Begonia - purchase of tubers and flower care

So nature is arranged that most beautiful summer flowers categorically do not want to bloom in a shady place, although not all flower beds are located completely in the sun. However, the owners of the shady garden in the country have an amazing way - to turn their attention to begonia with its amazing variety of varieties and truly royal. This flower received its name in revenge of Michel Begon, governor of the island of San Domingo.

In total, the genus begonias has more than 400 species growing in the tropics and subtropical regions of America, Africa and also Asia. In the gardens, various decorative leafy species are often found, as well as the ever-flowering and tuberous Begonias, valued for bright and dense flowering. Modern hybrid varieties are descendants of wild species from Bolivia, Ecuador and Peru. Large-flowered Begonias are the most famous and widespread group.

They have large (ten to twenty cm in diameter) terry, rarely non-terry flowers of a variety of colors.

Two-tone varieties are especially effective, for example, white with a red edge. The shapes of the flowers are also different - Comb, Fringed, Camelliform. Varieties of this group are very high (up to 80 cm.), And since Begonias have very fragile stems, it requires mandatory support.

Where it is easier to grow undersized forms. Small-flowered begonias - despite the small size of the flowers (about 5 cm in diameter), look even brighter than large-flowered ones, due to denser flowering and more branched and compact bushes. Ampel Begonias are ideal for balcony drawers and hanging baskets. Their shoots can reach 40-50 centimeters in length, and small double and simple flowers are usually collected in inflorescences, several pieces.

How to choose tuber begonia?

Do not buy tubers in an opaque package. Of course, it's more pleasant to bring a neat little bag with a beautiful picture, and not the gray nodules in the wrapper.

However, and since the tubers are usually found in peat, it is very difficult to carefully consider them. Do not buy a cat in a poke. Fortunately, in most stores, they give you a choice of quality material for planting. On what, it is recommended to pay attention to 1 queue?

Ideally, a young tuber, the egg should be dense to the touch, not very large (about 5 cm in diameter), and as round as possible. If the tuber is flat and resembles a saucer with a depression from last year's stem, then it's old. And the older the tuber, the worse it will bloom and the less its resource in the coming season. Should there be a noticeable sprout on the Begonia club?

It already depends on the time of the purchase.

If you bought the begonia tubers in February and also early March, then with proper storage, they still do not have time to wake up by this time. If a little later, then it's better to choose the tubers that already spawned, because it shows their strength and vitality.

Anyway, you should buy tubers no later than March. It's not even that too late planted Begonia blooms only by the end of summer. Just at the beginning of the season, the choice of varieties is much greater, and by April in most stores there is only what was not sold and is not recommended to anyone.

Find at this time, quality and good tubers are already difficult. From planting to the appearance of the first flowers, it usually takes about 3 months.

In order to admire the flowers in June, you need to plant the tubers in March directly in boxes and baskets in which Begonia will grow all the time, as well as in peat pots, with which you will then plant it in a permanent place. The tubers are pressed into the ground with the convex side down and watered so that moisture does not penetrate the recess on the tuber. As soon as 2-3 visible buds wake up, the tubers need to be divided into separate parts according to the number of sprouts - so you will get several plants at once from the 1st tuber.

Slicers sprinkled with charcoal and also greased with greenery. After a couple of hours, when they dry up, tubers are planted, completely falling asleep with a thin layer of soil.

Keep in mind that the separated tubers usually bloom on 2-3 weeks later. Since the begonias can not tolerate even sufficiently light frosts, they are recommended to plant them on the flower beds only after the end of the cold in your locality, for example in the Moscow region it is recommended to do this in early June.

Plants in containers can be taken out to the garden in May, and if there is a threat of cooling or frost, they can be brought back into the room. Begonias are not very demanding on lighting, but they prefer shaded areas. Successful guarantee of their growth and abundant flowering - frequent, every 2-3 weeks, top dressing with a weak solution of mineral fertilizer, better together with mullein.

The soil must be fertile, constantly moistened, and better with the addition of peat and with good drainage.

After the first autumn cold, the stems are cut at a height of several cm, the tubers are excavated, shaken off lightly from the ground (without removing the old roots) and dried at room temperature for two weeks.

After that it is recommended to remove the remains of the stems. In the books on the cultivation of flowers, tubers are recommended to be placed in dry peat and stored in a cold basement at a temperature of about 2-5 degrees, however it is rather difficult to fulfill these recommendations. Where it is easier to wrap the tubers in paper, put them in a thin plastic bag and put them in the lowest compartment of the refrigerator. Do not forget that about 1 once a month is recommended to take out tubers and inspect them for damage and decay.

Alternative: Begonia from seeds

When is Begonia worth propagating by seed? First of all, in order to obtain a maximum of flowering plants with a minimum of financial costs. Compare yourself: one tuber costs on average about 30 rubles, and a bag with ten seeds costs 17 rubles. True, there is no guarantee that all ten will turn into flowering bushes in a few months. Growing begonias from seeds is an activity for those who are not afraid of difficulties. Here is a list of the basic conditions that it is recommended to fulfill in order to get flowering plants by the summer, and high-quality tubers by the fall.

• Sowing is recommended to spend from December to February, otherwise the flowering will be late, and the tubers will not have time to gain strength
• The seeds of begonias are very small, therefore it is recommended to sow them as neat as possible, not falling asleep with earth and only slightly pressing down to it and sprinkling from the atomizer
• (To preserve soil moisture, it is recommended to cover the crops with glass as well as with a film
• It is recommended to ventilate periodically
• The germination temperature of the seeds should be about 20-22 degrees
• When two leaves appear, plants dive into separate pots so that tubers of plants obtained from seeds in the fall reach the desired size, boxes with begonias are transferred to the room until the first frost and grow until October ...

