All about the proper propagation of begonias at home
Begonia beauty has long been a favorite among experienced gardeners and home lovers. This plant, with proper care, is not whimsical and able to please for a long time the flowering of its households.
Few people know that this beautiful plant can be easily propagated to fill the whole house with a riot of colors. Having studied the simple rules of different methods of propagation and rooting of begonias, everyone will be able to create a whole greenhouse at home with their own hands.
Houseplant Description
Let us consider in more detail what begonia is:
- Begonia is a perennial or annual, grassy shrub or semi-shrub plant of the Begoniaceae family.
- The plant stem can be erect, juicy with pronounced nodes, lodging, curly.
- The root system is well-branched, some species of plants grow from tubers.
- The leaves of the plant are regular, serrated along the edge, in most cases of red-green color, are glossy and matte. Placed in the root zone.
- Inflorescence is a complex panicle. The flowers are large from 5 to 10 centimeters in diameter. Each flower has its own full or shortened peduncle. REFERENCE! Begonia flowers are heterosexual, irregular in shape with a pronounced perianth.
- The fruit is a complex box. Seeds are formed in it.
When does it breed?
The begonia breeding period for different methods will be different:
- If begonia is planted from seeds, then the best time for sowing is from December to March. Usually two weeks after sowing, seedlings appear. As soon as young sprouts are slightly stronger they need to dive. Such a plant can not always bloom in the first year of life, unless of course it is not annual.
- If you plant begonia by dividing the tubers, then the best period for this is from February to May. With a tuber, the sprout appears quickly and develops very actively, by the middle of summer such a plant can begin to bloom.
- If propagation of begonia will occur by cuttings, then the branch with young leaves must be cut off, after a dormant period, in March. The plant needs to be moved deep into the soil. Such begonia will bloom on par with an adult plant.
Training
How to properly prepare a plant for propagation:
- Breeding adult begonia is best after the dormant period has passed. The plant is ready for propagation when its buds begin to swell actively.
- If the tubers were not stored in the soil, they must be planted, and if they wintered in an old pot, then the soil must be loosened to a depth of 1-2 centimeters.
- When the first sprouts appear on the tubers, the begonia pot must be moved to a well-lit place. ATTENTION! For the active germination of tubers, the room temperature should be 17-20 C. Begonia must be provided with regular watering and a high level of air humidity.
- Young shoots can be cut immediately. Such plants will develop at the tuber level.
- If the planting is made from seeds, then they can be sown immediately in the soil and wait for seedlings. Or, place the seeds in the soil to a depth of 0.5-1 centimeter, water well and cover with a film to create a greenhouse effect.
- After seed germination under the film, the sprouts must be planted in a larger diameter pot, rooting seedlings by 2-2.5 centimeters.
Ways
The most popular are three types of begonia breeding. How to propagate it at home?
About how to propagate begonia with a leaf at home, read in our material.
Cuttings
To propagate begonia by cuttings, you need to follow clear instructions:
- Cut a young shoot with a sharp knife about 10 centimeters high, leaving 2-3 leaves, and remove the lower ones.
- Dry the slice with wood ash.
- Mix the soil with sand in a 1: 1 ratio.
- Place the cuttings deep in the ground, right up to the leaves (about how to choose the soil for begonias and how to care for the flower, read here).
- Sprinkle with soil and knead it well in the stalk area.
- To water.
- Cover the young shoot with a cropped plastic bottle.
- After a month, young leaves should begin to appear actively.
- Gradually, you need to accustom the young plant to the air, removing the bottle.
- Flowering will come in 2-3 months.
Dividing the bush
In spring, begonia can be divided into several separate plants.:
- Carefully remove the entire plant from the pot.
- Cut off all overgrown stems, peduncles and very large leaves.
- Rinse the root part very carefully with filtered water.
- With a sharp knife, divide the bush into parts. Each part must have a sprout or kidney.
- Dry the slice with charcoal or wood ash.
