Begonia - care at home, features of proper cultivation

A beautiful plant of begonia is decorated not only by parks, parks and gardens, but also by our apartments. It belongs to the begonia family, which includes about 2000 different hybrids. For decorative purposes, it was used 200 years ago. Let's find out all about the flower of begonia - care at home, how to multiply it and protect it from diseases.

Types of indoor begonia

This beautiful house flower was named after Michel Begon, who first discovered an unknown plant in the 17th century on the Antilles. Today, a huge variety of different varieties of begonias are subdivided into two main categories:

1. Ornamental-deciduous. They do not have a common stem. Their amazingly beautiful pubescence grows directly from the root, have a different shape and color: red, silvery, yellow, brown and even white. The most famous deciduous begonias are Royal, Metallica, Tiger and others.
2. Decorative and flowering. These include begonias with beautiful flowers of different shades: begonia ever-flowering Baby Vin, Elatior, Ambasador, etc.

When does indoor begonia blossom?

If you provide a begonia flower the proper care at home, then it will bloom very long. For this it is loved by many florists. Blooming in the beginning of spring, indoor flowers begonia decorate the house or apartment until late autumn. Some of its varieties, for example, the ever-flowering Elathior, can only bloom in the winter. Planted on the street, this plant blooms only in the summer months: from June to September.

Why does not the indoor begonia blossom?

Often, begonia room ceases to bloom because of insufficient care for it. The plant may not like such conditions of care and maintenance:

• little light;
• very dry air;
• the temperature is too low or too high;
• excess fertilizer;
• presence of drafts.

When you remove all these shortcomings, your beautiful begonia, home care for which is simple, will blossom again. If this does not happen, you can apply the so-called "short day" reception. For this, for 2 weeks, it is necessary to cover the begonia with a black film, thus artificially reducing the light day. At this time, buds begin to be actively laid on her. Then the light day slowly begin to increase.

Begonia room - care

If you observe for a flower like begonia, proper care at home, it will retain a beautiful appearance, and its flowering will be plentiful and long lasting. The following indicators are especially important for this:

1. Lighting. Bright sun rays are necessary for flowering begonias, but from the direct hot sun it is better to pritenyat that the leaves are not burned.
2. Temperature. Begonias are quite suitable for indoor summer 20-22 ° C and winter 15-18 ° C.
3. Air humidity. Care and growing begonia at home is to ensure its damp environment, just do not spray it. It is better to install the pot with the plant in a tray that is put in a wider container. Around lay the moss, and from time to time water it with water, which, evaporating, will provide begonia with the necessary moisture.

Pot for indoor begonia

To plant a small stalk of begonia, you need a small pot 5-6 cm in size with drainage holes. Approximately six months later, when the house plant of begonia grows a sufficient root system, it must be transplanted into a large container, the size of which is 8-10 cm. The next transplant, depending on the root formed, should be carried out after a year, and the pot should be taken a third more than the previous one . If you do not comply with this rule and from the very beginning plant a flower in a very large capacity, then its roots may begin to rot.

Soil for indoor begonia

The flower of begonia, the care at home which is, including in the correct planting, loves nutritious and loose soil. Since the roots are weak and very tender, the ground for the begonia of the room must be air-and moisture-permeable, and the acidity of the soil is weak. Land for begonias can be bought at the store. If you want to compose it yourself, then the mixture should have such components:

• peat - 2 parts;
• leaf earth - 2 parts;
• sand - 1 part;
• compost - 1 part.

For greater looseness of the soil, you can add vermiculite, coconut fiber or perlite. Excellent reduce the acidity of soil lime or dolomite flour. The prepared mixture must be sifted, removing all large inclusions. After that, the land should be scalded with boiling water or baked in the oven. This will destroy all possible pathogenic microorganisms. At the bottom of the pot, fill in gravel or expanded clay.

How to water begonia at home?

This beautiful houseplant is very hygrophilous. Therefore, watering begonia at home is one of the important components of flower care. Experts recommend adhering to certain rules:

1. Organize a drainage system at the bottom of the tank.
2. Water should be watered at room temperature, which was defended during the day.
3. Moisten the soil should be if it is dry at a depth of 1.5 cm.
4. In the autumn-winter season, water the flower once a week. The tuberous begonia is contained in dry peat generally without irrigation.
5. In summer, watering should be more abundant. Water so that excess water flows through the drainage holes.
6. Leaving in hot time means watering begonia every day.
7. Do not allow stagnation of water, often leads to rotting roots.
8. Watering should be at the root, as many begonias do not like moisture on the flowers and leaves.

