The Begonia tuberhybrida Voss is native to South American countries such as Peru and Brazil. This perennial evergreen herb is an incredibly attractive variety of Begonia.
It grows to a height of about 20-60 cm and has irregularly shaped semi-circular tubers surrounded by net-like roots.
The plant produces an umbel inflorescence from its axils, with male and female flowers on the same plant. Each inflorescence usually bears three flowers, each 10-15 cm in diameter and rich in color.
The perianth can be single, semi-double, or double, with fringed, wrinkled, or crested edges. The flowering period is long, from May to the end of November, with each flower lasting 10-15 days.
The Begonia tuberhybrida Voss is a perennial evergreen herb from the Begonia family. It stands about 20-60 cm tall. It has irregularly shaped semi-circular tubers surrounded by net-like roots.
The above-ground stem is fleshy, with many branches. The leaves are irregularly heart-shaped, with sharp tips, a skewed base, and a serrated edge.
The plant produces an umbel inflorescence from its axils, with male and female flowers on the same plant, usually with three flowers per inflorescence. The flowers are 10-15 cm in diameter and rich in color.
The perianth can be single, semi-double, or double, with fringed, wrinkled, or crested edges. The flowering period is long, from May to the end of November, with each flower lasting 10-15 days. The fruit is a three-angled capsule with three wings.
The Tuberous Begonia is native to South American countries such as Peru and Brazil. The natural species grow in mountains up to 3000 meters high.
It is a sun-loving plant that thrives in warm, moist, semi-shaded environments. The optimal growing temperature is between 16-21°C, and it prefers loose, fertile, and slightly acidic soil.
As a potted plant, the Tuberous Begonia adds a vivid and charming touch to living rooms, display windows, or window sills. When used to decorate flower beds, landscapes, and entrances, it appears particularly enchanting. Hanging baskets of this plant in halls, balconies, and corridors make for a lush and vibrant display.
Non-stop Series: This variety stands 20 centimeters tall with large, double-petaled flowers in colors such as pink, white, yellow, red, and dual tone pink-white. The flowers have a diameter of 9-11 centimeters. The time from sowing to blooming is 17-19 weeks.
Ornament Series: This variety grows between 20-80 centimeters tall with large, double-petaled flowers in colors such as pink, white, cream, apricot, scarlet, and gold-edged. The flowers have a diameter of 6-8 centimeters. The time from sowing to blooming is 16-18 weeks.
Panorama Series: This variety stands 20-30 centimeters tall with large, double-petaled flowers in colors such as pink, white, yellow, scarlet, and red. The flowers have a diameter of 6-7 centimeters. The time from sowing to blooming is 16-18 weeks.
Fortune Hybrid Series: It features large, double-petaled flowers and is widely used for ornamental purposes in flower beds, window sills, hanging baskets, and planting boxes.
Illumination Series: This variety has red, white, yellow, and pink flowers with a diameter of 7-8 centimeters. It’s a double-petaled flower, mainly used for basket cultivation.
Hanging Sensations: This variety offers yellow, white, deep red, and rose-colored flowers with long, drooping stems. It’s a primary choice for hanging basket displays.
Other series include Midnight Beauty and Show Angels.
The natural species grow on mountains about 3000 meters high. They prefer warm, moist, semi-shady conditions. They are cold-sensitive, dislike high temperatures, and fear waterlogging and strong light.
The optimal growth temperature is 16-21℃, and the winter temperature should not be below 10℃. They are intolerant to high temperatures. Temperatures above 32℃ may cause the stems and leaves to wilt and the flower buds to fall.
At temperatures above 35℃, the underground tubers will rot and die. They prefer fertile, loose, and well-drained sandy loam soil.
The tuberous begonia originates from a few South American countries, including Peru and Brazil. The U.S., Netherlands, Belgium, France, Germany, Denmark, Japan, North Korea, and China have all introduced and cultivated this plant.
This is a perennial evergreen herbaceous plant, standing about 20-60 cm high. It has irregularly round tubers surrounded by net-like roots.
The above-ground stem is fleshy and multi-branched, with irregular heart-shaped leaves that are sharply pointed at the tip, skewed at the base, and serrated at the edges. The stem, petioles, and leaves are hairy.
The plant produces axillary umbels, with monoecious flowers; each umbel usually has 3 flowers, with the central one being male and the two side ones female.
The flowers, 10-15 cm in diameter, come in a rich variety of colors including bright red, vermilion, pink, white, orange, golden, purple, and mixed red and white. The perianth can be single, semi-double, or double, with fringed, ruffled, or cockscomb-like edges.
The flowering period is long, from May to late November, with each flower lasting for 10-15 days. The fruit is a three-angled capsule with three wings.
The most commonly used pot size for begonias is 14 cm x 12 cm or 16 cm x 14 cm. If grown in a clay pot, the plant will thrive even more, and maintenance will be easier. The substrate can be primarily peat, with the addition of 40% perlite or pumice to achieve an air gap of 15-20%.
Alternatively, a mix of leaf mold or peat, loam, sand, and a suitable amount of well-rotted manure, bone meal, or 1% superphosphate can be used.
Fertilize when the buds grow to 10 cm. In summer, to strengthen the plant’s resistance, increase the proportion of superphosphate. Avoid fertilizing on the leaves, as this can cause leaf rot.
From the appearance of the buds until flowering, apply liquid fertilizer twice a week, but do not make it too strong. You can also use leaf surface fertilization, but the concentration should not exceed 2‰.
During flowering, maintain an ample water supply, but do not overwater. The amount of water is a crucial factor. Poor plant growth is often due to insufficient watering or overwatering.
The greenhouse temperature should be maintained at 16-21℃, not falling below 16℃ nor exceeding 32℃. The light should be appropriate, around 30,000-40,000 lx. For this, use a shade net with a shading rate of 40-60%.
