate by immersion in a weak (0.1 g per 1 liter of water) solution. The residence time in the solution is no more than half an hour.
At the end of the disinfection of the plant, rotten and dried roots are cut off, and the cut points are treated with charcoal powder. At the bottom of the pot, it is necessary to put drainage from small gravel or large eggshells. The first two weeks after transplantation, the plant must be kept in the shade and provided with abundant watering.
Begonia transplant process
Features of transplanting into open ground
The landing site for begonias must meet certain requirements: it should be a site protected from winds and direct sunlight. The ideal option is a penumbra area on the north side of the garden.
The landing rule is very simple - you need to place begonia bushes at a distance of at least 30 cm from each other. Since the plant is ornamental, it can be used for planting whole flower beds. The height of the begonia reaches 35 cm, that is, this plant occupies a middle-level niche in the flower beds.
After planting, it is recommended to mulch the soil sawdust or small light pebbles (for example, expanded clay). Mulching helps the soil retain moisture longer and relieves the owner of the need to loosen the soil.
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Begonia prefers to grow in shady places or in places where there is diffused sunlight. It must not be exposed to direct sunlight.
Also, begonia does not tolerate changes in light: if the germination of the tuber and the beginning of the vegetation of the plant took place under the same lighting conditions, then when they change, the plant may begin to fade. In the house, the optimal location for the flower will be all well-lit window sills, except for the south one.
On the north side of the house in a warm climate
On the southern window sills, if you do not apply specialized measures for shading or scattering light, burns may appear on the leaves.
On a shaded windowsill
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plant care
Begonia feels good at temperatures from 18°C to 22°C. Seedlings require a higher temperature - from 20 ° C to 25 ° C.The soil should be neutral or acidic.
The temperature in a room with indoor begonias should not fall below + 18 ° C, and the soil should not be alkaline.
Seedling begonias before transplanting into stationary pots require top dressing once every two weeks with complex fertilizers. You can make them yourself from a mixture of nitrogen and potassium fertilizers, but it is better to purchase special fertilizers for violets and begonias, sold in any flower shop.
An adult plant is fertilized twice:
- nitrogenous fertilizers during the active growing season
- a mixture of phosphorus and potash fertilizers before flowering
Fertilizers are best applied in the evening, and two hours before they are applied, the soil should be slightly moistened. After fertilization, a slight watering of the plant is also carried out.
After the end of flowering (as a rule, this happens in late autumn), indoor begonias need a light top dressing with potash fertilizers.
During flowering, the plant requires supports for the stems on which the flowers are located. This is due to the large number of flowers in the inflorescences or the relatively large mass of the flower compared to the stem.
With the onset of cold weather, tubers should be dug up from garden begonias, peeled and washed, and then dried for about a week in a cool, shaded room. Before drying, it is necessary to cut the stem no less than 3 cm from the tuber. After that, the tubers are stored until February at temperatures not less than +5°C. Once a month, the substrate on which the stored begonias lie must be moistened.
Tuber storage
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To keep the plant in good condition, it must be properly watered. Begonia at home requires special attention. In the summer, for a plant with massive stems and leaves, drying out is not permissible.
Under normal temperature range, begonias need to be watered once every 2-3 days.however, in hot weather, watering should be done every day. This is especially important during the flowering period.
The soil should be well moistened, however, there should be no stagnant water. In this regard, pot drainage plays an important role.. It should reach about a quarter of its height. Expanded clay is the best element for draining adult begonias.
Drainage system
It is best to water the plant with rain or settled water. Before watering, you need to make sure that the soil in the pot is almost completely dry.
Some types of begonias can be sprayed to humidify the air. However, this should not be done for stems and leaves with a "velvety" texture and any plants during flowering.
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This process can be done in three ways:
- seeds
- cuttings
- tuber division
The first method is almost never used due to its laboriousness, therefore, the most common reproduction of begonias at home is carried out by vegetative methods.
Reproduction by cuttings
For this purpose, cuttings are prepared from stems or leaves; The optimal time for cutting cuttings is the beginning of May. It is best to use whole leaves as cuttings. Harvested cuttings are installed in a substrate of peat-sand mixture. Sometimes, before being placed in the substrate, the cuttings are germinated in water.
It will not be superfluous to process the cut of the cutting with any means for rooting. Watering the cuttings should not be too frequent - about 1 time in 7 days. More frequent watering leads to rotting of the cuttings.
After about a month, the cutting takes root and can be transplanted into a separate pot.
stem cutting
Reproduction by tuber division
This is the main way to propagate begonias when caring for at home.In this case, young tubers are used, which should be germinated no more than 1 week before division (until the first shoots appear).
The division is made by cutting the tuber into parts with a knife, so that each part of the tuber has a sprout and a root. The incision site is treated with charcoal or sulfur. After that, the tubers are placed in a substrate (purely peat is best), but they are deepened at the same time by about half the depth.
Separation of begonia tubers
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Begonia itself is a rather whimsical plant and requires careful care. Some simple begonia problems can be solved by paying close attention to the appearance of the plant:
The presence of medium-sized brown spots on the leaves indicates that the plant has received burns and requires urgent transfer to a shaded area. If, after transferring the plant to the shade, these spots do not go away, then the plant needs to be fed, or the watering mode should be changed. Such manifestations can be both with an excess and with a lack of food or water.
