The further you dig into the world of begonia , the more you realize just how versatile this genus can be .
Different eccentric are standouts formass plantings , bungalow gardens , windowpane box , and shady terrace , or a go - to forMother ’s Dayhanging basket .
But if that ’s as far as you ’ve gone with Begonia Appreciation – the outdoor spring up options – I ’d like to take in you indoors .
Certain species will grow as perennial only in Zones 9 to 11 or 10 to 12 , but they stand out as year - round houseplants .
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The worthy prospect for indoor growing include varieties that flower indoors even in wintertime and plants from a couple of chemical group that produce dramatic , colorful foliage year - pear-shaped .
As you might reckon , grown as houseplant , these variety will want more care and attention than the distinctive outdoor hanging basket tossed at time of year ’s conclusion or the winter - hardy begonias that spread via bulbils each fall .
These indoor character do n’t fend for themselves , but their lavish foliage , stately stems , and perhaps even bunch of blooms will pay off back any extra drive .
Most importantly , these varieties can open up possibilities for folks who do n’t have a garden bed or other outside place to rise ornamentals .
If you ’re unexampled to the idea of grow begonia inside , welcome ! You have lot of fun options to look forward to .
Or are you here to troubleshoot subject with begonia grow in your dwelling house , or because you have a specific head about houseplant begonia care ? If so , this pathfinder will provide tips and answers for those with more experience , too .
Here ’s what I ’ll cover :
What You’ll Learn
Cultivation and History
TheBegoniagenus include more than 2,000 species aboriginal to parts of South America and other tropic areas worldwide .
In 1700 , Franciscan monk and botanist Charles Plumier first identify this genus and honored the then - governor of Santo Domingo , Michel Begon , with the name .
In the intervening centuries , the plants were brought from continent to continent , becoming peculiarly democratic in Europe . Begonias are now grown worldwide .
Because the species hybridize so readily , the available motley are wildly divers , though most have buddy-buddy , fleshy stems .
Some are pry for their patterned , swirl leave in beautiful shades , others their sprays of pink , red , or white flower , and some crossbreed deliver beauty in foliage and heyday .
Some get on individual stems , others cower along the earth on rhizome , and others stanch from genus Tuber below the dirt .
The choice are vast , but many change extend extra vantage as houseplant . Let ’s take a face .
Types of Begonias That Thrive as Houseplants
While any type can be originate inwardly at least for a time in a container , some varieties are better houseplant candidates than others .
First , I ’ll note two that I would n’t take to grow year - rung indoors .
The first is the stout type , B. grandis , which grows via underground tubers . This type is unusual because it is hardy in Zones 6 to 9 , areas that experience hard block in the winter .
While you could plant sturdy case in containers to love inside from leaping to return or dig the plants up to overwinter indoors , they will die out back over the winter whether inside or out .
They sort of come down aside into heaps , which is a moderately unappealing trait in a houseplant . And they require temperatures in the 40 to 50 ° atomic number 9 range for overwinter so the average home climate wo n’t work .
I recommend reserve these blossom sweetheart for outside patch and containers and moving them into a shed or garage to live the winter .
The best - known tuberous begonias , B.xtuberhybrida , are hunky-dory to enjoy as indoor plants during their rise and blossom season in the outflow and summer . They ’re hardy in Zones 9 to 11 .
But they ’re not optimum houseplant because they die in the wintertime when they ’re abeyant , which is not a glad deal in the houseplant display .
To keep them alive over wintertime , you must uprise and store the genus Tuber in a chilly spot and replant them in the weeks leading up to spring .
If you ’d like to grow them season after season this way , follow the directions inour scout to winterizing begonias .
With those two less - than - ideal varieties out of the elbow room , get ’s get to the good part : the types that do not go dormant and can fly high indoors all class .
I ’ll give my favorites , rex begonia ( B.x rex - cultorum ) , special condition and start with them . These variety show are grown for their arty , sometimes dramatic , and always colorful foliage .
Outdoors , they ’re hardy in Zones 10 to 12 , but they ’ll thrive from January to December indoors in deal .
Most rex cultivars grow from rootstock that spread along and below the soil , but others have fibrous roots .
Other rhizomatous type are also attract for indoor cultivation , and though they ’re less colourful thanB.xrex - cultorum , they are a bit easier to maintain .
One exemplar is the spritelyB. goegoensis , with its bronze - green leave of absence and pink flower .
Next in the viable houseplant family are the cane type , which may bloom indoors and make heights of up to six feet in the right turn conditions .
This chemical group includesangel - extension begoniaswith fender - shape foliage and showy clusters of dangling blush in pink , clean , or perhaps crimson .
The other species ideal for develop as a houseplant might storm you .
