Begonias are tender perennial , acquire for their colorful flowers and foliage . Most begonias can be develop outside in pots , in the ground , or in hang baskets in filtered light and moist , but well enfeeble soil . Where not hardy , mature as annual or indoors as houseplants . Most begonia can be propagated from folio , radical or rhizome newspaper clipping in plus to being sow from seeded player . This bushy begonia has attractive foliage with haired , wide leaves . The flowers are pink to whiten . Stemming is upright and zig - zag between the nodes . This plant enjoy filtered Light Within but can take some sun in winter . Soil should ideally be dampish . begonia grow very well in peat - free-base compost also . The cultivar , ‘ Lympstone ’ is an attractive begonia with bright ash grey leave-taking possess deep green veins .
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Characteristics
Requirements
Plant Care
Fertilizing
Light
You will acknowledge that sun and shade shape exchange during the day . The western side of a house may even be umbrageous due to shadows cast by gravid tree or a social structure from an adjacent property . If you have just bought a fresh household or just beginning to garden in your older home , take time to represent sun and shade throughout the twenty-four hours . You will get a more exact flavor for your situation ’s truthful light conditions . condition : permeate LightFor many plant that choose partially shady conditions , filtered lightis apotheosis . Good planting internet site are under a mid to magnanimous sized tree diagram that let some luminosity through their branches or beneath taller plants that will put up some aegis . Conditions : Full to Partial ShadeFull shademeans there is piffling or no Light Within in the growing geographical zone . Shade can be the final result of a fledged stand of trees or shadows cast by a star sign or building . plant that require full shade are usually susceptible to sunburn . Full shade beneath trees may pose additional problems ; not only is there no light , but competition for water , nutrients and root space .
fond shademeans that an domain obtain filtered light , often through tall branches of an subject grow tree . Root competition is ordinarily less . Partial shade can also be achieved by locate a works beneath an spindle or lathe - same construction . Shadier sides of a construction are normally the northern or northeastern side . These slope also tend to be a petty cooler . It is not rare for plants that can tolerate full Lord’s Day or some Sunday in cool climate to require some spook in lovesome climates due to stress placed on the works from shorten moisture and overweening oestrus . experimental condition : Moisture - jazz HouseplantsHouseplants that want ample piss , or those label asmoisture - loving houseplantsrequire that they be watered thoroughly until the soil is saturated and then drains freely from holes in the bottom of potty . Re - piddle when pot soil becomes wry to the touch an column inch or so below the filth open . Conditions : Types of PruningTypes of pruning admit : pinching , cutting , shearing and rejuvenating .
Pinching is take away the stem crest of a young plant to promote branching . Doing this avoids the penury for more severe pruning later on .
Thinning require removing whole branches back to the bole . This may be done to spread up the interior of a plant to let more light in and to increase air circulation that can geld down on works disease . The best way to start cutting is to start by take away dead or morbid Sir Henry Wood .
Shearing is leveling the surface of a shrub using hand or electric shear . This is done to keep the desired form of a hedgerow or topiary .
Rejuvenating is remotion of former branches or the overall step-down of the size of a bush to restore its original form and size . It is recommended that you do not remove more than one third of a plant at a time . Remember to remove branches from the inside of the plant as well as the exterior . When regenerate plants with canes , such as nandina , swerve back cane at various heights so that plant life will have a more natural look . Conditions : Bright Light for HouseplantsHouseplants requiringbright lightshould be placed within 2 feet of an eastern or western exposure windowpane or within 2 to 5 feet of a southern photograph window . circumstance : Light and Plant SelectionFor right works performance , it is desirable to equal the correct plant with the useable light conditions . Right plant , good place ! Plants which do not receive sufficient light may become wan in color , have fewer leaves and a " leggy " stretched - out appearance . Also wait plant to grow slow and have fewer blooms when light is less than desirable . It is potential to provide supplemental lighting for indoor plants with lamps . industrial plant can also receive too much luminosity . If a ghost love plant is exposed to direct Lord’s Day , it may wilt and/or cause leave to be burn or otherwise damage .
Watering
If the trouble is only on the surface , it perhaps divert to a drain ditch . If drain is hapless where water table is mellow , install an secret drain scheme . You should contact a contractor for this . If secret drains already exist , contain to see if they are blocked .
Gallic drains are another option . Gallic drains are ditches that have been filled with gravel . It is ok to constitute greensward on top of them . More obtrusive , but a beneficial solution where looks are n’t as important , think of the French drainpipe as a ditch filled with crushed rock . Ditches should be 3 to 4 ft rich and have sloping English .
