Elatior begonias
| Elatior begonias | ||||||||||||
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Elatior begonia ( Begonia × hiemalis ). |
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Begonia × hiemalis | ||||||||||||
| Fotsch |
Begonia-elatior hybrids ( Begonia × hiemalis Fotsch, Begonia Hiemalis group = B. socotrana × B. × tuberhybrida , syn .: Begonia × elatior hort.), Also called elatior begonias , they could also be called room begonias, because they are the most frequently cultivated begonias in rooms, belong to the family of the slate family(Begoniaceae). Around 1880 they were created by crossing Begonia socotrana , Begonia veitchii , Begonia boliviensis and Begonia rosaeflora ; in any case, B. socotrana and B. × tuberhybrida are mostlyinvolved, with B. × tuberhybrida itself being crossed from many different parents. There are many varieties in many flower colors and shapes. As with all begonias, the leaves are asymmetrical.
Culture in the horticultural business
Since Elatior begonia cultures are threatened by diseases, especially bacteria , special attention must be paid to the establishment of a clean mother plant population. That is why the mother plant population is best built up through "in vitro propagation" (meristem culture ). The propagation of cuttings is therefore only carried out in a few young plant companies, which then sell rooted cuttings to horticultural companies. Since at least one of the parents of the hybrids is a tuber-forming species in short-day conditions, the mother plants must be kept under long-day conditions at all times. Cuttings can be cut again after about two weeks.
Leaf or head cuttings can be used. The propagation takes place in sets from March to September. The rooting of the cuttings takes place under foil or spray mist. The rooting time for leaf cuttings is about four weeks, after another four to six weeks the adventitious shoots are present. The rooting period of head cuttings is two weeks. The cultivation time of leaf cuttings is about eight weeks longer, but you get a much higher yield of daughter plants. The rooting temperature should be between 20 ° C and 24 ° C.
So-called F1 hybrids have also been around for a number of years. These varieties are propagated by sowing. One gram of seed has about 65,000 grains (begonia seeds are tiny). The sowing takes place mostly from November to January. Germination takes about two weeks at 23 ° C. They are light germs. The prick takes place after four to seven weeks. Potting is done about three months after sowing.
Pot cuttings are potted around six weeks and leaf cuttings around nine to twelve weeks after potting. A 12 to 13 plastic pot is usually chosen as the pot, or a 10 to 11 plastic pot for small plants. Poorly fertilized soil is used as a substrate. The temperature for post-rooting culture should be 18-20 ° C. By lowering the temperature below 18 ° C (but not below 14 ° C), buds are also created and developed further in the long day.
To prevent rot in winter, the leaves should (and if possible otherwise) not be wetted with water. As usual, the irrigation water is used every two weeks.
Begonias are optional short-day plants. In the long day over 2 pm, vegetative growth is promoted, in the short day under 1 pm, flower formation is encouraged. During the natural short day, additional photoperiodic exposure is necessary to ensure adequate vegetative growth. The exposure is at least 100 to 200 lux at plant height.
Shading is necessary in strong sunlight. Since the begonia shoots do not stand upright by themselves under the usual culture conditions, a so-called stick with two to three tonking sticks per plant is required. Treatment with growth inhibitors (upsetting), such as Basacel, is often used. With leaf cuttings, pruning is not necessary, with head cuttings not always, so the cultivation time is extended by a month.
The end result is between 16 and 25 plants per m². The entire cultivation period for head cuttings is three to five months, for leaf cuttings five to six months from plugging to sale. Small plants only take two to three months from planting to sale.
Care as a houseplant
Put the blooming begonias in a light, but not too sunny place by the window. They prefer temperatures between 16 and 22 ° C; then elatior begonias are extremely rewarding house plants and often bloom for months.
Seed-propagated F1 hybrids are also suitable for outdoor use as bedding and balcony plants in not too sunny locations.
Varieties (selection)
- 'Alma'
- 'Annebell'
- 'Annebell Dark'
- 'Annika Dark'
- 'Azotus'
- 'Bacchus'
- 'Baladin'
- 'Barkos'
- 'Bastos'
- 'Bazan'
- 'Bellona'
- 'Berseba'
- 'Britt Dark'
- 'Camilla'
- 'Carneval'
- 'Catrin'
- 'Ceveca'
- 'Clara Frisee'
- 'Clara'
- 'Cleo'
- 'Daisy Frisee'
- 'Julie'
- 'Louise'
- 'Monique'
- 'Netja Dark Frizee'
- 'Netja Dark'
- 'Peggy'
- 'Piccora'
- 'Pinto'
- 'Renaissance'
- 'Rondo'
- 'Rosade'
- 'Sissel'
Variety groups
There are various colors for the variety groups:
- 'Aphrodite'
- 'Radians'
- 'Swabia'
- 'Tacora'
