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.

This feature was published on January 17, 1999