Transplanting begonia at home

Care of the flower involves a periodic transplant. Beginners are interested in how to transplant begonia at home. A sure sign that this should be done is the roots that get out of the drainage hole. Carefully take the begonia from the pot and free the roots from the old soil. For 30 minutes, place them in a light pink solution of potassium permanganate, and then rinse under a stream of water, while removing the dry or rotten rootlets. After drying a little, we plant the bush into a pot, which is larger than the previous one.

Feeding begonia at home

Those who are interested in how to care for indoor begonia, you should know that one of the elements of care is the fertilizing of the plant. Flowering begonias need to be fed twice a month, starting from the time when they will have buds. To do this, use funds intended for flowering plants, containing phosphorus and potassium. Decorative and deciduous begonia need nitrogen fertilizers. If such tools are used for flowering varieties, then flowering may not occur at all.

Begonia - home care after purchase

Those flower growers who decide to decorate their house with a beautiful plant, you need to know some of the finer points of care for a begonia flower at home after its purchase:

1. Selecting a location. If begonia you have appeared in autumn or winter, then it is better to place it on the western or eastern window, and bought in the summer should be placed on the north window sill. Try not to allow drafts and do not move the container from place to place.
2. Watering. Immediately after buying begonia, water should not be watered. If the room is excessively hot and dry, you can put a pot of water near the vase. After the adaptation period, the plant can be watered if necessary.
3. Transfer. Immediately after the purchase, do not rush to transplant begonia, especially if it blooms. In the transplant, only the plant that is flooded or the soil in it of questionable quality needs.
4. Quarantine. It lasts 2 weeks, and only after its termination it is possible to place begonia next to other flowers.

Begonia - home care in winter

If your house plant bloomed all summer, then with the onset of the cold season, he has a rest period. Growing and caring for begonia bedtime in winter is as follows:

1. It should not be transplanted at this time.
2. Reduce watering. In order not to cause rotting of the roots, the flower can be watered at this time only if the soil in the pot becomes completely dry.
3. Humidify the air. As the heating season in the room becomes excessively dry, it is possible to spray the air in the room from the atomizer or to hang the wet cloth on the batteries.

How to trim begonia at home?

When growing a begonia flower, care at home is followed by compulsory pruning. Without this procedure, you can not grow a beautiful plant. If it is not carried out, the stem will stretch, the shoots will become thin, and the leaves - shallow. Trimming begonia at home is needed to form a beautiful crown and improve flowering. It is best to do this in the fall. Experienced flower growers recommend this way to prune home begonia:

1. For the first time, young begonia should be pruned when its stems reach a height of 6-7 cm. The tip is cut with a sharp knife, which will stimulate the growth of the lateral stems.
2. After that, watering must be reduced before the growth of new shoots begins.
3. As soon as the lateral stems grow to 10 cm, their tips must also be cut, making sure that the pruning is carried out over the kidney that grows in the direction of the outer side.
4. In the future, it is necessary to shorten the stretched shoots from time to time, and also to remove the dried stems to maintain a neat crown.

How to propagate begonia at home?

Inexperienced flower growers-lovers want to know how the begonia of the room multiplies. Reproduction methods depend on the type of flower and its root system:

1. Cuttings. So the begonias that have the stem multiply. Cut a stem about 10 cm long, remove the lower leaves, and cut the top half. After drying the slices, cut the stalk into the ground, poured into the pot, to the very leaves. The sapling is covered with a plastic bottle, and in a month you will receive a new begonia.
2. Seeds. In this way, all flowering begonias reproduce. On the moistened purchase soil spread the seeds, slightly pressing into the soil (do not sprinkle the soil). Top with a packet and put in heat. Seedlings should appear in 2 weeks. With the appearance of leaves, plants are placed in cups.
3. By dividing the bush. In the spring a large bush of begonia can be divided. We remove it from the pot, rinse the roots in water and cut the bush with a knife so that in each division there is at least one germ or kidney. Slices sprinkle with crushed coal, plant new bushes in different pots and pour them.
4. Reproduction by leaf. Used for begonias that do not have a stem. It is necessary to cut one healthy leaf. Put it on a flat plane and cut the triangles with a sharp knife so that for each one you have 1-2 veins. Insert pieces slice into moist soil and cover the top with the package. When the sprouts appear, the young plants are planted in a pot.

Diseases of the room begonia

The diseases of this flower are directly related to the quality of care, and it does not matter at all whether the begonia from the seeds was grown at home or grown by an adult plant. There are such her illnesses:

1. Gray mold - on the flowers and leaves a greenish-brown coating appears.
2. Powdery mildew - leaves and stems are covered with white spots in the form of powder.
3. Black root rot - the roots of the flower begin to turn black and rot.
4. Cucumber mosaic virus - the leaves are deformed, they appear yellow spots and rings.
5. Nematodes - the roots appeared on the roots, and the leaves were discolored.