In motivation of some beautiful foliage to brighten up your windowsill ? You might just have it off Begonia maculata , also known as the polka dot Begonia or spotted Begonia , which has supervise to take the houseplant humankind by violent storm over the past few geezerhood . Not surprising with those elegant , dotted leaves !
Keep take for everything you need to know about Begonia maculata forethought , propagation , the different cultivar you ’ll witness out there and more .
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About Begonia maculata
Natural habitat
Like many of the houseplants we like to originate in our homes ( Ctenanthe , Maranta , andCalathea makoyana , for case ) , Begonia maculata naturally occur in Southeastern Brazil . It ’s also an introduced mintage in a few other Central and South American country ; it can be found as far north as Mexico and as far to the south as Argentina .
In its natural habitat , this specie grows in rain forest . Its rude growing zone in Brazil is described as the Atlantic rainforest , which is characterise by its high altitudes , stable temperatures and soused climate .
Did you know?Begonia maculata , like other Begonias , is traditionally used as a medicinal plant . In Chinese medicine , it ’s described to be a diuretic and detox agent .
Description
Begonia maculata is a cane Begonia . This is a subgroup within the genus have intercourse for its semi - shrubby ontogeny pattern and cane - similar stalk . Cane Begonias have joints on their stems that resemble bamboo , and flowers bloom from these joints . Their elongated leaves are sometimes refer to as “ angel wing . ” ( You ’ll sometimes see the flora labeled as an angelwing Begonia . ) In the wild form , these leave of absence are solid greenish or feature some light-colored espial .
The plant we have it off as the polka dot Begonia , a cultivar formally named Begonia maculata ‘ Wightii ’ , is the product of selective cultivation . It sport much larger Elvis on its sour light-green leaves , hence the name ! This is really a very attractive and dramatic plant , with the dots gleam silvery in the sunlight and light to deep crimson colour on the cover of the leaves .
This is not one of the Begonia species you ’d grow specifically for its blossom , but it does make pretty little salad days with the right upkeep . The flower make in clustering and are bloodless to pink , with bright yellow stamens .
Begonia maculata varieties
Although Begonia maculata ’s risky conformation is already reasonably nice to seem at , nurseries have manage to farm quite a few different cultivar through selective refinement . The most well - known one is Begonia maculata ‘ Wightii ’ , which as I mentioned , is known as the polka dot Begonia . This is the variety that derive the species so much popularity in the houseplant pursuit , but it ’s actually not the only one .
You ’ll recognise a ‘ Wightii ’ from the dark reddish backs of its leaves ( although this can relieve a bit if the lighting is not ideal ) and the fact that its uniform , relatively large dots never have-to doe with the edge of the parting . Its flowers are white .
Some other Begonia maculata varieties you might bumble upon if you do some searching are :
On top of these “ pure ” maculatas , there are also some hybrids out there , although I ’ve never visit any of them in person . It ’s in reality quite difficult when it come to Begonias in general to identify which cultivar or hybrid you ’re dealing with , and that ’s no different for Begonia maculata .
Keep in thinker that none of the variety discussed above are quite as common as the ‘ Wightii ’ cultivar , and for most folks , they ’re not dissimilar enough to warrant searching for them . If you ’re interested in growing one of these , you ’ll believably have to count into buying cuttings from other houseplant partizan .
Did you know?You’ll also see plants come to to as Begonia maculata ‘ Tamaya ’ . The ‘ Tamaya ’ bit does n’t indicate a cultivar , but the mode the plant is develop ! Most cane or angelwing Begonias can be produce in ‘ Tamaya ’ shape , which count like a petty tree .
Where to corrupt Begonia maculata :
Caring for Begonia maculata
Light and temperature
Like most jungle plants , your polka dot Begonia will appreciate hopeful , indirect brightness level and to be kept nice and toasty . You should put your plant on a windowsill , or at least close to one : These are sometimes swash aslow - twinkle plants , but they ’re really not .
ou’ll quickly discover yours growing lanky and losing some of that beautiful leaf coloration if it ’s not incur enough ignitor , which is a ignominy for such a arresting works .
A bit of verbatim sun is not an issue for your polka dot Begonia indoors as long as you do n’t overdo it . Just acclimate it over the course of a few weeks if you ’d like to keep it in a higher light spot in your home , or you may notice the leaves fading and crisping from the supernumerary light .
The areas this Begonia species can naturally be chance in tend to get static temperatures of 70 ° F or more year - rotund . This have in mind room temperature is perfect for your plant ! Do protect it from draughty windows , A / light speed units , heater and anything else that could cause the temperature to vacillate . Begonia maculata is prone to leaf personnel casualty when infelicitous .
Observation : My Begonia maculata does mulct when exposed to temperatures around 57 ° F , though with very gamy humidity ( 75 per centum or up ) . I would n’t countenance temps sink much lower , though .
Water and humidity
This is where thing go south for many new Begonia enthusiasts , as these plants are a bit more fussy about grime moisture tier than many others .
If you incline to overwater , which is the case for most hoi polloi , you may into emergence with leaf loss .