Drying and subsequently falling leaves are a sign of excessive dryness of the air around the begonia. This often happens at the end of winter as the warm air from the radiators dries out the moisture. In this case, humidification of the air with a sprayer will help.
If the stems of the plant rot, this indicates an excess of watering. The watering regimen should be reduced, while removing the damaged parts of the plant.
The appearance of spots on the leaves
Pests
A plant weakened by improper care may lose its immunity. The result of this unpleasant process will be the appearance of pests. Powdery mildew can bring the greatest harm to begonias. This dangerous fungus is capable of destroying the entire plant within a few days.
Fortunately, powdery mildew is vulnerable to even the weakest fungicides. Even such a simple folk remedy as a solution of garlic juice in warm water will calmly cope with this begonia disease. To avoid re-infection of the plant, watering should be significantly reduced and regular loosening of the soil should be carried out. Ventilation of the room will also not be superfluous in order to get rid of stagnant air.
Another begonia pest is the common aphid. There is nothing left to do but remove the aphids manually. In this case, you can both collect aphids and treat the leaves with an alcohol solution. There are also special aphid control solutions that are sold in garden stores.
Aphids on indoor plants
Sometimes, with low air humidity, the plant can attack the spider mite.. It is fought with a decoction of chamomile or a simple solution of soap in water.
Begonia
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I really like begonia, because it blooms very beautifully, many flowers form on it and during the period of active growth it looks very beautiful on the window. It's true that such flowers probably need special care, since I have already bought such a flower several times and they disappeared from me. the first time I probably flooded it, because the stem began to deteriorate from the root and the red begonia disappeared from me. The second time I bought a soft pink color and again I was in trouble. She lived with me for 1 year, while she was sick, the leaves constantly dried and fell off, something was probably missing, but still she bloomed, the inflorescences were small. Then its stem began to dry up from the root, and again I failed to save a beautiful flower. Now, having read this useful one, I understand that it is quite possible to save the begonia, it was possible to pinch off the stalk and put it in the water, but I did not do this and I am very sorry. An excellent article in which I learned a lot of information regarding the cultivation of begonias and the existing problems.
I had a chance to work with a specialist engaged in the cultivation of large volumes of flower, and not only, material. Of course, all kinds of species that were in the greenhouse settled in my house. Particularly singled out tuberous begonia. The one that blooms with bright double flowers, similar to roses, the colors are different, bright. Incredible beauty stood on the windowsills. However, she didn’t bother for more than a year, the tubers need to be transplanted, caring for them. But root begonias are good when they are still small, they bloom profusely, it is important to remove the faded parts. After the begonia stalks are pulled out, the view is lost (I'm not talking about ampelous ones, but about ordinary ones). I just transplanted, cutting off the tops. And again - a bushy, flowering plant. Watering is important - only warm water. And a secret: if you spray the leaves from the inside, moisture is better absorbed. Propagating by cuttings, planted in vermiculite, excellent rooting, almost one hundred percent survival rate of sprouts. And vermiculite can be added to the soil of the pots.
A good flower, they gave educators along with sweets. Handsome and neat. I want to buy a couple of pots for my kitchen. They say they are unpretentious ... watering is not often ... and it is pleasant to the eyes. And if you plant from one pot into several, nothing will happen to her? Or is it better not to touch it? Or taken to mix several flowers in one pot ... Has anyone had such an experience? Do they take root?
Arina, I want to warn you: do not believe that you are unpretentious. Begonia is still that princess on the pea!
I used to love growing begonias, now a little less. It looks very good on the balcony, I also put pots in the country on the street. But with the onset of the slightest coolness, you have to bring it into the house - it is very demanding on the weather, in particular, on temperature. And you can’t skip watering - I usually water three times a week. If it's hot outside, even more often. Otherwise, the bushes will wither, and there will be no flowers at all.
But if you are not lazy, the begonia will thank you with chic flowers. Very delicate, correctly noted in the article, they look like roses. Just with roses, they look very organic both in the front garden and on the window with potted ones.
I had pots with begonia, I agree that the flower is beautiful, lush. But mine dried out very quickly, I didn’t even have time to reanimate them. With each watering, they faded. Maybe the reason was the soil, although it was replaced and the flowers stood for a long time.
The experience with this flower is not sad, but I do not want to grow it anymore.
I work as a landscape designer. I design public spaces in cities, parks, private properties. Begonia is an ideal tool in my work, as the plant blooms for a long time, and the flowers themselves have a bright color that is effectively expressed against the background of other plants. But the main advantage of this flower is undemanding to lighting. The plant feels great in the shade, in comparison with other flowers. Begonia is ideal for decorating gazebos and spaces with insufficient lighting. Yes, the flower is delicate, sensitive to sudden changes in temperature. However, it has no equal in terms of flowering time.
I consider begonia an ideal flower for growing in pots outdoors during the warm season, since the flowering period of the plant is long. However, you can maximize the flowering period by following a few effective recommendations. As soon as the first flowers appear, the plant needs to artificially reduce daylight hours. To do this, it is enough to cover the flower with dark plastic wrap for ten days. This procedure will significantly slow down the growth of the flower, which will lead to prolonged flowering of the plant. You can also treat the flower with the Athlete drug, which similarly slows down growth. It will not be superfluous to remove the upper part of the shoot, which will make the flower lush. Well, and, of course, fading flowers with yellowed leaves should be removed in a timely manner, then the begonia will delight with abundant flowering until the first frost.