Begonia and its
variations
Begonia
has the distinction of a vivid collection that is valued
individually for foliage and flowering. Begonia rex is
very commonly used for hybridisation to produce a large
number of varieties of many colour combinations, writes Satish
Narula
THE list of plants that are grown
for foliage is exhaustive. There are certain types of
plants that have a great variation within their
varieties. Begonia is one such example. The various
varieties of Begonia alone can decorate any given space,
both indoors and outdoors, with foliage or with
flowering.
Begonia has the
distinction of a vivid collection that is valued
individually for foliage and flowering. Begonia rex is
very commonly used for hybridisation to produce a large
number of varieties of many colour combinations. These
are however valued for foliage and typically top-sided
and heart-shaped. Flowers of begonia are valued for less
than its attractive and striking leaves.
Begonias are grown from rhizomes,
the underground stems. The basic requirement is light
soil with a good amount of leaf or farmyard manure so as
to enable moisture to be retained well. Begonias thrive
in a good amount of humidity. There should be no
stagnation because nothing can be more detrimental than
that. It has been seen that begonia is, at times, quite
hardy and stands water stress for a few days. It can even
live happily in darkness. For display, however, select a
well-lit site.
So many different crosses
have been made amongst varieties of Begonia rex that they
have lost parentage and names. There are different types
of begonia small-leaved, large leaved and those
with a frilled lightly-coloured margin. The ones with
maroon foliage and distinct brightly coloured large
flowers (as in the case of tuberous begonias) are mostly
grown in temperate regions. There is one trailing type
that grows with support. It has beautifully spotted
leaves and is also called tree begonia.
Various winter annuals that you had planted
must have started sprouting by now. However watchful you
have been, there are bound to be a few gaps. Fill the
gaps now as this is the last opportunity. After this,
uniformity will be lost. Due to the cold weather, the
growth of the seedlings is stalled for sometime. Any
replacement will make up for growth as the weather warms
up and the beds will be fulsome.
*You must be harvesting
vegetables now. Make sure you harvest them at the proper
stage. When you harvest cauliflower remove it from the
base. Any stub left behind harbours insects that spoils
other plants. As and when you harvest palak and methi
broadcast CAN(Kisan khad) and give water. This
will encourage fresh growth and give you fast cuttings.
The fertiliser may be added at 250 gm to a marla (25
square metre) plot. Keep an eye on peas and in case you
find a white, powdery mass on the leaves spray it with
karathane (one millilitre to a litre of water).
*There is no need to water
the crop. Remove all faded blooms from chrysanthemum
plants and also a small portion of stem. This will
encourage proper vegetative growth. Do not forget to
label the variety. This is the last chance.
* In the case of roses,
keep looking for tiny insects, the aphid nymphs, on
flowering buds. They congregate in a large number and
suck the sap which results in drying of the bud before it
opens. Spraying of rogor or metasystox (one millilitre to
a litre of water) helps counter aphids. Growth suckers in
large amounts also appear in large number. Keep on
removing the same at the base.
* You may have noticed
dull brown colouration of lawn grass. This is due to cold
weather. Frequent mowing may not be required due to
cessation of growth but keep on watering. An occasional
broadcasting of urea will help in restoring the green
colour.
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