Royal Begonia, Reproduction And Cultivation

2024 Author: Sebastian Paterson | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:47

According to the horoscope, the zodiac sign Aries (March 21-April 20) corresponds to plants: ehmeya sparkling and striped, garden geranium (with red and dark pink flowers), fluffy coleria, Indian and Japanese azalea (with red and pink flowers), reed gusmania, dwarf pomegranate, euphorbia brilliant, royal begonia.

Begonias are among the beautiful deciduous plants that are in constant demand in the flower market. They can be found, perhaps, in almost every institution and in most amateur flower growers who keep large collections of flowers. Begonias are bred mainly for the sake of large magnificent leaves and are used to decorate rooms in autumn and winter. Passion for them, like most ancient flowering plants, has experienced several booms over three centuries of cultivation.

Under natural conditions, these plants are common in the tropics and subtropics of America, Africa, on the island of Madagascar, in Southeast Asia (China, Japan, Vietnam). In tropical forests, they cover the ground with almost a solid carpet. The begonias are believed to be from the tropical forests of Java. In such forests there are no sunny glades, under the canopy of the foliage of huge plants dusk reigns, the air is saturated with moisture. They live in humid shady places - in forests, in crevices of rocks, on old trees.

For a huge variety of the genus of begonias, their characteristic properties are noted: unisexual, monoecious flowers, collected in inflorescences; asymmetrical leaves and succulent stems. It is the unevenly developed oblique-medullary leaves that gave rise to the apt German name of the genus "clubleaf". By the way, this leaf shape (oblique), if you look closely, really resembles a traditional heart pattern: one half of it is wider, the other narrower: the central vein divides the leaf blade into two rather unequal parts. maple leaves.

It is believed that the genus Begonia (Begonia) comes from the name of a great lover and collector of colors of the governor of Haiti M. Begona, who lived in the XVII century. in San Domingo. It contains about 1000 species of annual and perennial grasses, lianas, shrubs and dwarf shrubs. Begonias are varied in size, there are even very miniature plants (up to 2-4 cm).

By the way, begonia has an interesting Russian name, indicating that this plant was known in Russia already in 1812. Then, after the French fled from Moscow, begonia was called "Napoleon's ear". Indeed, the contours of the bottom red side of the begonia leaf looks like a large frostbitten ear. Sometimes, because of their shape, begonia leaves are called "elephant ears".

Depending on the root system, the genus of begonias (includes more than 2,000 species and hybrid varieties) is divided into three groups: tuberous (decorative flowering), bush (with a common rhizome), decorative deciduous (with a thickened fleshy rhizome).

Tuberous begonias, delighting flower growers with magnificent foliage and beautiful summer flowering, are rather capricious plants that require special treatment: a lot of light (with its deficiency - yellowing and falling leaves); optimal humidification of the air and soil (with dry air or excess moisture in the soil - dropping of buds, damage to the underground part with gray rot); relatively low (7 … 10 ° C) temperature during winter maintenance (period of deep dormancy); very fertile soil substrate; regular feeding during the growing season, etc.

Shrub (flower) begonias bloom throughout the year (periodically) and require obligatory good lighting, a constant supply of fresh air (drafts are excluded), a certain temperature (15 … 20 ° C) and extremely moderate (but the soil should not completely dry out) watering during the whole year.

Ornamental deciduous begonias (with a thickened rhizome), unlike flowering begonias, grow throughout the year, but more actively in spring and summer. These include the royal begonia (royal) or rex (rex begonia), whose homeland is believed to be in the tropical regions of Vietnam. She has a creeping stem, covered with coarse dense pubescence, and large (up to 30 cm long and 20 cm wide) magnificent patterned leaves, the lower part of which is reddish, and the color of the upper, depending on the varietal characteristics, can be of various original colors (silver, bronze, brown, red - with a metallic, pearlescent and bluish tint), smooth or large warty, with pubescent or non-pubescent petioles.

