If you want to raise shade-tolerant flowers that can enjoy the leaves and flower on the indoor window sill or tabletop, begonias are a choice not to be missed. Begonia has a very large number of varieties, they originally grew in the tropics, subtropical regions, through the botanists continue to cross breeding, now begonias have a lot of flower color varieties.
Above is the large flower begonia
Common species of begonias include: begonias, begonias, begonias, begonias, begonias, begonias, begonias, begonias, begonias,
Above is a green belt of four-season begonias
Begonias can be raised on sunny window sills or balconies, and the appropriate soft light (3 to 6 hours) every day can meet its growth needs, and then I will introduce the problems encountered by indoor begonias, as well as solutions.
First, diseases and prevention methods
1. Powdery mildew
If the potted begonias are cultivated in an overly shady environment, and the leaves are often wet, and there is often water residue on the leaf surface, it is easy to be infected with powdery mildew. The symptom is that white or gray powdery spots or patches appear on the leaf surface, and once this is seen, it is necessary to control the ambient humidity and avoid frequent wetting of the leaves.
Begonias like moisture, but do not like particularly humid and unventilated environments, in addition to avoid long-term residual moisture on the leaves, it is best to water it in the morning, at night the water can evaporate clean.
If you want to prevent begonias from becoming infected with powdery mildew, you can spray potted begonias with a fungicide every 2 to 3 weeks, and you can use the common carbendazim, methyl tolbucin or daisen manganese zinc solution (sprayed evenly on the leaf surface, leaf back and plant).
If you do not want to use chemical pesticides, you can use baking soda mixed with water, and then mixed with a few drops of vegetable oil, stirred evenly and sprayed on the stems and leaves, you can also achieve a certain bactericidal effect.
The specific mixing ratio is: baking soda, vegetable oil and water are mixed in a ratio of 1:1:300. For example, 15 ml of baking soda mixed with 15 ml of vegetable oil and 4500 ml of water.
If the plant has been infected with powdery mildew, some serious diseases can be cut off, and timely spray powerful fungicides, which can be used for common pentazole, ether esters and so on.
2. There are marks of burns on the leaf surface
If you find that the leaves of begonias have become black-brown and have very clear traces, it is usually caused by excessive dryness of the air, or excessive light intensity, or it may be that it has not been replenished for a long time, which will also cause the edges of the leaves to dry up.
In order to make the begonia recover better, it is necessary to move it to a place without sun exposure in time, give soft scattered light, and water in time to avoid air humidity below 40% for a long time.
3.Sprouts falling out
If you find that the new shoots of begonias have just emerged, they have not grown up and fall off, and the new shoots quickly dry and turn brown, which is caused by the environment is not suitable, such as the sudden drop in temperature, and the best temperature for maintaining begonias is between 18 and 35 degrees.
Above are white-flowered begonias of all seasons
If the temperature is higher than 35 degrees, or the temperature is below 18 degrees, it will easily lead to new shoots falling off. The minimum maintenance temperature should be maintained above 7 degrees. Raise potted begonias to avoid long-term dry soil, and do not accumulate water in the potting soil.
4. It is difficult to raise flowers
Begonia flowering is less and less, usually due to insufficient light caused, if you find that the leaves of begonia grow more tender, and the edge of the leaf is dark red, the gap between the branches and leaves is constantly elongated, and the leaves gradually grow delicate, it is a lack of light.
Begonias that lack light should gradually move to a location with appropriate scattered light, do not sun too much at once, gradually increase the light, and avoid exposure.
Also be careful not to add too much fertilizer to the begonias with too much nitrogen content, otherwise it will also lead to reduced flowering.
5. Rotten leaves or rhizomes
If the soil is constantly waterlogged, or the potting soil is excessively wet, it will cause rhizome rot.
The maintenance of begonias must give some loose, breathable and well-drained soil, if it is planted on the ground to maintain begonias, it must be drained in advance, do not plant in places with excessively low-lying terrain.
For the conservation of begonias in pots, loose sandy soil (peat soil, coarse coconut bran and perlite, mixed in a 5:3:2 ratio) are selected with pots with more drainage holes.
If you find that the leaves and branches inexplicably become black and rotten, generally due to fungal infections, usually we must pay attention to keeping the environment clean, which is very critical, usually there are fallen leaves on the soil, dead leaves should be cleaned up in time, and the residual flowers should be removed in time.
Second, common pests and treatment
Begonias themselves are not infected with any insect pests, and occasionally infected with aphids, whiteflies or thrips, which are very easy to remove. Begonia is a very tolerant tropical subtropical ornamental plant that is virtually harmless.
Once begonias are found to be infected with aphids, whiteflies or thrips, they can be sprayed with the same drug to remove, that is, imidacloprid, which is low virulence and effective. Only the leaf surface, leaf back, the whole plant and soil need to be sprayed evenly, every 10 days, and once or twice to completely remove the pest.
Third, other issues to deal with
In general, the maintenance of potted begonias is very simple, it prefers bright scattered light, avoiding the noon and afternoon exposure, it can make it grow well, maintain a warm environment, and let it flower all year round.
Here to remind everyone, although the begonia is more shade-tolerant, it also needs more scattered light to be easier to flower, during the flowering period, the flowers are best not to get wet, you can extend the flowering period.
Above is the bulb begonia
May to October of each year is the peak growing season for begonias, during which fertilizers with higher phosphorus and potassium content can be supplemented every 2 weeks, such as Huaduoduo No. 2 or potassium dihydrogen phosphate solution, or other flower-promoting fertilizers.
Also pay attention to avoid adding too much nitrogen fertilizer to it in the summer, otherwise it will overgrowth the stems and leaves, the leaves will grow vigorously, the ventilation between the stems and leaves is not good, and it is easy to infect germs, which will also lead to reduced flowering.
Above is the toad leaf begonia
Planting potted begonias do not let the soil dry too badly, must be timely to replenish water, while avoiding excessive soil moisture, this is why to prepare suitable soil for potted begonias, such as peat soil with perlite, mixed in a 3:1 or 4:1 ratio, you can also mix in the soil with appropriate coarse sand or humus soil, increase the humus in the soil, the bottom of the pot can be added appropriate slow fertilization, to avoid direct contact with the roots of the fertilizer.
Above are trout begonias
If you want to avoid begonia infection, in addition to giving proper light to improve environmental ventilation, you should also pay attention not to water from the top of the begonia plant, avoid leaves and flowers when watering, directly water the water into the pot soil, and remove some over-dense stems and leaves.
In the spring and autumn, several more pots of begonias can be propagated, which can be propagated by stem cuttings, and the long stems can be cut off, the bottom leaves are removed, and the cuttings are in the sandy soil to maintain warm ventilation and appropriate scattering of light.
Winter maintenance begonias should prevent frostbite, winter maintenance temperature must be maintained at more than 5 to 7 degrees, the temperature is too low is easy to frostbite.