Begonia Rex are regarded as one of the stars of the genus, large foliage, wonderful catered foliage and many varieties are available. Care is a little different to some of the other Begonia varieties.
Sometimes they regarded as ‘difficult to grow’ however if you follow our 5 tips you should find them fairly easy.
Good Drainage
- Begonias like moist soil, however not wet soil, so use a potting mix that drains freely and use a pot with good sized drainage holes.
- Do not allow the pots to sit directly in saucers of water.
Do Not Over Water
- The trick with watering is to let the soil almost dry out between waterings and then water deeply.
Provide some humidity
- Worried about leaf drop, brown margins on the leaves, most likely its a lack of humidity. Begonias come form humid climates and do not like dry air.
Fertilise regularly
- These are a hungry plant so they do like fertiliser. You can liquid feed once a month, using a full strength fertiliser that is reasonably high in nitrogen.
Good filtered light
- The Rex type Begonias are an understory plant, so good filtered light is best. Hot sun can cause leaf burn.
Begonia Rex Varieties
- Iron Cross – Actually Begonia masoniana, green foliage with rust markings that look like an iron cross.
- Snow Queen – Bright Silver foliage
- Red Robin – Metallic Red foliage
- Escargot – Amazing spiral patterned foliage.
- Celebration – Silver foliage with a strong red centre.