If you be given to underwater ( like yours truly , whoop ! ) , you may … also go into issues with leaf deprivation , as well as brown tips on your polka dot Begonia ’s leaves .
The difference is that overwatering commonly results in poorly yellow foliation before it falls off , while underwatering can make perfectly healthy - looking leaves to shed .
So how do you keep these guy rope happy ? Light is a great part of it . A houseplant that experience plenty of light will be a mint more forgiving in terms of watering . Other than that , it ’s a matter of keeping the soil softly moist ; you’re able to let the top inch or two dry out before watering again . ( expend amoisture meterto serve you determine wet levels . )
Do n’t worry if your polka battery-acid Begonia drop a few leafage while you figure out its tearing needs . It happened to mine as well , but it looks great now that we ’ve come to an “ understanding . ”
Another factor many scramble with is humidity . Cane Begonias like this one are aboriginal to the tropics , where it rain down plenty and humidity is very high all twelvemonth around . Our rest home ? Not so much , especially in wintertime . You may desire to gift in a humidifier to keep things above 50 percent humidness if you really need to see your tropical houseplants thrive . An cheap digital hygrometer(this is the one I use)can also help you determine your home ’s relative humidity .
Soil and planting
Although polka dot begonia like some wet , their soil should never be sluggish . marshy soil is a fast - lead to rout hogwash and a numb plant ! Although these guys are n’t too finicky about soil mixture and do fine in normal houseplant potting territory , you should tot up some mealy material for proper drain . I commend contribute 10 to 20 percentperlite , orchid barque , or pumice to your potting soil to loosen it up .
As for planting , anything goes , as long as the planter has a drainage yap in the bottom . Begonias like this species do n’t tend to develop a very expectant root system , so a huge flowerpot is n’t necessary .
Recommended products for Begonia maculata flora care :
Fertilizing
Cane Begonias are n’t heavy feeders , but these guys will still emphatically value a even panache of fertilizer . utilize a liquid houseplant fertiliser diluted to half strength while watering once or twice a month during the growing season .
break feed your polka dot Begonia during wintertime . It wo n’t be able to apply the fertilizer you give it , and overfeeding can cause those typical brown leaf pourboire that torment Begonia enthusiasts so much .
Recommended fertilizers for Begonia maculata :
Pruning
Begonia maculata is a species that does benefit visually from the occasional pruning in many cases . Even when the plant gets slew of Inner Light , it can sometimes decide to send out stretchable stem , which sort of ruin the nice shaggy-haired show .
No matter ! expect until the next grow time of year rolls around ( spring or summertime ) . Then , all you have to do is use some cleanpruning shearsto bring down the stem wherever you ’d care and either root it in water before planting or just kill it straight back into the planter . It should keep develop as usual and help keep your polka dot Begonia looking full .
Dividing or repotting
Dividing or repotting , that ’s the question ! If your polka point Begonia has outgrown its container , what to do is up to you . Most of these plant consist of multiple stems planted together by the nursery , so you may prefer to take a few of these out and pot them up one by one .
Just take the plant life out of its pot , separate a few shank , and rate the balance back in the original planter with some courteous wise soil . The stems you took out will already have their own root system , so they can be potted up and will keep grow as usual .
If you do want to repot your plant in one opus , you’re able to do so during spring or summertime . Choose a planter that ’s an inch or so declamatory in diameter than the previous one .
Propagating Begonia maculata
circulate Begonias , include the polka dot Begonia , really could n’t be easy . The variance method acting discussed above is one of the easiest ways to do it . Another option is the method acting I mentioned in the section on pruning , which take taking the snip sections ( which are basically theme cuttings ) and root them in pee or soil .
Did you know?Technically a Begonia stem turn carving does n’t even have to let in leaves . you’re able to hack the cane into section of at least an column inch or two and root them in moist sphagnum moss or your preferred medium . As long as there ’s an eye ( a bump that roots or leaves can grow from ) on the section , it has the capacity to resprout .
Common questions about Begonia maculata care
Help, my Begonia maculata is dropping leaves!
Do n’t panic ! It happens to the unspoilt of us . If your Begonia is n’t in jounce from being moved ( which can materialize if you bring a new one home base ) or inhuman exposure , review your watering schedule .
Is it winter ? Your plant ’s soil will likely dry a bite more easy than in summer , meaning it needs less frequent watering . In summer , you may have to irrigate twice as often , which mean you may have expect too long .
Is Begonia maculata toxic to cats and dogs?
Yes , this species is deal toxic , although your furred friend is very unlikely to drop bushed after a nibble . As with many other houseplant , the problem lie in irritating atomic number 20 oxalates , which can cause a burning sensation in the mouth as well as vomiting .
volunteer body of water and keep an eye on your pet if you think it get into your polka back breaker Begonia . Call a vet if you ’re upset .
Sources :
https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:105130-1
http://reflora.jbrj.gov.br/reflora/listaBrasil/FichaPublicaTaxonUC/FichaPublicaTaxonUC.do?id=FB5663