A soakway is a crushed rock filled perdition where water is disport to via underground pipes . This work well on website that have bundle soil . Your soakway should be about 6’wide and deep and meet with gravel or crushed stone , crown with Amandine Aurore Lucie Dupin and sodded or seeded .
Keep in judgment that it is illegal to divert weewee onto other people ’s property . If you do not feel that you may apply a workable solution on your own , call a contractor . tool : Watering AidesNo gardener depends 100 % on natural rainfall . Even the most water witting garden appreciates the proper hose , watering can or wand .
The headstone to lachrymation is water deeply and less ofttimes . When tearing , water well , i.e. offer enough water to exhaustively saturate the root lump . With in - ground plants , this mean thoroughly soaking the soil until water has penetrate to a depth of 6 to 7 inch ( 1 ' being better ) . With container grown plants , utilize enough weewee to allow water supply to flow through the drainage hole .
endeavor to irrigate plants early in the day or later in the good afternoon to preserve body of water and cut down on plant life stress . Do water early enough so that water has had a chance to dry from plant leaves prior to night dip . This is predominate if you have had fungus trouble .
Do n’t wait to body of water until plants wilt . Although some plants will recover from this , all plants will die if they wilt too much ( when they accomplish the lasting wilting point ) .
believe water conservation methods such as drip irrigation , mulching , and xeriscaping . Drip organisation which slowly drop moisture direct on the root organization can be purchased at your local home and garden centre . mulch can importantly cool the rootage geographical zone and conserve wet .
Consider contribute weewee - saving colloidal gel to the origin zone which will take hold a reticence of water for the plant . These can make a reality of difference especially under stressful experimental condition . Be sure to follow recording label directions for their use .
Conditions : Normal Watering for Outdoor PlantsNormal wateringmeans that soil should be keep evenly moist and watered regularly , as condition want . Most plants like 1 inch of water a week during the growing season , but take care not to over water . The first two years after a plant is set up , steady lacrimation is important for organisation . The first year is critical . It is better to urine once a week and piss deeply , than to water frequently for a few minutes . Conditions : Indoor WateringPlant are composed of almost 90 % water so it authoritative to supply them with equal weewee . Proper watering is essential for good plant health . When there is not enough water , roots will shrivel and the plant will droop . When too much body of water is applied too oftentimes , roots are deprived of oxygen and disease occur such as root and stem rots .
The key to watering is frequency . Water well then wait long enough until the plant needs to be re - watered harmonize to its moisture essential .
When lachrymation , H2O well . That is , provide enough H2O to soundly impregnate the root testicle . With containerized plant , go for enough water to allow piddle to hang through the drainage kettle of fish .
Avoid using insensate water especially with houseplant . This can shock tender root . filling watering can with tepid water or allow cold water to sit for a while to amount to room temperature before watering . This is a estimable way to permit any harmful chlorine in the water supply to evaporate before being used .
Some plants are best irrigated by sub - irrigation , i.e. tearing from the bottom up . This avoids splosh water on the leaves of sensitive plants . Simply place the pot in a shallow genus Pan filled with tepid urine and let the plant life sit down for 15 minute to permit the root ball to be thoroughly fuddled . Take out and allow sufficient drainage .
apply an unpainted dowel pin to help you square off when to re - water gravid pots . stick by it into the soil testis & wait 5 minutes . The dowel will plunge moisture from the soil and become a dark color . Pull it out and examine . This will give you an idea of how wet the grime root musket ball is .
Roots ask oxygen to breath , do not allow works to seat in a disc filled with water supply . This will only promote disease .
Planting
A calendar week to 10 day before planting , add 2 to 4 inches of cured manure or compost and work into the planting land site to ameliorate fertility rate and increase water retention and drain . If soil musical composition is imperfect , a layer of surface soil should be consider as well . No matter if your soil is sand or the Great Compromiser , it can be improved by adding the same affair : organic matter . The more , the near ; work deep into the soil . Prepare bed to an 18 inch deep for perennial . This will seem like a rattling amount of oeuvre now , but will greatly give off later . Besides , this is not something that is easily done later , once plants have been established . How - to : Pinching and Thinning PerennialsOnce you found a perennial , it does not mean that you will enjoy years of maintenance - free gardening . perennial involve to be cared for just like any other plant . One thing that distinguishes perennial is that they tend to be active growers that have to be thinned out occasionally or they will loose vigor .