Begonia - a bright touch of summer

Begonia is one of the most famous annual or perennial ornamental plants of garden and park beds, flower beds and balconies, as well as indoor crops.

Its native land is the tropical regions of South America, it is found in the most humid regions of Africa and in Asia. In its homeland, this plant can reach quite impressive sizes, there are not only herbaceous, but also shrub begonias. The name of this plant comes from the name of the Frenchman Michel Begon, who organized a scientific expedition, during which these flowers were found.

The main distinguishing features of these plants are asymmetric leaves, fleshy stems and dioecious (male and female) flowers.

As beautifully flowering annuals of open ground in our region are grown begonia tuberous and begonia blooming, which gave rise to a variety of varieties. Begonia ever-blooming received its name because of prolonged flowering under favorable conditions. Tuber begonia was recently grown as a garden plant, for a long time it was only a pot culture.

Begonias love moistened air and do not tolerate prolonged heat.

Such different begonia

There are more than a thousand hybrids of various kinds of begonias. Many of them are known as plants of apartments and offices or greenhouses and winter gardens, others decorate summer gardens and flower beds.

All begonias are divided into three large groups - leaf, tuber and bush-shaped.

Leaf begonias have decorative leaves and are grown mainly in the premises, as they do not tolerate direct sunlight, drafts and dry air.

Among the different varieties of tuberous and bush-like begonias, there are decorative-flowering, both short-stemmed (10-30 cm) and long-stemmed (50-60 cm) plants. By the location of the stem in space, they are upright and ampel. The flowers of begonias can be simple and terry, white, yellow, orange, pink or red. Modern breeders grow all kinds of bicolour varieties of tuber begonia, which participate in international exhibitions. The size of the flowers can be from 2.5 to 10 cm in diameter.

Begonia - plant and grow

In our region, begonia can be grown both in open sunny places and in partial shade. It can be planted with seeds and cuttings or tubers, depending on the species and variety.

Begonias tubers are planted from February to May in the enclosed soil with a round side down, and flattened upward, deepening into the soil by half.

Watering is increased gradually, starting with a small amount of water. In the open ground the plants are planted in shaded areas, when the threats of frost pass. Begonias require abundant watering, especially during flowering, but so that the soil can dry out. Twice a month they need mineral and organic top dressing. one or two kidneys, also sprinkling the sections with crushed coal.

Egg-flowering and tuberous begonias can also be sown with seeds. It is necessary to remember that at least 20 weeks pass from sowing seeds to flowering plants.

Begonia seedlings need to be planted in fertile soil - loamy or sandy loam with the addition of humus and complex fertilizer at a distance of 20-30 cm between plants.

Partners for begonia

Begonia tuberous variety of beautiful varieties. Depending on the variety, the height of the plants reaches 25-50 cm. Stems are directly growing or dropping down, juicy. The leaves are large, the color varies from green to reddish-brown, sometimes with veins. Flowers with a diameter from 5 to 20 see terry, semi-double or simple, various colors. Modern varieties and hybrids are subdivided into direct growing and ampel, with dangling shoots.

Tuberous begonia is a unique culture. Despite its aristocratic appearance, it goes well with most flyers and even perennials. However, it works great and alone. These plants look especially impressive in containers. Given that most varieties are brightly colored, begonia combines well with leafy and ornamental crops. To weaken this brightness, it can be combined with plants with gray foliage, such as seaside cineraria, petiolum gelichrysum, Brown calocephalus, silver dichondra, or with bluish foliage, such as festucca.

If you want to get hotter combinations, you can add a hybrid hybrid to the begonias, Ipomoe edible.

In any composition begonia tuber, of course, solo. This is promoted by large flowers, succulent leaves, bright coloration. To emphasize these decorative qualities, it is better to combine it with small-flowered and summer, such as naval lobularia, lobelia. verbena hybrid. One of the most successful combinations, from my point of view, is with begonia always flowering.

At the same time, both plain and contrast combinations look good. When choosing which plants to plant together, it is always worth remembering one rule - the more different colors you get. the smaller number of species should be dispensed with or they should have approximately the same habit, the shape of inflorescences and leaf blades. And vice versa, with monophonic compositions, we can afford to choose plants with a contrasting form of inflorescence. In this case, for example, antirrinum large and hybrid verbena will look good together with begonia.

Given the texture of the tuberous begonia, it can even be used as a border in a mixborder - and the edge is decorated, and due to constant flowering, there is always a color spot.

Despite its individuality, Begonia knows how to “make friends” with the same spectacular plants, such as petunia. You just need to choose the right color, while you can rely on the unit taste, and you can use the color wheel. But, of course, in such a company, the individuality of begonia partially disappears, and the plants look more like an array.

Difficulty of reproduction

Begonia is propagated by dividing the tuber, cuttings, but, of course, the most common way is seed. Begonia seeds are very small (in 1 g - from 80 thousand to 120 thousand pieces), so they are sown in December-January, and ampel hybrids - in November. At this time, there was not enough light in the room, so it is almost impossible to get high-quality seedlings without special illumination. It is much easier to buy seedlings or new tubers every year.

© Natalya Stepanova, Associate Professor, Department of Methodology for Teaching Biology and Ecology, Russian State Pedagogical University. AL Herzen.

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