How to grow begonia at home

How to grow begonia at home? In principle, it is not difficult. The plant is a little moody in terms of humidity. The rest of the care is close to the standard requirements of familiar indoor colors.

A classic set of items about growing begonias includes just a few common questions. All of them are the most ordinary. Consider them in order, and, following our recommendations, you can for a long time enjoy the beautiful flowering of a gorgeous plant. Here is a list of questions:

• soil composition
• lighting and temperature
• watering scheme and air humidity
• required feeding
• pests and diseases
• care secrets

Apparently, there is nothing unusual. Let's get started.

Soil composition

Begonia loves the fertile land, but always loose. It can be bought at a specialty store. But it will be more reliable to mix it yourself. To do this, take in equal proportions humus, garden leaf soil and peat. Mix thoroughly. On one medium pot add a handful of clean coarse sand and a small handful of earth from under coniferous trees. Everything, you can plant begonia. The tuber is not completely buried in the soil. It should stick out above the surface at half or even a third of its height.

Speaking of the pot. Some prefer only clay or ceramic. On the one hand it’s good. Such material absorbs moisture, which prevents the soil from drying out quickly. On the other hand, begonia roots very often grow to the walls of the pot and are severely injured during transplantation. Therefore, it is recommended that you take a plastic pot.

And do not forget to put drainage on the bottom. In any capacity. It can be expanded clay, pebbles, gravel, granite chips. Just not limestone or eggshell. Over time, they deoxidize the soil, and begonia does not like this.

Lighting and temperature

Begonia loves a lot of light. Lots of. But at the same time, with direct sunlight on the leaves, burns often occur. What to do? There are only two outputs:

1. Put the plant deep into the room where direct sun will not fall on it. Then you have to constantly re-illuminate it with special phytolamps or daylight. And all year round.
2. Put the begonia on a heavily lit windowsill. Be sure to shade it from direct sunlight with white paper, a curtain, cardboard.

It is important to monitor the air temperature. It should not fall below +14 and rise above + 26 ° C. In summer, it will ideally contain begonia at + 22-24, and in winter at + 7-9 ° C.

Why such a scatter? Because winter time is the hibernation season of begonias, a period of rest. If you ignore this item and do not put the plant at rest, then you will be pleased with foliage and stems. You will not see flowers at all.

Watering scheme and air humidity

There is no specific scheme for precise irrigation. There is an indisputable rule: water when the top layer of earth in the pot dries to a depth of 1.6-1.8 cm. There is no firm understanding of "water". There is a slightly “moisturize the earth”. Stagnation of excess moisture is detrimental to begonia. She immediately reacts to the rapid decay of the roots and growth points. To prevent such an unpleasant situation, there was a requirement to use expanded clay.

An additional signal may be excess water in the pan. It is always always drained, and the pot is placed for 14-16 minutes on dry loose napkins or soft rags (rags). During this time, all the liquid is absorbed.

By the way, you can’t just take a mug and pour water into a pot.Begonia should be watered only along the edge of the pot, trying to prevent water from reaching the growth point.

Begonia is very demanding on air humidity. She likes the air around to be filled with water. At home, this is achieved very easily:

1. Every day, leaves are abundantly sprayed with clean, clean, well-maintained water.
2. A low stand is placed in a wide tray (you can turn the saucer upside down). The remaining space is covered with expanded clay, moss or peat. It is very abundantly moistened to the state of “afloat”. And already on the stand they plant a pot with begonia.

Thus, the air around the flower will always be the required humidity. Just do not forget to periodically add it to the pallet.

Tip. You can take a long narrow tray into the entire windowsill and collect a whole collection of your favorite begonia varieties on it. Simultaneous flowering will be simply bewitching.

By winter, watering begonias is practically reduced. Watered every 9-11 days without excessive moisture. At the same time, the air around is no longer sprayed. Because the underground part of the plant has enough water in the soil. And aboveground in the cold season is gone.

Nutrition Required

Begonia grows almost from scratch every spring, manages to gain mass and release buds in a short time. Then it gorgeous blooms with huge magnificent brushes. Accordingly, she needs a lot of food. Most often it is mineral water. Only choose the one where the high content of phosphorus and low - nitrogen.

In this case, the solution is made twice as weak as recommended on the package. But they feed the plant every week. Start with the appearance of the first sprout and end with the first yellow leaf in the fall. With the beginning of flowering, nitrogen is completely excluded from begonia nutrition. You can choose the right fertilizer yourself, or you can ask the seller in the store. They will be happy to tell you which is the most suitable for your pet.

