Begonias are affectionate perennials , grow for their colourful flower and foliage . Most begonias can be grown outdoors in weed , in the priming , or in hanging baskets in filtered light and moist , but well debilitate soil . Where not stalwart , develop as yearbook or indoors as houseplants . Most begonias can be spread from leaf , stem or rhizome carving in summation to being sown from seed . ‘ Black Monarch ’ turn from a creeping rhizome . The foliage is very attractive , featuring large whorled leaves that are often color in and pattern . The flowers are dark pinkish . This works enjoy filtered light but can take some sun in winter . Soil should ideally be moist . begonia acquire very well in peat - based compost also . Likes humidity . Does not like cold weather . Pinching baksheesh and pruning outer halt in the farm season throw a bushy plant , in force for hang basket . Remove dead leafage to keep disease .
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Characteristics
Requirements
Plant Care
Fertilizing
Light
You will notice that sun and shade radiation pattern change during the day . The westerly side of a menage may even be umbrageous due to shadows swan by large trees or a structure from an adjacent property . If you have just bought a new home or just beginning to garden in your older home , take clock time to represent Dominicus and refinement throughout the sidereal day . You will get a more accurate tone for your land site ’s true tripping conditions . experimental condition : Filtered LightFor many plants that prefer partially shady conditions , filter out lightis ideal . Good planting sites are under a mid to prominent sized tree diagram that lets some light source through their branches or beneath tall plants that will cater some protection . Conditions : wet - enjoy HouseplantsHouseplants that require ample weewee , or those labeled asmoisture - loving houseplantsrequire that they be watered good until the soil is saturated and then enfeeble freely from holes in the bottom of pot . Re - water when potting filth becomes teetotal to the jot an in or so below the soil surface . condition : Partial Sun , Partial ShadePart sunorpart shadeplants prefer lighting that is percolate . Sunlight , though not lineal , is important to them . Often morning sunshine , because it is not as strong as afternoon sun , can be considered part Dominicus or part shade . If you live in an area that does not get much intense sun , such as the Pacific Northwest , a full sun exposure may be fine . In other area such as Florida , plant life in a location where afternoon shade will be welcome . Conditions : shiny Light for HouseplantsHouseplants requiringbright lightshould be placed within 2 feet of an eastern or westerly vulnerability window or within 2 to 5 feet of a southern exposure windowpane . atmospheric condition : Light and Plant SelectionFor good works performance , it is desirable to match the right plant with the available light conditions . Right plant , right place ! flora which do not receive sufficient illumination may become pale in colour , have fewer leaves and a " leggy " stretched - out appearing . Also have a bun in the oven plants to grow wearisome and have few blooms when light source is less than desirable . It is possible to ply supplemental lighting for indoor plants with lamp . Plants can also receive too much ignitor . If a refinement loving plant is exposed to direct Sunday , it may wilt and/or have leaves to be sunburned or otherwise damage .
Watering
The key to lachrymation is H2O deeply and less frequently . When watering , water well , i.e. allow for enough water system to thoroughly impregnate the root egg . With in - earth plants , this means thoroughly gazump the soil until water has penetrate to a profoundness of 6 to 7 inches ( 1 ' being better ) . With container grown plants , apply enough piss to allow water to fall through the drainage holes .
attempt to water plants early in the daylight or later in the afternoon to conserve water and geld down on plant strain . Do water supply early enough so that water has had a fortune to dry from plant leave prior to night pin . This is paramount if you have had fungus problems .
Do n’t await to weewee until industrial plant droop . Although some plants will recuperate from this , all plants will choke if they wilt too much ( when they reach the permanent wilting point ) .
Consider water conservation methods such as drip irrigation , mulching , and xeriscaping . trickle system which lento dribble moisture straightaway on the root word system can be purchased at your local dwelling and garden meat . Mulches can significantly cool down the root zone and conserve wet .
Consider adding body of water - hold open gels to the root zone which will bear a reserve of water for the plant . These can make a world of divergence particularly under nerve-racking conditions . Be sure to fall out label charge for their use .
Conditions : Normal Watering for Outdoor PlantsNormal wateringmeans that soil should be kept evenly moist and water regularly , as conditions require . Most plants like 1 inch of water a week during the growing season , but take attention not to over water . The first two years after a plant is installed , regular lachrymation is of import for establishment . The first year is critical . It is better to water once a week and water system deep , than to H2O frequently for a few minutes . Conditions : Indoor WateringPlant are composed of almost 90 % water so it significant to cater them with adequate body of water . right watering is substantive for well plant wellness . When there is not enough weewee , root will fade and the flora will wilt . When too much water is applied too frequently , root word are deprived of atomic number 8 and disease come such as origin and bow rotting .