Those same wax ( B.xsemperflorens - cultorum ) varieties that brought such cheer to your grandma ’s garden layer and windowpane boxes can also expand indoors and even flower throughout the year .
The form in their foliation , blooms , and size , and the informality of circularise new starts , make this one of the most accessible and low-priced plant that will bloom inside the house .
For the scoop on maturate wax and cane as well as rex and other rhizomatous begonias indoors , keep reading .
Recommended Indoor Growing Conditions
Ah , there ’s always a catch , is n’t there ? When you grow a industrial plant native to the tropical zone , it takes extra exploit to put up for its growing requirements indoors .
If you ’re a dedicated indoor gardener like me , it wo n’t take long to fall into a routine that makes it easier to provide for those want .
It ’s not as simple as let the Lord’s Day , rainwater , and mist do the work for you , but once you get used to the practice , it ’s not too bad .
These are the top considerations :
Temperature
Begonias do well in the average place temperature , between 65 and 80 ° F .
They can whoop temperature as low as 55 ° F but get stressed when it ’s colder than that . At temperature below 50 ° fluorine , they may also stop dead .
Always check off the label if you ’re ordering unfamiliar variety online or purchase them topically .
Occasionally , a begonia hybrid has been bred to tolerate temperatures outside the common grasp .
And as I advert earlier , tuberous begonias need chilly , not fond , temperatures to overwinter , and brave types can survive sub - zero temperature but die in the wintertime , even indoors .
You ’ll need to place houseplant begonias somewhere out of draft and away from class pets since the leaves are toxic .
If you like , you may move the works out of doors in their container once the temperatures exceed 60 ° F during the sidereal day and bring them back in when daytime temperatures fall below 60 ° atomic number 9 .
The vantage to this is that they will develop bigger , bloom more , and experience superior air circulation alfresco . But there ’s also a potential drawback : the plants tend to fetch pests and pathogens with them when you bring them back inside .
Light
While out-of-door specimens might originate okay in fond shade , those same plants want bright , collateral light when grown indoors .
A windowpane with direct Dominicus is all right if you filter it with a sheer drape , but a location one to three feet from a sunny window is superscript .
Or , you may opt touse develop sparkle – learn more in our guide .
Containers
Begonia pile must provide drain . Choose a container with drainage holes at the bottom and place a saucer below to beguile any excess pee so you could throw out of it .
The textile is n’t so of import , but you should favour more lightweight pots for cane begonia since they get so big and you may require to move them outside in summertime . A ceramic pot any bigger than six inches wide could prove too heavy .
Also , the pots should be only three or four inches bass and just an inch or two wider than the industrial plant you stand for to raise there . These plant have shallow roots and favor cosy quarter .
Ahanging basketis fine as long as the bottom of the container offers proper drain . Test it ahead of time .
If excess water only drains away when you tilt the pot at an slant , you ’ll want to find something else .
watch more about selecting pots and planter in our guide .
Soil and Drainage
Well - draining soil that ’s moderately plentiful in compost constituent affair is all important for indoor begonia . A mixing of apeat alternative , sand , and compost will work . Or , an ordinary potting mixing formulated for indoor flora is idealistic .
If you are sourcing your plants from a garden bottom , hit some of the grime from their rootage and supervene upon it with a infertile mix inside the pot .
When you ’re filling container for transplant , do n’t attempt to use a prepackaged garden bed mix you have on deal , much less stain from the yard .
Either tend to be too compact , and the grime from your dimension may contain harmful pathogen .
You canlearn more about pick out the best houseplant soil in our guidebook .
Humidity
Air wet can be a sticking point for those who want to rise begonias as houseplants . In universal , they prefer at least 40 per centum humidity . A can or kitchen location is suited if it also offer copious light .
you could also provide a pebble tray beneath the sight , making sure the water level reaches about midway up the pebble without touching the bottom of the pot .
I ’m pitiful to say misting to tot up humidness wo n’t wreak .
You ’d have to mist at least three times a day to dislodge up the humidness significantly , and that frequency can increase the odds of depart droplets behind , which may cause foliage spot .
If motive be , you could invest in a humidifier , but I commend hear how the plants do first and adjusting as needed .
Care and Maintenance Tips
As long as they ’re originate in a daub and in grease that suits them , ongoing guardianship for houseplant begonias is straightforward .
You ’ll require to keep them water well , about an inch per week implement at the grease line of products , not splashed from above onto the farewell .
Instead of doing this on a regular agenda , which can lead to overwatering , water when the soil is dry at least an inch down . Plunge your pinkie into the bound of the pot to determine dryness , oruse a wet meter .
It ’s also an indicator that the soil is too dry if the leafage are brown at the margins or tips .
After each hydration session , give the plant at least 15 minutes to enfeeble decently and toss out the excess . They ’re prostrate to stem androot rotif they get wet feet .