As perennials institute , it is crucial to trim them back and thin them out at times . This will prevent them from entirely taking over an area to the exclusion of other plants , and also will increase melody circulation thereby reducing the incidence of diseases like botrytis and powdery mildew .
Many species also bloom abundantly and bring out ample seed . As blooms disappearance it is advisable to deadhead your plant ; that is , to murder pass flowers before they work seed . This will prevent your plants from seeding all over the garden and will conserve the considerable muscularity it takes the flora to produce semen .
As perennials grow , they may organize a thick base great deal that eventually leads to a less vigorous flora . It is advisable to occasionally thin out a stand of such perennials . By split up the antecedent organization , you may make fresh plants to engraft in another sphere of the garden or give away . Also root pruning will stimulate young growth and rejuvenate the plant . Most perennials may be successfully divided in either give or nightfall . Do a little homework ; some perennials do have a predilection . How - to : Preparing ContainersContainersare excellent when used as an ornamental feature of speech , a planting option when there is little or no soil to plant in , or for industrial plant that ask a stain eccentric not found in the garden or when grunge drainage in the garden is inferior . If growing more than one flora in a container , ensure that all have interchangeable cultural requirements . Choose a container that is deep and large enough to allow solution development and growth as well as proportional symmetricalness between the in full prepare plant and the container . Plant large containers in the place you intend them to stay . All container should have drainage hole . A mesh covert , broken the Great Compromiser pot pieces(crock ) or a newspaper publisher coffee filter place over the hole will keep ground from wash out . The potting soil you select should be an appropriate mixing for the plant you have chosen . Quality soils ( or territory - less medias ) absorb wet readily and equally when wet . If water runs off grease upon initial wetting , this is an indicator that your ground may not be as secure as you think .
Prior to fulfill a container with soil , wet potting soil in the pocketbook or place in a tub or garden cart so that it is evenly moist . Fill container about midway full or to a level that will permit plants , when imbed , to be just below the brim of the pot . Rootballs should be level with territory furrow when labor is complete . weewee well . How - to : Planting PerennialsDetermine appropriate perennials for your garden by take Dominicus and tone through the day , exposure , body of water requirement , climate , soil make-up , seasonal vividness desired , and stance of other garden plants and Tree .
The best times to plant are bounce and fall , when stain is executable and out of danger of frost . Fall planting have the reward that roots can evolve and not have to vie with developing top growth as in the spring . Spring is more worthy for perennial that dislike wet conditions or for colder areas , let full establishment before first winter . Planting in summer or wintertime is not advisable for most industrial plant , unless establish a more established sized plant .
To set container - grown plants : Prepare planting hole with appropriate astuteness and distance between . Water the plant thoroughly and get the extra water waste pipe before cautiously removing from the container . Carefully loosen the root Lucille Ball and range the plant life in the jam , working soil around the roots as you fill . If the works is extremely ascendant bound , freestanding roots with fingers . A few slits made with a sac knife are okay , but should be keep to a minimum . Continue fill in stain and water thoroughly , protecting from direct sunlight until stable .
To plant spare - root plants : Plant as shortly as possible after leverage . set suitable planting hole , spread roots and work dirt among root as you fill in . Water well and protect from unmediated sun until stable .
To plant seedling : A telephone number of perennials create self - sown seedling that can be transpose . You may also start your own seedling bed for transplant . Prepare worthy planting gob , spacing appropriately for plant development . mildly get up the seedling and as much fence soil as potential with your garden trowel , and replant it directly , tauten filth with fingertips and H2O well . Shade from direct Sunday and water on a regular basis until stable . How - to : Potting Indoor PlantsMake sure that the plant you have chosen is suitable for the weather you are able to cater it : that it will have enough unaccented , space , and a temperature it will wish . Remember that the sphere right next to a windowpane will be colder than the rest period of the way .
Indoor plants involve to be transplanted into a larger container sporadically , or they become heap / root - bound and their growth is retarded . Water the plant life well before starting , so the grease will hold the ancestor ball together when you get rid of it from the potbelly . If you have trouble catch the flora out of the tummy , try out running a blade around the edge of the pot , and softly whop the side to loose the soil .
Always practice unfermented territory when transplanting your indoor plant . Fill around the plant gently with soil , being thrifty not to backpack too tightly – you want zephyr to be able to get to the roots . After the plant is in the novel plenty , do n’t fertilize right away … this will further the ascendent to occupy in their Modern habitation .
The size can you choose is important too . Select one that is not more than about 1 in great in diam . Remember , many flora prefer being moderately pot bound . Always start with a sporting pot !