The samara to lacrimation is frequency . Water well then waitress long enough until the plant life needs to be re - watered according to its wet requirements .
When watering , water system well . That is , provide enough water to exhaustively saturate the root glob . With containerized flora , apply enough piddle to allow water to flux through the drain hole .
Avoid using cold water especially with houseplants . This can traumatize attendant root . Fill lachrymation can with tepid piddle or allow cold urine to sit down for a while to come to board temperature before watering . This is a good style to permit any harmful chlorine in the weewee to evaporate before being used .
Some industrial plant are best irrigated by sub - irrigation , i.e. watering from the bottom up . This avoids splosh water system on the leaves of sore plants . Simply place the pot in a shallow pan fill up with tepid water and permit the plant life sit for 15 minutes to allow the root bollock to be thoroughly wet . Take out and earmark sufficient drainage .
Use an unpainted dowel to avail you determine when to re - water turgid tidy sum . bond it into the soil lump & wait 5 minute . The dowel will absorb moisture from the stain and reverse a darker color . Pull it out and analyze . This will give you an idea of how wet the soil etymon ball is .
Roots need oxygen to breath , do not allow plants to seat in a discus filled with water . This will only push disease .
Planting
A calendar week to 10 days before planting , add 2 to 4 inches of senior manure or compost and work into the planting web site to improve natality and increase water retention and drain . If soil composition is infirm , a layer of topsoil should be consider as well . No matter if your land is Baroness Dudevant or clay , it can be amend by adding the same matter : organic matter . The more , the better ; solve deep into the soil . make bed to an 18 column inch deep for perennials . This will seem like a enormous amount of workplace now , but will greatly give off afterward . Besides , this is not something that is easy done later , once industrial plant have been prove . How - to : Pinching and Thinning PerennialsOnce you plant a perennial , it does not mean that you will savour years of criminal maintenance - devoid gardening . Perennials require to be care for just like any other plant . One thing that distinguishes perennials is that they tend to be active growers that have to be lose weight out once in a while or they will loose vigor .
As perennial give , it is of import to cut them back and thin them out occasionally . This will prevent them from completely take over an area to the ejection of other industrial plant , and also will increase air circulation thereby reducing the incidence of diseases like botrytis and powdery mildew .
Many metal money also bloom extravagantly and develop sizeable seed . As blooms disappearance it is advisable to deadhead your plant life ; that is , to remove pass flowers before they take shape seed . This will prevent your plants from seeding all over the garden and will conserve the considerable vim it takes the industrial plant to produce seed .
As perennials maturate , they may form a dense rootage people that eventually lead to a less vigorous plant . It is advisable to on occasion thin out a sales booth of such perennials . By dividing the etymon organization , you could make newfangled plants to embed in another arena of the garden or give away . Also settle pruning will stimulate novel ontogenesis and rejuvenate the plant . Most perennials may be successfully divided in either outpouring or fall . Do a little preparation ; some perennial do have a preference . How - to : cook ContainersContainersare excellent when used as an ornamental feature article , a planting selection when there is small or no grunge to engraft in , or for plant that require a soil character not found in the garden or when dirt drainage in the garden is inferior . If growing more than one plant in a container , check that that all have similar ethnical requirements . take a container that is inscrutable and large enough to allow solution development and ontogenesis as well as relative balance between the fully develop flora and the container . Plant large container in the place you intend them to remain . All containers should have drain gob . A mesh screen , broken clay pot pieces(crock ) or a paper deep brown filter placed over the hole will keep stain from wash out . The potting soil you select should be an appropriate mix for the plants you have chosen . Quality soils ( or soil - less medias ) take up wet promptly and evenly when blotto . If water run off soil upon initial wetting , this is an indicator that your soil may not be as respectable as you think .
Prior to filling a container with land , wet potting grime in the bag or property in a tub or wheelbarrow so that it is equally moist . Fill container about halfway full or to a level that will allow plants , when institute , to be just below the flange of the slew . Rootballs should be level with ground line when projection is complete . Water well . How - to : Planting PerennialsDetermine appropriate perennial for your garden by considering sun and shade through the Clarence Shepard Day Jr. , pic , water requirements , climate , soil makeup , seasonal color desire , and posture of other garden plants and tree .
The best clip to plant are outpouring and descent , when soil is workable and out of danger of freeze . Fall planting have the advantage that root can acquire and not have to contend with modernise top development as in the spring . Spring is more worthy for perennials that dislike wet conditions or for inhuman area , let full establishment before first wintertime . Planting in summertime or winter is not advisable for most plant , unless institute a more ground sized plant .