Tip. Organic begonia is not fed. All that is contained in the planting soil is enough for her.

Pests and diseases

Of the pests on the plant, the most common are whiteflies, aphids and spider mites. The first battle is not for life, but for death. It is useless to poison with chemicals. To get rid of whiteflies, a whole range of measures is needed. Look for information in the network or directories, what kind of misfortune it is and how to defeat it.

The latter quite commonly die from any suitable systemic fungicide. You can safely spray, rinse and wash the leaves and stems with poison. After all, you do not need to eat them. Just be sure to then dry the flower as thoroughly as possible to avoid the appearance of ugly brown spots.

Tip. After the initial treatment, the pet is placed for 9-10 hours in a dense plastic bag along with the pot. Perhaps, after such a procedure, a second treatment with chemicals will not be needed.

The disease. Begonia practically does not get sick. This is what attracts many lazy growers. But, with excessive watering and an excess of moisture in the earth, rot or powdery mildew may still appear. At the first sign, urgent measures must be taken, otherwise the begonia will die very soon:

• replace the top 3 cm of soil with dry
• if possible it is better to transplant the plant altogether
• if the defeat has just begun, then the rotting place is carefully cut, then it is cauterized
• wash the leaves from powdery mildew with a weak stream of warm water
• reduce watering for a while
• lift the lower leaves so that they do not touch the soil

If these measures do not help and the disease spreads further, then you will have to grow a new plant. To do this, either cut healthy cuttings and root them (for leaf forms and bush forms). Or they remove the tuber from the ground, remove all the damage and plant it in a new pot (for tuber forms).

Of course, this is a shame and a long time.But then there are requirements for irrigation conditions. If you follow them exactly, then such problems can be avoided.

Care Secrets

The main secret of begonia is to make it bloom. For this to happen, you have to send the plant to rest. To do this, at the end of summer, watering and feeding are gradually reduced. By October, they are completely stopped, and the flower itself is put in twilight. Somewhere after 27-29 days of this content, all the nutrients from the stems and leaves will completely go to the root. Now they can be completely cut. The pot must be stored under the conditions described above.

Since the beginning of February, begonia is transferred to a sunny place with a high temperature. The appearance of the first sprout is awaited. And then the recommended care follows. By the way, winter-flowering begonias do not have a dormant period. Therefore, first figure out which plant variety you have. Otherwise, you can dance with a tambourine around, but there will be no flowers.

Another secret is disease prevention. To do this, they must pierce the planting soil in the oven or keep it in the freezer for at least 2 days. Then periodically (once a month) phytosporin is added to the irrigation liquid. The proportion is three times less than according to the instructions. Lastly, begonia should not be in contact with the leaves of the soil. To do this, put in a pot a special circular support made of plastic or wire, put leaflets on it. Or they simply cut off the lower ones when the 6th leaf appears on the stem.

With the exact observance of all conditions, your pet will not be sick at all.

The third trick is an annual transplant. In February, the tuber is removed from the old soil, soaked in a weak solution of potassium permanganate. 14-16 minutes will be enough. Then, with a wooden stick, the small roots are carefully untangled. If necessary, remove dried and rotten during a dormant period. Dry in air for about 40 minutes. Then planted in a new land. In this case, the pot can be taken a little larger diameter, about 1 cm.

If you have a miniature grade begonia, then there is no need to increase the landing capacity.

Useful Tips

1. Do not plant the tuber in an overly large container. In this case, even with the most excellent care, begonia will build up a lush green mass. It will not bloom.
2. By the way, in order for flowering to be long and effective, it is imperative to remove all faded buds and dried flowers in a timely manner. Otherwise, the forces of the plant will go to the formation and ripening of seeds.
3. Missed and already appeared seeds? Take your time to break the box. Collect them and sow in January on a nutritious loose substrate. Just do not sprinkle it on top. It is better to cover the drawer with glass or transparent polyethylene. Shoots appear within 2-3 weeks. After 2 real leaflets, peel the plantlets in separate cups and spray more often. If you do everything right, then you will have not one, but several completely independent plants.
4. Sometimes begonias begin to turn yellow before September. It could be soil depletion - feed the plant. Lack of moisture - spray the air around and often moisten the ground. The presence of pests in the roots - change the soil mixture completely. Before transplantation, treat the open root system with any insecticide and manually remove visible enemies.

We hope that after reading our tips, you will have no more questions how to grow begonia at home. Now you know the main secrets and you can easily keep this beautiful and grateful plant with you.

Video: how to plant tuberous begonia