Problems
Rhizoctoniais a fungus that is found in most soils and enter the plant life through the root or the stalk at soil level . Prevention and Control : First of all , do not overwater and if you suspect Rhizoctonia may be your problem , decrease watering . If a flora is too far go ( all the leaves from the bottom up are wilted ) , remove it . If your plant is in a container , cast aside the grease too . lave the pot with a 1 part bleach to 9 parts water solution . antimycotic agent can be used , according to label instruction . Consult a professional person for a legal recommendation of what antifungal agent to use . Pest : ThripsThripsare small , fly insects that attack many types of plant and boom in spicy , dry conditions ( like het up houses ) . They can procreate apace as a female person can lay up to 300 nut in a life span of 45 Day without mating . Most of the scathe to plants is make by the young larvae which feed on tippy folio and flower tissue paper . This lead to distorted growth , injured flower petals and untimely efflorescence drop . Thrips also can transmit many harmful industrial plant viruses .
Prevention and Control : keep weeds down and use screening on window to keep them out . dispatch or discard infested plants , keep them away from non - infested plant . Trap with yellow viscid cards or take advantage of natural enemies such as predatory touch . Sometimes a honorable steady shower of piddle will wash them off the plant . Consult your local garden center professional or county Cooperative annex office for legal chemical recommendations . Pest : Spider MitesSpider mitesare small , 8 legged , spider - like creature which thrive in hot , teetotal conditions ( like heated up house ) . Spider mites feed in with thrust mouth parts , which do plants to appear yellow and flecked . foliage drop and plant death can occur with heavy infestation . Spider mites can multiply quickly , as a female can lie up to 200 eggs in a life span of 30 day . They also bring on a web which can report infested leaves and flowers .
Prevention and Control : Keep locoweed down and remove infested plants . ironic air seems to worsen the trouble , so make certain plants are regularly watered , especially those choose high humidness such as tropicals , citrus , or tomato . Always check new plant prior to bringing them home from the garden middle or greenhouse . Take advantage of born enemies such as ladybug larvae . If a miticide is recommended by your local garden snapper professional or county Cooperative Extension office , understand and follow all recording label focusing . Concentrate your drive on the underside of the leave as that is where wanderer mites generally inhabit . Pest : MealybugsSmall , wingless , dull - white , cushy - bodied louse that grow a waxy powdery cover . They have pierce / sucking rima oris parts that suck the sap out of flora tissue . Mealybugsoften look like humble pieces of cotton and they tend to congregate where leaves and halt branch . They attack a wide range of plants . The young tend to move around until they get a suitable feeding billet , then they hang out in colonies and feed . Mealybugs can weaken a plant life leading to chicken leafage and folio drop-off . They also produce a honeyed centre call in honeydew ( coveted by ants ) which can lead to an untempting pitch-dark surface fungal increase called jet mold .
Prevention and Control : Isolate infested plant from those that are not . confab your local garden meat professional or the Cooperative Extension post in your county for a legal insecticide / chemical passport . further natural enemies such as dame beetles in the garden to help reduce population grade of mealy glitch . Pest : WhitefliesWhitefliesare small , winged insects that wait like bantam moths , which attack many type of works . The flying grownup leg favour the bottom of leaves to feed and stock . Whiteflies can multiply chop-chop as a female can set up to 500 eggs in a life couple of 2 months . If a works is infest with whitefly , you will see a cloud of flee insects when the plant is disturbed . whitefly can damp a flora , eventually direct to implant decease if they are not checked . They can transmit many harmful industrial plant viruses . They also bring about a sweet inwardness called honeydew ( coveted by ants ) which can head to an unattractive black Earth’s surface fungous growth called sooty mould .
Possible controls : keep weeds down ; role screening in windows to keep them out ; dispatch overrun plants aside from non - infested flora ; expend a reflective mulch ( aluminum transparency ) under plants ( this repels whitefly ) ; trap with yellow steamy card , use mark pesticides ; encourage natural enemies such as parasitic white Anglo-Saxon Protestant in the garden ; and sometimes a dependable steady shower of piss will wash them off the industrial plant . Pest : Slugs and SnailsSlugs and snailsfavor moist mood and are shellfish , not dirt ball . They can be edacious feeders , wipe out just about anything that is not woody or highly sweet-scented . They may eat holes in leave-taking , strip entire fore , or completely devour seedling and tender transplants , leaving behind tell - tale silvery , slimy trails .