Begonia is characterized by the presence of aquiferous tissue in the petiole, making it similar to the aquiferous tissue of succulents. Single flowers in leaf begonias are unassuming: rather small, irregular in shape. It is better to remove the flower arrows, since the leaves of faded begonias often fall off.

Begonia rex (homeland - the Indian state of Assam) is classified as a thermophilic plant, the air temperature during the year should be in the range of 16 … 22 ° C. It is placed in bright rooms, but carefully protected from direct sunlight (especially on windows of southern and western orientation) - under their influence, the leaves turn pale and lose their decorative effect. The air in the room should be fresh, not too dry, but drafts are undesirable.

Like all other species, royal begonias are watered abundantly in summer, at this time it does not tolerate dry air, so containers with water or wet moss are placed near the plant for moistening. Experts do not advise waiting for the topsoil to dry out. Therefore, air humidification is additionally carried out using a spray bottle. But this type of begonia itself, which has pubescence, is not sprayed in order to prevent the appearance of brown spots on the leaves.

Since large begonia leaves collect a lot of dust, in the summer it is advisable (at least once every 3-4 weeks) to wipe them with a dry cloth, since a damp cloth will only smear the dirt on the surface. During wintering, she needs a temperature of 16 … 19 ° C (but not lower than 12 ° C); watered very carefully, as it sheds leaves from excess moisture during this period.

The soil substrate for begonias is made up of a mixture of leaf (humus) and soddy soil with the addition of peat and necessarily coarse sand (1-2: 2: 1: 1). Leafy soil (in the form of decomposed leaves) is taken from under a linden or birch, sod soil is prepared from the upper layer (10-12 cm) of meadow sod. High moor peat is used as peat land (after weathering for 2-3 years).

During the period of active growth, fertilization with a solution of complete mineral fertilizer (once a month) is favorably reflected on the life of plants. But the fertilizing solution is not applied with dry soil, so as not to burn the root system, but only after abundant watering with warm water.

Here it is worth following the recommendation: it is better to "underfeed" the plant, since "overfeeding" can salt the soil. Manure is considered the best organic fertilizer, but it must be allowed to ferment for about two weeks; at the same time, cow or horse - diluted 5 times, bird droppings - 10-15 times. In the spring, an annual transplant into a container that is slightly larger in size is advisable. Usually this plant is not kept for more than 3-4 years. If you notice signs of oppression, it is best to replace the mother plant with a new one.

Royal begonia is very easy to propagate vegetatively, i.e. growing parts of the plant (leaves, leaf parts and even parts of the stem). It is possible to carry out a rather interesting reproduction of Rex begonias, at the same time obtaining a very large number of "babies".

To do this, a fully developed leaf is separated with a part of the petiole, put on glass and cut with a sharp knife all the main veins (every 1-1.5 cm), directly above the places where they bifurcate. The leaf cut in this way is placed on the surface of the earth in a bowl so that the part of the petiole with it is immersed in the ground. So that the leaf does not wrap up and adjoins the entire lower surface to the ground, small stones are placed on it in the intervals between the veins.

The dish is covered with glass (that is, a "microstep" is made), and the ground is kept evenly moist. Water from the edge of the bowl so as not to soak the leaf, which can rot from this. To breed begonias in this way, it is necessary to maintain a sufficiently high temperature for plant development.

A few weeks later, from almost all the incisions, as well as from the petiole, in the place where the veins depart, lovely young begonias will rise - copies of an adult begonia with miniature leaves. In this manner, from one sheet, you can get a lot of tiny plants, which you just have to separate and plant. Propagation of begonias is possible even in separate pieces of a leaf, or you can simply put a begonia leaf on wet sand and press on top with large pebbles.

There are a huge number of varieties of royal begonia, and their number is replenished every year. Plants from Holland dominate the retail chain now. When purchasing a plant for yourself, carefully inspect it while still in the store, paying attention to the normal turgor of the leaves, their healthy and bright color, to the absence of bloom and dry spots, to the presence of pests (especially on the underside of the leaves).