How to Care Begonia Indoors Properly

Begonia is an ornamental plant that has beautiful brightly colored flowers and a variety of flowers with beautiful foliage, but not all begonias have flowers that grow with only their leaves and it could attract anyone’s eyes who sees them. Begonias are the right plants to add to the beauty of your garden or put indoors because they have beautiful flowers and leaves when blooming.

Begonia flower is one type of ornamental plant that you should consider to decorate your home. In addition to its beautiful color, it turns out that begonias are houseplant that is easy to grow indoor or outdoor. There is begonias flower that looks like rose when it blooms named Tuberous begonia.

By caring begonia plant with the right way, from spring to autumn the flower of begonia will bloom well.

Well to grow and care begonias indoors you can use fertile soil in a pot filled. And when growing begonias in pots, there are 3 points you have to provide:

The type of soil
The size of the pot
The amount of soil you use

Soil and Pot

When choosing media planting in a pot, you have to use neutral or slightly acidic soil. Your pot should be able to give space to your plants, to consider root growth and don’t choose the size of pot so that is too big because large pot will make you use up too much soil. And if you use too much soil, the soil in the pot will absorb water easily that cause waterlog, which can rot the roots of the plants and kill your plants.

There is any other tips that grow begonias using wet rock or small pebbles as the top layer of the media planting in pots. Just place the rhizome on the rocks. So you don’t have to bury the begonia’s entire rhizome. Or else you can put begonia on the gravel in container that has been given water like this picture below!

Light

There is begonias like lots of sunshine, so best place to keep them indoors is near windows that east facing window or west so your plants will get a few hours of sun each day and it is good light levels and natural sources of heat. But avoid placing begonias on southerly windows from February to September, as there will be too much sun at this time, unless you are using light curtains to reduce of light getting in.

Be sure to filter out light coming from the east or west if the begonias are placed against a wall or water. If you choose to use a fluorescent lamp, you will need to place it 2-6 inches above the plant. You should keep this lamp on for about 12 hours in a day, although some begonia growers run on fluorescent lamps for 14 hours a day. Take a note you will need to water your plants more frequently if you intend to use artificial light.

Keep your begonias warm. You need to keep a minimum indoor temperature of 55.4°F, as begonias can not tolerate cold temperatures and will have a hard time growing at lower temperatures.

How to watering begonia indoors?

Water when the potting surface feels damp but not wet.
You should water more often when the room temperature is warm, the sun is bright and your plant is flowering heavily and growing faster.
Water your plant so that the water out through the hole in the bottom of pot.
In fall and winter (cooler temperature) let the soil on a pot little bit dry.
First remove the water from the bottom of the pot before watering,
If the type of begonia at home you are having is rex begonia, you can water them by using sprayer and do it twice a week to provide high humidity and prevent them from falling. Use warm water in a spray bottle.

Fertilizer

Apply fertilizer. You will need to apply a water soluble fertilizer so that your plant flowers bloom once every month from February to September.
In late fall and winter you have to fertilize less frequently as your crops won’t grow as fast as other months.
According to the directions on the package you can mix the fertilizer .
If the fertilizer is already in the potting soil you are using, wait for three months before fertilizing.
Cut the plants regularly. You will need to prune dead flowers and leaves. You should also trim broken stems to promote plant growth. Dust the leaves as well if necessary.

How to prune begonia indoors?

As the plant’s energy can concentrate on the growth of their leaves you have to remove the tiny flowers from the rex begonias as they start to bloom.

If you grow tuberous begonia, place them in the room once it has lightly snowed.

Cut the leaves and let the pot dry. You can remove the tubers and store them in peat or in a pot. Store the plant in a dark, cool room with a higher temperature than a snowy location, which is protected from rodents.

Points you should know!

Transplant the tuberous begonias into new pots in early spring. Plant the tubers in the hollow side up, with only a thin layer of soil covered You must place the pot in a place with lots of sun and then water it regularly Don’t forget that you should also plant these tuberus begonias outdoors once the danger of frost has passed.
Most begonias can live for 2 to 3 years even with good care, no begonias are long-lived. Usually Begonia bulbs can grow in between 4 to 5 years if cared for properly.
Tuberous begonias need to be stored during the winter, and are not suitable for planting during the winter. The Reiger, Elatior and Lorraine begonias also do not have a dormant period.
Wax begonia, is a type of shrub begonia that is widely grown. If you plant it in a warm place it will flower all year round.
Cane (Angel Wing) and Rex or leafy begonias are also suitable for growing indoors. And cane begonias will go into a dormant period if the surrounding temperature is too cold.

NOTE:

Too much watering is main cause of rot root of begonia so don’t let the begonia pots get too wet.