- Treat the root part of the plant with a special tool - Kornevin and plant each part of the plant in its pot.
- Be sure to crush the soil around the new plant and water it.
You can learn more about begonia propagation by dividing the bush by watching the video:
Seeds
For to grow begonia from seeds, do the following:
- Prepare the soil - mix the purchased soil with sand in a 1: 1 ratio (you can find out what soil is needed for begonia planting begonias here).
- Lightly moisten the soil.
- Spread seeds evenly on the surface of the soil, it is best to press them a little into the ground.
- Close the pot with plastic, polyethylene or glass to create a greenhouse effect.
- Move the seed pot to a warm and bright place.
- Ventilate crops periodically for two weeks.
- On day 15, you can open an imaginary greenhouse.
- As soon as the first full leaves are formed on the seedlings, they need to be dived into separate pots.
- Young shoots should be planted in the same mixture of earth and sand to a depth of 0.5-1 centimeter.
- For better survival, you can treat the seedlings with a special solution of Zircon.
Photo
Look at the photo of begonia, which, with proper care at home and timely reproduction, blooms profusely and looks healthy.
Features of the Mason variety
Mason Begonia does not produce seeds. This species can be propagated only in two vegetative ways:
Sheet division
The procedure for rooting begonias by dividing the leaf:
- With a sharp knife you need to cut a large, strong and healthy sheet.
- Lay the sheet on a flat and hard surface and cut it into triangles in the direction from the midrib to the edges. On each such triangle, there must be 1-2 full veins.
- Finished triangles must be laid out on the surface of wet sand, stick sections a little into the sand.
- Cover the container with sand and leaves with foil.
- Waiting for the emergence of roots and young shoots, it is necessary to periodically open the film and ventilate the plant, as well as spraying sand with water from a sprayer.
Tuber division
To seed begonia by dividing the tuber it is necessary:
- For division, a tuber of at least 3 centimeters in diameter is suitable, healthy in appearance. It must be cleaned of the remnants of old soil and small roots.
- With a sharp knife, you need to divide the tuber into parts, so that there is a growth kidney on each piece.
- All sections must be treated with charcoal and dried so as not to rot.
- Plant each part of the tuber in a separate pot with drainage and sandy soil.
- There is no need to fill and ram the tuber into the ground, it is better to leave the sprout on the surface. Pour the earth around the tuber, trying not to fall on it.
Rooting
As it turned out, there are many ways to propagate begonias. To make the plant better rooted, specialized tools are used that stimulate root growth. The most popular of them:
- Kornevin - It is a root stimulant based on potassium salts. Used to prepare a solution for soaking the roots of the plant before planting at a constant place of growth.
- Zircon - It is a root stimulant based on hydroxycinnamic acids.REFERENCE! The tool well roots plants, stimulates flowering, and also protects the seedling from phytopathogens.
Used to soak the roots before planting, to sprinkle the lower ends of the cuttings with a dry mixture.
- Heteroauxin - This is a pill. The active substance is potassium salt. The drug is used to immerse the lower ends of the cuttings in an aqueous solution of the stimulator for the time specified in the instructions.
Care for the flower after planting sprouts
After planting sprouts, young begonias require special care:
- The air temperature in the room should not be higher than + 200С and not lower than + 150С.
- Maintain a high level of humidity in the room. Open containers with water can be placed next to the plant, it is also necessary to periodically spray air next to the plant, but do not spray on it.
- Abundantly and timely water the young plant, but not to allow stagnation of water in the ground and in the pan of the pot.
- Maintain bright lighting indoors with plants, but avoid direct sunlight.
Conclusion
This is not to say that all methods of propagating begonias are easy to implement, but if you follow the points of simple instructions, the process of breeding many beautiful begonias is not so time-consuming. Do not wait for the rooting of all young sprouts of rhinestones, because nature is unpredictable. But also there is no need to despair if the plant has not grown the first time, more patience - less rush and everything will work out.