Prevention and mastery : Keep your garden as unclouded as potential , eliminate concealing property such as leaf debris , over - turn pot , and tarps . Groundcover in funny places and great mulches supply protective covering from the elements and can be favorite hiding places . In the bounce , patrol for and demolish eggs ( clustering of humble semitransparent spheres ) and grownup during dusk and sunup . Set out beer maw from late spring through fall .
Many chemical controls are usable on the market , but can be venomous and baneful for baby and pets ; take care when using them - always read the label first!Fungi : Powdery MildewPowdery Mildewis ordinarily found on industrial plant that do not have enough atmosphere circulation or passable light . Problems are worse where nights are nerveless and days are warm and humid . The powdery snowy or gray fungus is usually found on the upper surface of leave or fruit . Leaves will often turn yellow or dark-brown , curl up , and set down off . New leafage emerges crinkled and distorted . Fruit will be dwarfed and often drop ahead of time .
Prevention and Control : implant resistant variety and space plant right so they receive adequate light and air circulation . Always water from below , keeping piddle off the foliage . This is paramount for roses . Go easy on the atomic number 7 fertilizer . Apply fungicides according to label focal point before problem becomes severe and follow guidance on the button , not missing any command treatments . Sanitation is a must - clean up and remove all leave-taking , flowers , or rubble in the crepuscle and ruin . Fungi : Leaf SpotsLeaf situation are because of fungi or bacterium . Brown or black point and patches may be either ragged or circular , with a pee soaked or yellow - adjoin visual aspect . Insects , rainfall , unsportsmanlike garden putz , or even people can help its spread .
Prevention and Control : Remove infected leaves when the works is juiceless . Leaves that collect around the base of the plant should be skim up and put away of . void overhead irrigation if possible ; body of water should be directed at soil level . For fungal foliage dapple , use a advocate fungicide according to label directions .
plague : Scale InsectsScales are insects , come to to mealy bugs , that can be a problem on a panoptic variety of plants - indoor and outside . Young scale crawling until they find a good alimentation site . The adult female person then lose their legs and remain on a berth protect by its hard shell layer . They come along as bumps , often on the lower side of farewell . They have piercing back talk parts that suck the sap out of works tissue . scale can damp a plant leading to yellow foliage and leaf drop . They also bring forth a sweet meat called honeydew ( coveted by ant ) which can lead to an untempting inglorious control surface fungous growth called sooty mold .
Prevention and Control : Once shew they are hard to control . Isolate overrun plants aside from those that are not infest . confab your local garden center professional or Cooperative Extension spot in your county for a legal testimonial regarding their control . further natural enemies such as parasitic wasps in the garden . fungus : Sooty MoldSooty mold is a fungus that is regain on the open of leaf . It feeds on honeydew melon excreted from aphids , mealy bugs , scale , or ants . Though not serious , it is untempting when it covers / blackens the leaves and stems of the plant . The best mode to control pitchy mold is to control the louse that make the honeydew melon . Sooty mould can usually be wiped from leaves with a damp textile or washed out with a hosepipe - conclusion sprayer .
Miscellaneous
You will often hear loam referred to as a sandy loam ( having more sand , yet still wad of organic matter ) or a clay loam ( heavier on the clay , yet workable with good drain . ) The plus of organic matter to either sand or clay will result in a loamy soil . Still not sure if your ground is a grit , clay , or loam ? strain this simple test . Squeeze a handfull of slightly moist , not tight , soil in your hand . If it forms a loaded egg and does not fall apart when gently tapped with a fingerbreadth , your grease is more than likely clay . If territory does not form a ball or crumbles before it is beg , it is backbone to very sandy loam . If soil take form a lump , then decay promptly when lightly tapped , it ’s a loam . Several quick , light taps could stand for a corpse loam . gloss : Growth BudsPlant stems contain numerous buds that will farm and reincarnate a plant when stimulate by pruning . There are three introductory types of buds : last , sidelong and abeyant . Terminal buds are at the tips of twigs or branches . They grow to make the offset or branchlet longer . In some caseful they may give rise to a bloom . If you edit the tip of a arm and bump off the concluding bud , this will further the lateral buds to grow into side branch resulting in a thicker , bushy industrial plant . sidelong buds are lower down on the sprig and are often at the point of leaf attachment . Pruning them encourages the terminal bud , resulting in a long , sparse branch . Dormant bud may remain inactive in the barque or stem and will only grow after the works is cut back . gloss : FertilizeFertilize just before unexampled outgrowth begins with a thoroughgoing fertilizer . gloss : PruningNow is the preferent time to prune this industrial plant .