How to care for angel wing begonias

Article content

Q At a friend’s home I noticed a graceful plant with long, pointed, speckled leaves and small, dangling pink flowers. My friend said it was a begonia. Can you tell me what kind of begonia the plant might have been?

Article content

TO. The plant you saw is most likely an “angel wing” begonia. The name probably came from the pairs of leaves, pointing in opposite directions, that have the shape of a pair of wings on an angel.

There are several similar begonias of this cane-stemmed type, but most popular is Begonia lucerna, or to be more precise, B. Corallina de Lucerna. In the plants’ native habitats they grow 180 to 240 cm tall. In pots, depending on the container size, they usually grow 30 to 60 cm tall. Pinching them back induces bushiness and a reduced height.

I am fond of these undemanding house plants. I once had a collection of them at the living room window. Their long, pointed, silver-speckled leaves are graceful, as are the showy trusses of pink flowers hanging below them.

Article content

Angel wing begonias thrive in the usual tropical house plant conditions of average warmth, bright indirect light, a moist soil that is allowed to dry a little on top between waterings, and reduced watering in winter.

Q What is the right time to cut down ornamental grasses and other perennials?

TO. Deciduous, faded ornamental grasses can be cut down soon, after mid-February, to make way for new growth, which usually begins to emerge in late winter. Cut the stems down to about five cm.
Discolored and collapsed growth on hardy perennials can be removed now.

Q This year I am growing my own compact patio tomatoes from seed. When should I start the seeds indoors?

TO. I sow mine this month for transplanting into their summer pots in April. I keep mine in a protected place until overnight low temperatures no longer dip below 10 C. Then they can be placed in their outdoor summer sites.