I have had 4 decorative-leaved begonias for a long time: Begonia heracleifolia, 2 species of Begonia bowerae and Begonia Masoniana. These beauties are a real decoration of the house! It so happened that after many experiments on breeding begonias, only they survived, and so they remained.
Begonia Masoniana
The most capricious of my collection is Begonia Masoniana. How long has she been living with me, and I still can’t please her. Of the 4 young leaves, only one survives, the rest wither and fall off.
I water sparingly, along the edge of the pot, and still she doesn’t like something. But I can’t part with her in any way because of her beauty.
Begonia heracleifolia
The centenarian is Begonia heracleifolia. She is more than 20 years old. One plant or another settles around her, and she still occupies the table on the left side of the northeast window.
This is the hardiest of my begonias. I poured it over and over-dried it, but it lives stubbornly. However, my hand does not rise to part with it: as they say, an old friend is better than two new ones. And indeed, many “new” friends have left me for a long time, and this plant pleases all year round.
Begonia bowerae
The two Begonia bowerae are also very hardy to adverse conditions. Everyone who comes to my house to admire the flowers, mesmerized stop their eyes on the lush colorful bushes.
The miniature Begonia bowerae has yellow spots, like sun splashes, so it seems as if it is all glowing. And the other beauty is very bright and the first one attracts attention, forcing you to immediately ask the question: “What kind of flower is this?”.
How I take care of my begonias
Begonias are very fond of organic top dressing. I make up the soil for them as follows: I take 3 parts of forest land, 1 part of store-bought, 1 part of vermiculite, add 3 handfuls of coniferous substrate (also from the forest), a little coal, a handful of dry crushed cow manure and crushed moss. I mix everything and plant cuttings rooted in water in this soil. The leaves in such a soil grow large, bright, shiny.
I water sparingly at first, and when the bush becomes larger in diameter than the pot — abundantly. In summer I water more often and more abundantly than in winter.
For a year 1-2 times I transfer my begonias into larger pots. I keep them not on the windows, but on a table next to the window, because these plants do not tolerate direct sunlight.
All my beautiful girls in one growing season build up a huge leaf mass so that the pots do not stand up and even tipped over a couple of times. Therefore, the pots have to be propped up or tied up, and the plants themselves must be rejuvenated once a year.
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