If the light is too strong, the leaf edges will scorch, the plant will be short, and the internodes will be short. Too much shading will lead to long flower stems and fewer flowers.
As the begonia grows, remove the growth point and use stakes to secure it. When inserting stakes into the pot, avoid piercing the tuber. When tying the string, tie it between the nodes, not on the node, and loosen it as the main stem thickens. Sometimes, small side branches also need to be secured.
When seedlings of tuberous begonias are planted, most of them only have one main stem and two side branches in the first year. This type of plant has a pleasant shape, and all the flowers face the same direction.
When planting bulbous flowers, there will be many main stems. At this time, you should choose according to the situation, leaving 3-4, and not too many, otherwise, the plant shape will be messy, reducing its ornamental value.
On either side of the male flower, two flower buds, usually female, will grow. Unless you want to keep the seeds, you should remove them as soon as possible, so that all the nutrients of the plant can feed the male flower.
In this way, the male flower will be much larger and exceptionally beautiful.
After blooming, try to reduce the air humidity as much as possible. If the humidity is too high, the edges of the flowers will turn brown, reducing their ornamental effect. After touching the flowers of tuberous begonias, spots will be left, so do not touch them.
Common methods include seeding, cutting, and tuber division.
Under sunlight greenhouse conditions, it is preferable to sow in August. This will form tubers about 0.5 cm in diameter by late October, which are then harvested and stored.
By February of the next year, with careful cultivation, flowers can bloom by late April or early May. The flowers are large, colorful, uniform, and commercially attractive. Sowing must be very precise, and imported seeds are often coated.
If the seeds are not coated, they need to be mixed with fine sand before sowing. After sowing, cover the pot with glass to maintain temperature. A temperature of 18-21℃ is ideal, and germination should occur within 10-15 days.
If the temperature is insufficient, germination may take more than 20 days. After germination, expose the seedlings to semi-light. After about two months, when the seedlings have 2-3 true leaves, transplant them to a 6 cm pot.
The best time for cutting is between May and July. Choose robust branches with top buds. Cut them into approximately 7-8 cm lengths and leave 1-2 leaves. If the leaves are large, it’s better to cut off 1/3 of the leaf to slow down transpiration.
After cutting, wait for the cut to dry before planting. Keep the cutting bed moist, and roots should form within about three weeks. The plant can flower within the same year.
Around February, take the stored tubers and disinfect them in formalin. Depending on the distribution of the buds on the tuber, cut it into several pieces. Each piece should have at least one robust bud. Then, dry them in a cool place.
After the cut surface has dried slightly, place it bud-up in a germination tray. The substrate should ideally be disinfected sand, perlite, and pumice. After careful management and the start of sprouting and root formation, the plant can be potted.
Avoid planting too deeply; the surface of the tuber should slightly protrude from the substrate surface to prevent rotting due to excess moisture.
Diseases: Begonia bulbs often suffer from stem rot and root rot during the growth period in high temperatures and high humidity. Control room temperature and watering, and spray with a 300-fold liquid of 25% carbendazim wettable powder.
Pests: In a high-temperature environment with poor ventilation, the plant is susceptible to scale insects and aphids, as well as leafroller larvae and thrips. Scale insects and aphids cluster on the leaf stalk, flower buds, and new shoots to suck nutrients, while leafroller larvae nibble on the flowers and leaves, and thrips suck nutrients from the leaf back.
Infested plants lose all ornamental value. Scale insects can be eliminated by spraying with a 1000-fold liquid of 40% omethoate emulsion. Aphids, thrips, and leafrollers can be eliminated by spraying with a 2000-fold liquid of 10% pyrethrum emulsion and rotenone.
As early as 1880, Frenchmen Lemoine and Froebel cultivated the beautiful and varied daffodil and multiflowered bulbous begonias from parent plants in the Andes region of South America.
In 1960, the United States selected and bred the camellia and carnation types of the Ballerina bulbous begonias, with flower diameters reaching 15-20 centimeters.
In 1978, Hagerman of Belgium compiled an international literature catalog of bulbous begonia cultivars. The cultivation of bulbous begonias is very common, with the United States listing it as one of the main potted flowers, with a large annual production.
In 1993, Japan produced 6.1 million potted bulbous begonias, with a production value of 24 million US dollars, and also held annual bulbous begonia exhibitions.
North Korea places special emphasis on the red bulbous begonia, which is also commonly cultivated, and it was displayed at the Kunming World Horticultural Expo.
In Europe, countries like the Netherlands, Belgium, France, Germany, and Denmark have industrialized the cultivation of bulbous begonias.
In 1995, the production value of bulbous begonias in the Netherlands was 27.6 million US dollars, ranking fourth among potted flowers.
In Denmark, it ranked fifth among exported potted flowers. The most famous producers of bulbous begonia bulbs are California in the United States and Gent in Belgium.
The history of bulbous begonia cultivation in China is not long, mainly after 1949. Botanical gardens around the country introduced foreign seeds for small-scale trial planting, with Kunming being particularly successful. Bulbous begonias have entered large-scale production.
Whether adorning a living room, display cabinet, or windowsill, the vibrant colors and charming allure of potted bulbous begonias are undeniable. They add an extraordinary allure when used to decorate flower beds, flower borders, and entrances.
When used to create hanging baskets in halls, balconies, and corridors, their lush greenery and brilliant colors are strikingly beautiful.
Peggie was once a high school mathematics teacher, but she set aside her chalkboard and textbooks to follow her lifelong passion for flowers. After years of dedication and learning, she not only established a thriving flower shop but also founded this blog, “Flowers Library”. If you have any questions or wish to learn more about flowers, feel free to contact Peggie.
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