Flower Begonia (Begonia semperflorens)

Almost in all probability, the begonia semperflorens it is the species of the genus easier to care for. But in addition to that, it is also one of the ones that spends the most time blooming. Although their flowers are rather small, they appear in such numbers that it is a joy to see them.

So whether you want to have a happier home or garden without costing you a lot, next I'm going to talk about some more interesting flower plants that can be enjoyed a lot regardless of how much experience you have caring for plants 🙂.

Origin and characteristics

Known as flower begonia, sugar flower or simply begonia, it is a perennial herbaceous plant but in temperate or cold climates it behaves as an annual or seasonal. It is native to Brazil, although today it is also cultivated in all the warm regions of the world.

It can reach a height of 20 to 40 centimeters, with fleshy and somewhat branched stems from which oval leaves sprout, lighter or darker green depending on the variety, and may even be reddish. The flowers are small, 1-2cm, red, white, pink or white, and appear during a good part of the year.

What are the care of the begonia semperflorens?

If you want to have a copy, provide it with the following care 🙂:

Location

It is a plant that it can be both outside and inside the home. If you choose to have it outside, you should know that it tolerates both semi-shade and shade, and the sun if it is not very strong does not harm it either.

On the other hand, if you choose to enjoy it at home, put it in a well-lit room, away from drafts. I do not recommend putting it right in front of the window, since it could burn due to the so-called magnifying glass effect, which occurs when the rays of the king star pass through the glass and, when hitting the leaf, causes it to burn.

Soil or substrate

It depends on where you are going to grow it:

• Garden: it is important that it has good drainage and that it is fertile. If the one you have is not like that, do not worry because as the sugar flower is small, you only have to make a planting hole of about 40 x 40cm and fill it with universal growing substrate (for sale here) with perlite (for sale here) in equal parts.
• Flower pot: fill with the mixture of substrates mentioned above, or with mulch (for sale here) and perlite in equal parts.

Irrigation of the begonia semperflorens

This is a species that it does not resist drought at all well, but is also very afraid of waterlogging. For this reason, apart from using a soil or a substrate that drains the water well, it is very important to ensure that these are moist, but not puddled.

Taking this into account, how often do you have to water? Well, it will depend on the weather conditions in the area and where we have it, but to give you an idea, if you are outside in a place where it rains little and the temperature is very high, you may need about 3 waterings per week in the hottest season and 1-2 weekly waterings the rest of the year.

In the case of having it indoors, the frequency will be less since the earth takes longer to dry. Of course, regardless of whether it is indoors or outdoors, you should never wet the leaves or flowers, as otherwise they would rot. It is also not a good idea to put a plate under it, because if the roots have permanent contact with the water, they also have a hard time.

Related article:

How often to water potted plants?

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In spring and summer It is advisable to pay with fertilizers for flowering plants following the indications specified on the packaging (for sale here), or if you prefer with guano (here you have it liquid and here in granules) which is natural.

Pruning the begonia semperflorens

With scissors previously disinfected with pharmacy alcohol or a few drops of dishwasher, you must cut the dry leaves, and the withered flowers. There is no specific time to do it, since you can perform this task at any time of the year.

Planting or transplanting time

Whether you want to plant it in the garden or change it pot, do it in spring, when the minimum temperature is pleasant (about 15-20ºC).

Pests

Is sensitive to aphids, trips, White fly, nematodes, and Mites. All these are pests that you will see especially in spring and summer, and that you can treat with potassium soap (for sale here) or with diatomaceous earth (for sale here).

It is also important to control snails and slugs, especially if you are in the garden.

Management

It can be affected by botrytis u powdery mildew, which are two fungal diseases that cause whitish spots to appear on the leaves and the stems to rot. To treat them, you have to space out the irrigations and apply fungicides that contain sulfur.

Also the bacteria of the genus Xanthormonas, Agrobacterium and Corynebacterium can cause problems, in particular, galls on roots and leaves, protrusions in the root system, or rotting of the cuttings of leaves and stems respectively. They are fought with copper, although it is not very effective since bacteria reproduce very quickly.

Multiplication

It multiplies by seeds and cuttings in spring.

Seeds

It is the method that is used the most. To do this, you have to sow the seeds in pots or seedling trays with universal growing substrate, and place the seedbed outside, in semi-shade. Keeping the soil moist but not flooded, they will germinate in about 14 days.

Cuttings begonia semperflorens

If you dare, you can cut a stem, impregnate its base with homemade rooting agents, and then plant it in a pot with vermiculite (for sale here). Then, you just have to sprinkle copper or sulfur to prevent fungus, and place the pot outside, in semi-shade.

It will root in two weeks or so.

Rusticity

It does not support the cold, much less frost. If the temperature drops below 0 degrees, the ideal is to have it at home, at least until spring returns.

What did you think of begonia semperflorens?