Ampelous begonia: planting and care at home and in the open ground, the features of growing this tuberous flower, as well as many photos

Ampel begonia has recently been popular. She deserved such recognition, as she looks very attractive. How can you not like a plant with delicate, bright and asymmetric leaves framed by flowers of various shapes and colors?

An essential advantage of this plant is its unpretentiousness in care. Even beginners will cope with it after studying this material.

What is this plant?

In the XVII century, during a scientific expedition to the islands near South America, botanists came across an unusual plant. Three years were not named, and after this time it was designated among other plant crops, named in honor of the organizer of the scientific expedition, Mr. M. Begon. Over time, more and more species were discovered, exploring forests in South America, India, Asia and Africa.

Reference! Today in the wild there are more than one thousand species of begonias, and hybrids growing in apartments are ten times less.

Why not decorate your apartment with a pot of this plant? They fall in love with ampel begonia because of the brightness of flowers and unpretentiousness. She has semi- or double flowers framed by asymmetric spotted leaves, because of which many novice growers confuse her with peonies or camellias. It rarely grows above 50 cm.

Growing conditions

To ampelic begonia pleased with the abundance of flowers, it is important to organize proper care for her. What temperature is maintained in the room? What should be the humidity?

Temperature

Ampel begonia grows at home if the room temperature is + 14-22 degrees Celsius. If it grows strongly, the plant will suspend its growth and development. With the onset of winter provide peace for the flower. Begonia growing in the garden is dug up to remove the tubers in a place where the temperature will be + 5-12 ° C.

The air temperature in the room should always be the same as described above. When airing, drafts are avoided.

Lighting

Ampelic begonias do not like direct sunlight. They are placed on the windowsill, where the light, although bright, but diffused. Under the bright rays of the sun, they keep the pot with it for only 2-3 hours in the morning and in the evening, i.e. raise a reflective film. The abundance of sunlight will come in handy in late summer, when the air temperature begins to gradually fall.

Humidity

Homeland begonias - countries with a tropical climate. Ampelic begonia loves heat, but air humidity is maintained in the region of 60%. The first sprayings are done in early spring, until buds are formed. Drops of water should not fall on leaves and petals. Because of them, they turn yellow, which makes it difficult to find a flower beautiful.

Attention! What to do if the weather was hot in late August? The plant will suffer without additional cooling. At this time, the pan helps, which is placed under the pot, pre-filled with wet pebbles, peat or sawdust.

About the cultivation and reproduction of ampelous begonias read in this article.

How and when can I plant and transplant?

A good example of ampelic begonia is obtained if the tuber is strong and healthy (read about tuberous begonia here). In the flower shop they don’t buy the first one, but only the one that will be healthy and in diameter will exceed three centimeters. When choosing tubers of small-flowered varieties, preference is given to peeled specimens on which there are no spots and damage. They should have a dense upper part, and all kidneys that look like bumps and bumps should not be damaged.

Before planting the tubers into the ground, keep them with the lower, convex side on a cloth moistened with water. Instead, you can use wet sand. So that the planting material does not disappear, it is sprayed from time to time with water or Epin's solution. When the buds give tiny white roots, you can plant the tubers in the ground. The plant is transplanted when it ceases to fit in a pot. Choose a more spacious container and simply transfer the ampelic begonia into it.

Remember that it is better to choose small and wide pots in which drainage holes are made, and then a drainage layer formed of petioles and expanded clay is laid. After sprouts appear on the tubers, they are planted in a nutrient and loose soil, previously treated with fungicide. They are planted with the convex side on the spilled soil. The upper part is not covered with soil until visible sprouts appear.

After planting, keep the pot with transplanted begonia in a warm and bright place. Water it from time to time, but with great care so that drops of moisture do not fall on the tuber. With the advent of the third leaf, the tuber is sprinkled with earth.

Useful video about planting ampel begonia:

How to care at home?

Experienced flower growers keep ampel begonia on the western window. The sun's rays illuminate it from 11 to 15 hours. With moderate watering without waterlogging of the substrate, it will soon bloom. To speed up the flowering process, they feed it. What rules are important to follow when feeding and watering?

Top dressing

For rapid growth and elegant flowering, the young flower is fed with nitrogen fertilizers. When a set of colors, they change them to others - for flowering plants, in which there will be little nitrogen, but a lot of potassium and phosphorus. Sometimes ampel begonia is fed with fertilizers in chelated form, in which there are many useful trace elements. Organic fertilizers are applied no more than 1-2 times a year.

Important! Top dressing with nitrogen-containing fertilizers is stopped as soon as they notice that the stems on the ampel begonia have become watery.

Watering

In winter, they don’t water begonia, but simply maintain humidity in the region of 60%, pouring water into the pan with moss under the pot so that the tubers do not dry out. Watering is slowly reduced since October. It is renewed with the onset of spring. Never pour water in the middle of a flower, so as not to provoke rotting of the roots.

How to pinch?

Growers with experience do not recommend pinching ampel begonia. Pinching depletes the strength of the tuber. It is better to leave it in the form in which it is. Because of this, the release of buds will occur later than expected. To bring everything back to normal, they are cut off, trying to grow the stem and prepare the accumulation of a large number of nutrients in the tubers. If the plant is very long, substitute the support and suspend.

Features of the content in the open ground

Planting ampelous begonia in open ground, carefully prepare the site for planting. They make holes, and they add peat and compost. If you don’t have them at hand, you can fill them with mineral fertilizers containing phosphorus and potassium. Before planting a plant in open ground, spill it with water. The main thing is to loosen the soil of a plant growing in the garden. So the roots will receive the oxygen they need for growth. The frequency of watering is once every three days.

On hot days, it is watered even more often, and immediately after watering, the soil is loosened so that stagnation of moisture does not lead to rotting of the roots. A flower growing in the garden is not sprayed. Otherwise, brown spots will appear on its leaves. Watering is stopped with the onset of late autumn.

Photo

Below you can see the photo of the flowers of begonias ampelous and care for this plant.

Possible problems

Ampel begonia sometimes withers. Florists notice that her leaves are drying and falling. Also brown spots may appear on their tips. To avoid problems, review the conditions of detention and care.

Reference! Most problems with the plant appear due to improper and untimely watering.

Pests and diseases

Powdery mildew - a fungal disease caused by microscopic ectoparasitic fungi. It affects ampel begonia. On the leaves, fruits and ground parts of the shoots, white or white plaque is noticed. In order not to treat the plant, inspect it regularly and alert, seeing the characteristic signs described above, on leaves located close to the ground. They are immediately removed, and the flower itself is treated with Topaz fungicide.
Another dangerous pest is the spider mite. He often appears indoors with dry air. To combat it, they revise the frequency of watering and make sure that the ampel begonia receives a sufficient amount of sunny color. Otherwise, it will lose leaves and fade. The spider mite is fought with the modern insecticide Bi-58 New, treating it with a plant as described in the instructions.

Conclusion

Ampel begonia is a real beauty. Having planted it in small flower pots and hanging them from the ceiling, they achieve the transformation of the windowsill or balcony when it blooms. If you hang a flowerpot with buds of different colors next to it, the result will amaze you at all. The main thing is to take care of the plant correctly and then nothing will prevent you from enjoying the wondrous beauty for several months a year.