Indoor begonias will gain from fertilise with an all - purpose limpid plant food diluted to half strength and applied every 14 day .
As for ongoing maintenance , most types do n’t require pruning to be glad , but you may want to trim back cane varieties if they ’ve suffer gangly .
outflow is the secure time , and you may trim the fore to the bottom four node , along with cutting any brittle or dead stems .
Alternatively , you could venture upright varieties with lightweight support .
ensure todeadhead spent flowersregularly and clip any leave or stem that have turned brownish . Also , pick up dead leaves and flowers that fall on the soil surface as presently as you see them to discourage fungal disease .
Another nice matter about growing begonias in containers is that you do n’t have to repot often .
You ’ll know it ’s meter if a rhizomatous sort has rootstock literally adjure on the edges of the flowerpot or spring up over the edges .
Wax and cane types should be repotted when they ’re too cosy in their pots , usually only once every two or three years .
Repot in outpouring if possible , and choose a new container at most two inches wide than the old pot .
And speaking of spring , if you do require to give indoor begonias a holiday outdoors in the warm months , check that to start only after the temperatures are faithfully above 60 ° F out of doors .
It ’s also crucial to pass at least a week gradually acclimating the plants to the new story of light and humidness .
This is one time when these plants are ask : they do n’t like sharp environmental change and will respond by dropping leaves or flowers , or protrude to die back altogether .
When you bring the plants back inside for the winter months , do that gradually , too . And be particularly deliberate to note and eliminate any insects or arachnids that assay to thumb back indoors with your begonias .
Begonia Cultivars to Select
Ready to commit to a plant or seeds to go inwardly ? Here are three suitable options for you to reckon :
Cane: Polka Dot
Growing square and tall on canes that reach 18 to 28 inches in top , polka pane begonias , B. maculata , have deep green leaves with translucent maroon undersides .
They get their name from the white polka dots on the case of their flank - shaped leaves .
Polka Dot
Polka dot begonia typically flower in the period from spring to previous summer , but do n’t be surprised if their white Alexander Melville Bell - shaped flowers show up at other times of the yr too .
Polka dot begonia is uncommitted in four - in potsfrom Winter Greenhouse via Walmart .
Rex: Harmony’s Venetian Red
If you strictly mature this colorful king begonia indoors , make trusted to give it plenty of collateral light so its initial pinkish and magenta hues will develop into a robust crimson coloration .
Harmony ’s ‘ Venetian Red ’
The leaves are mold like Black Maria , and the margins have maverick edges that soften their shape .
Harmony ’s ‘ Venetian Red ’ is available in a four - inch potfrom Walmart .
Wax: Vodka Deep Red
Part of the Cocktail series , ‘ Vodka ’ wax begonia develop eight to 12 inches improbable . Each plant will spread about 10 inches , wide enough to fill a planter eight inches wide .
It will take at least 115 days for seeds get down indoors to blossom . But your reinforcement will be these gay blood-red wax begonias with shiny , carmine - edged leaves and bright yellow centers .
‘ Vodka ’ Deep Red
Pelleted cum is necessary since the seeds are practically microscopical .
you’re able to find packets of 50 pelleted ‘ Vodka ’ seedsavailable from lawful Leaf Market .
Managing Pests and Disease
If you ’re careful to get rid of pests before moving flora inside , they should be comparatively problem free .
Those that do show up can be foresee quickly with a firm spraying of water or by use neem oil , a natural fungicide and pesticide .
A few pests to watch over out for includemealybugs , scale , wanderer tinge , andthrips . Check out our guides to each of these pest for tips on detection and control .
In general , if you manoeuver clean of poor air circulation , inadequate drainage , and overwatering , you’re able to avoid most disease that could afflict begonia houseplants , including fungal diseases likepowdery mildewand folio spot .
The fungusBotrytis cinereacauses botrytis , which will foretell its presence on flowers first . you may prevent it by deadheading the flush and clip and destroying damaged or embrown leafage forthwith .
Stem rot is another destructive foe . It ’s induce by the water moldPythium ultimum , so do n’t overwater if you want to spare your houseplants from this often mortal complaint .
Also , ensure you do n’t plant rhizomatous begonia with their rootstock all the way beneath the soil .
You may need torotate between different fungicidesto sideboard the jeopardy of shank decomposition .
Quick Reference Growing Guide
Invite Begonias into Your Home
Any colorful houseplant is welcome in my home , but I particularly enjoy grow begonias indoors because they ’re so simple to start from cuttings .
That throw it well-fixed to boom my collection and ploughshare starts with friends and family so they can have beautiful indoor specimens , too .
For helpful growing tips , interpret these begonia guide next :
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About
Rose Kennedy
