The ice begonia, also known as the god's eye, is a summer bloomer that is used in many ways for planting. When it comes to care, the plants only make low demands, but benefit from nutrient-rich soils.
Location
The location for the begonia should be sunny or maximally partially shaded. The flowering plants cannot develop well in the shade, which also applies to the blazing sun and in both cases the leaves in particular suffer from it. In the blazing sun, the plants are much more maintenance-intensive and have to be watered more often.
Windy locations do not affect the begonias very much, but such locations are often more vulnerable to frost, which means that the plants die earlier. This is where the name of the ice begonias comes because they freeze to death immediately at temperatures below zero, which is clearly evident from the damaged leaves.
Substrate
Begonias have no special demands on the soil and normal garden soil is sufficient for them. It is important that the soil is humic and permeable. The latter is a problem especially when planting in pots. Although the god's eye blooms even in bad weather, it does not tolerate waterlogging and the roots start to rot.
When planting in pots or balcony boxes, the bottom layer should always form a drainage. Expanded clay or lava granules, for example, are suitable as drainage.
Note: You can loosen heavily compacted soils outdoors by mixing in sand and fine gravel. Coarse organic material such as annual compost also helps loosen up the soil and, through rotting, provides nutrients on an ongoing basis.
sowing
The begonias should be sown as early as January. The seeds should be in the ground by March at the latest. Otherwise it can happen that the plants hardly bloom and freeze beforehand, unless you overwinter them. Germination can take up to 14 days at a temperature of around 24 ° C. Ice begonias are
Light germs and must not be covered with earth.
When sowing, you should pay attention to the following points:
- Use poor seed compost for germination
- Use indoor greenhouses to reduce the risk of dehydration
- Gently press the seeds on
- only use a spray bottle for watering
- Set up the indoor greenhouse in a bright location
As soon as the young plants are strong enough, they can be pricked out. To do this, carefully lift the young plants out of the ground with a stick or fork. You can use a mixture of half potting soil and half potting soil as a subsequent substrate. The first substrate when pricking out should not be too rich in nutrients, as this reduces the formation of roots. Until the planting time in May, the young plants only need to be watered moderately, which also promotes root formation.
planting
From mid-May, after the ice saints, you can put the ice begonia outdoors. Before that, the risk is too great that late frosts will cause lasting damage to the plants. Before the young plants are put outdoors permanently, you should get them used to it about two weeks beforehand, otherwise the leaves could be damaged by the sun.
For the first week, place the god eyes outdoors in a sheltered place that gets a maximum of one to two hours of sun. From the second week onwards, you can put them in the sun for several hours, but you should still protect them a little during lunchtime.
The planting time outdoors is only limited by the frost. You can still plant ice begonias in August, but they will die out in the open with the first frost.
to water
The ice begonia has very thick and fleshy leaves in which it can also store some water. The plants like to be consistently light
humid location, but also forgive if the substrate dries out for a long time. Therefore, they are also ideal plants for graves where watering is not possible every day.What the ice begonias cannot tolerate is waterlogging. You should therefore always water regularly but only moderately. For cultures in pots, you should fill up the saucer as much as possible. If the substrate cannot be absorbed within an hour, empty it again.
The god's eye prefers tempered water when pouring. It is sufficient if you leave the watering can filled with water next to the plants for half a day. This means that they have the ideal temperature adapted to the location. Preferably water in the morning, when the plants benefit most from watering. The ice begonia is lime-tolerant, but, like many other flowering plants, prefers neutral rainwater.
Note: When watering, make sure that you water as much as possible on the ground and that the leaves do not get damp. Individual drops can act like a magnifying glass and damage the leaves.
Fertilize
Before planting, you can work organic fertilizers, such as compost, into the soil. During the flowering period, the ice begonias benefit from an organic fertilizer. You should avoid using mineral fertilizers on the plants. If the ice begonia is in full bloom, you should prefer a liquid fertilizer for flowering plants. This promotes long flowering and the formation of new buds.
Cut back
When it rains continuously, the ice begonias will only flower for a short time and varieties that have white flowers in particular look ugly. You can remove dead flowers at any time, but it is not a must. The dead flowers and leaves eventually fall to the ground and rot there. You should remove broken leaves or shoots promptly. They only cost the plant unnecessary strength, which limits the formation of new shoots.
Multiplication
The propagation of an ice begonia is usually only possible with cuttings. Commercially available seeds are hybrid seeds that no longer guarantee that the next generation will have the same properties. In addition, hybrid plants rarely or rarely develop seeds that are also capable of germinating. The propagation of cuttings usually works very well, because you can simply let the shoots take root in the water. If you need several plants for a bed, you should take cuttings as quickly as possible, as it takes some time for them to develop into strong plants.
wintering
The god's eye would be perennial, but is rarely overwintered, as the plants are usually offered cheaply in stores. However, it is possible to hibernate the plants as cuttings, for example, as there is little space in them
Claim. If you want to overwinter the whole plant, you have to dig it up and put it in a pot in September.The ice begonia has the following requirements for winter quarters:
- bright
- Frost free
- Temperatures around 15 ° C
- no drafts
In winter quarters you can do without fertilization entirely. Do not start to fertilize slowly until the middle of April, so that the formation of shoots is encouraged. The plants also only receive water very sparingly and, as with fertilization, increase the frequency of watering from mid-April. In the winter quarters you should occasionally check for pests such as spider mites.
As soon as the planting time begins, the plants from the winter quarters can also be permanently outside again. Just like the young plants, get them used to sunlight. In addition, you should slowly accustom the plants to a higher temperature in their winter quarters. This also promotes the formation of instincts.
Diseases
Ice begonias can tolerate cool temperatures and rain, but the combination of heat and moisture is not good for the plants. If it rains continuously in summer, gray mold and powdery mildew can form on the leaves. Fungal diseases can spread rapidly across the entire plant and should be controlled quickly.
Tips for combating and preventing fungal diseases:
- Cut off the affected areas with a clean knife
- Dispose of shoots with fungal diseases in the residual waste
- Protect plants from rain
- only pour near the ground
- use a commercially available fungicide in the event of severe infestation
If the fungal infestation cannot be combated by removing the shoots, do not hesitate to use a fungicide for ornamental plants. There are effective bio-supplements available on the market that can be used to prevent the spread.
Occasionally there is also root rot in the ice begonia. The reason for this is too much water or Waterlogging. If the root rot has progressed too far, the plants can usually no longer be saved. At an early stage, quick repotting in a dry substrate can help. Also refrain from watering for the first one to two weeks.
Pests
The ice begonias are not susceptible to pests. Only spider mites can occasionally appear in winter quarters if the humidity is too low. However, this problem can usually be remedied simply by occasionally spraying the plants or placing a large bowl of water next to them. The ice begonia even has the advantage that it forms a barrier against a dreaded pest in the garden itself. Snails avoid the ice begonias and are therefore also very suitable as border plants to protect vegetables or other ornamental plants.