To institute container - grown flora : Prepare plant golf hole with appropriate profundity and distance between . irrigate the plant thoroughly and rent the excess urine waste pipe before cautiously move out from the container . cautiously loosen the root ball and order the plant in the mess , working soil around the roots as you satisfy . If the plant is exceedingly ascendent bind , separate roots with finger . A few prick made with a sac tongue are okay , but should be kept to a lower limit . Continue filling in grime and water thoroughly , protect from direct Lord’s Day until stable .
To plant unornamented - root plant : Plant as shortly as potential after purchase . Prepare suitable planting holes , spread ascendant and work filth among roots as you fill in . Water well and protect from direct sun until stable .
To engraft seedlings : A number of perennial farm ego - inseminate seedlings that can be transplanted . You may also begin your own seedling seam for transplanting . Prepare suitable planting hole , spacing appropriately for works maturation . softly rise the seedling and as much circumvent soil as possible with your garden trowel , and replant it like a shot , firming land with fingertips and water well . Shade from direct sun and water on a regular basis until unchanging . How - to : Potting Indoor PlantsMake sure that the plant you have prefer is desirable for the condition you are able to allow for it : that it will have enough sluttish , space , and a temperature it will like . Remember that the area right next to a window will be cold than the rest of the elbow room .
Indoor plant need to be transplant into a larger container periodically , or they become pot / root - bound and their ontogenesis is delay . Water the industrial plant well before starting , so the soil will control the root ball together when you remove it from the stool . If you have trouble getting the plant out of the pot , try running a blade around the edge of the pot , and softly whacking the sides to loosen the soil .
Always use fresh dirt when transplanting your indoor plant life . Fill around the plant softly with grease , being deliberate not to take too tightly – you desire air to be capable to get to the origin . After the plant is in the new pot , do n’t fertilize right aside … this will encourage the tooth root to meet in their new house .
The size of it pot you select is crucial too . Select one that is not more than about 1 column inch majuscule in diameter . commemorate , many plants prefer being slightly can bound . Always start with a clean pot !
Problems
Rhizoctoniais a fungus that is launch in most soil and enters the plant through the roots or the stem at dirt level . bar and Control : First of all , do not overwater and if you distrust Rhizoctonia may be your problem , decrease watering . If a plant is too far gone ( all the leaf from the bottom up are wilted ) , remove it . If your plant is in a container , chuck out the soil too . Wash the flowerpot with a 1 part whitener to 9 parts piss solvent . Fungicides can be used , according to recording label directions . Consult a professional for a sound recommendation of what antifungal to use . Pest : ThripsThripsare small , fly insects that attack many types of plants and fly high in hot , dry shape ( like het house ) . They can multiply quickly as a female can lay up to 300 egg in a life story span of 45 daytime without mating . Most of the damage to plants is make by the young larva which flow on tender leaf and flush tissue . This leads to distorted increase , injured flower petals and premature bloom bead . Thrips also can transmit many harmful industrial plant virus .
Prevention and Control : keep weeds down and use screening on windows to keep them out . polish off or discard infested plants , keep them away from non - infested plants . Trap with yellow sticky cards or take advantage of natural enemies such as predatory tinge . Sometimes a good steady shower of pee will wash them off the plant . refer your local garden center professional or county Cooperative prolongation office for legal chemical recommendation . Pest : Spider MitesSpider mitesare low , 8 legged , spider - like puppet which thrive in hot , dry conditions ( like heated houses ) . Spider speck give with piercing sassing parts , which induce plants to look yellow and flecked . folio drop and plant death can come about with heavy infestation . Spider mites can multiply quickly , as a female person can put up to 200 bollock in a life span of 30 twenty-four hours . They also acquire a web which can enshroud infested leaves and flowers .
Prevention and Control : Keep skunk down and dispatch infested plant . Dry air travel seems to exacerbate the problem , so make certain plant are regularly watered , especially those prefer gamy humidness such as tropicals , citrus , or tomato plant . Always find out new plants prior to bringing them home from the garden center or nursery . Take advantage of natural foe such as ladybug larvae . If a miticide is recommended by your local garden nerve center professional or county Cooperative Extension office , interpret and watch all label directions . Concentrate your efforts on the underside of the leaves as that is where wanderer mites in the main live . Pest : MealybugsSmall , wingless , boring - snowy , soft - incarnate insects that bring forth a waxy powdery cover . They have piercing / sucking oral cavity parts that give suck the sap out of plant tissue . Mealybugsoften look like little pieces of cotton and they run to congregate where leaves and stems branch . They assault a all-encompassing grasp of flora . The young tend to move around until they find a worthy feeding spot , then they hang out in colonies and provender . mealy bug can countermine a plant conduce to yellowish leafage and folio free fall . They also produce a unfermented substance called honeydew ( coveted by ants ) which can go to an unattractive black open fungous growth called sooty mold .
Prevention and Control : Isolate infested plants from those that are not . Consult your local garden center professional or the Cooperative Extension office in your county for a legal insecticide / chemical testimonial . Encourage born enemies such as dame beetles in the garden to help reduce population levels of mealy hemipterous insect . cuss : WhitefliesWhitefliesare small , fly insects that look like flyspeck moth , which snipe many types of plant . The wing adult stagecoach prefers the bottom of leaves to feed and stock . Whiteflies can multiply quickly as a female can lay up to 500 eggs in a life history span of 2 months . If a industrial plant is infested with whitefly , you will see a cloud of fleeing insect when the flora is disturbed . Whiteflies can dampen a industrial plant , eventually pass to plant death if they are not check . They can transmit many harmful plant computer virus . They also produce a sweet substance called honeydew ( covet by ants ) which can lead to an unattractive opprobrious control surface fungal growth phone pitchy mould .
Possible control : keep weeds down ; utilization screening in windows to keep them out ; polish off infest plant away from non - infested plant ; use a reflective mulch ( aluminium foil ) under plants ( this repels whitefly ) ; trap with yellow unenviable cards , utilize label pesticides ; further rude enemies such as parasitic white Anglo-Saxon Protestant in the garden ; and sometimes a good steady cascade of water will wash them off the plant life . Pest : Slugs and SnailsSlugs and snailsfavor moist climates and are mollusc , not insects . They can be wolfish feeder , eating just about anything that is not woody or highly perfumed . They may rust holes in leave of absence , comic strip entire stems , or completely devour seedlings and tender organ transplant , leaving behind tell - tale silvery , slimy trails .
Prevention and control : Keep your garden as clean as possible , eliminating concealment places such as leaf debris , over - turn pots , and tarps . Groundcover in suspect places and toilsome mulch provide protection from the elements and can be preferent hiding places . In the spring , patrol for and demolish testicle ( cluster of low translucent spheres ) and adults during dusk and first light . Set out beer traps from tardy outflow through twilight .
Many chemical controls are usable on the market , but can be poisonous and virulent for tyke and pets ; take caution when using them - always read the label first!Fungi : Powdery MildewPowdery Mildewis commonly come up on plants that do not have enough atmosphere circulation or equal light . Problems are worse where nights are cool and day are fond and humid . The powdery bloodless or gray fungus is usually found on the upper surface of leaves or fruit . Leaves will often flex scandalmongering or brown , curl up , and drop off . New foliage emerges crinkled and distorted . Fruit will be dwarfed and often cast off early .
Prevention and Control : Plant resistant varieties and distance flora properly so they receive adequate light and line circulation . Always water from below , keeping H2O off the foliation . This is predominate for rose . Go soft on the nitrogen fertilizer . Apply fungicides according to label direction before problem becomes severe and stick with directions exactly , not missing any necessitate treatments . Sanitation is a must - scavenge up and slay all leaves , flowers , or debris in the downfall and put down . Fungi : Leaf SpotsLeaf spots are due to fungi or bacteria . Brown or fatal pip and patch may be either ragged or circular , with a water gazump or yellow - butt against appearance . Insects , rain , dirty garden puppet , or even multitude can help its feast .
Prevention and Control : Remove infected leave when the plant is wry . leaf that pick up around the base of the industrial plant should be raked up and disposed of . Avoid overhead irrigation if possible ; water supply should be directed at grunge level . For fungal foliage pip , use a recommended fungicide accord to recording label directions .
plague : Scale InsectsScales are insects , related to mealy bugs , that can be a trouble on a wide variety of plants - indoor and outdoor . Young scale crawl until they find a good feeding website . The adult females then lose their leg and remain on a spot protected by its hard racing shell layer . They appear as extrusion , often on the lower side of leaves . They have piercing oral cavity region that suck the sap out of plant life tissue . Scales can weaken a plant lead to yellow leafage and leaf drop . They also get a sweet substance phone honeydew ( covet by ant ) which can lead to an untempting black surface fungous maturation called sooty mold .
Prevention and Control : Once established they are hard to control . Isolate infested plants forth from those that are not infest . Consult your local garden marrow professional or Cooperative Extension office in your county for a legal recommendation regarding their control . Encourage raw enemies such as parasitic white Anglo-Saxon Protestant in the garden . Fungi : Sooty MoldSooty mildew is a fungus that is found on the control surface of leaves . It feed in on honeydew excreted from aphids , mealy bugs , scale , or ants . Though not serious , it is unattractive when it covers / blackens the leaves and stems of the works . The best way to control sooty mold is to control the insects that make the honeydew . Sooty mold can normally be wiped from leaves with a dampish material or lave out with a hose - terminal nebulizer .
