When Does the Wax Begonia Flower
As the颜值 (beauty quotient)担当 of autumn gardens, the wax begonia is highly favored for its unique color-changing characteristics and its super-long blooming period of up to three months. This plant, praised by ancients as the 'Three醉 Wax Begonia', harbors what kind of growth secrets? This article will take you on a deep exploration of the wax begonia's blooming patterns and care tips.
Analysis of Wax Begonia Bloom Characteristics
Color-Changing Bloom Timeline
The wax begonia's peak blooming period spans from August to November, with each flower lasting 3-5 days. The most astonishing feature is its color change: it opens in the morning as elegant white or light pink and gradually turns to deep red as sunlight intensifies, making it a popular choice for garden landscaping with its 'morning white, evening red' color-changing trait.
Double奏 of Petal Forms
The wax begonia's ornamental value is not only in its color change but also in the diversity of its petal forms. Single-petal varieties have 5-7 petals that radiate outward, while double-petal varieties have 15 or more petals layered in bloom, with flower diameters reaching up to 10 centimeters, forming a full flower ball shape.
Key Points for Cultivating and Managing Wax Begonias
Sunlight and Temperature Control
Ensuring over 6 hours of direct sunlight daily can promote bud differentiation, but proper shading is needed at noon during the height of summer. The plant is frost-hardy in USDA zones 7-10 and can overwinter outdoors in regions where the temperature does not drop below -10°C.
Water and Fertilizer Management Strategies
Keep the soil moist but not waterlogged during the growing season, following the 'dry-wet' principle. Apply phosphorus-potassium fertilizer (with an N-P-K ratio of 0-10-10) every two weeks before the blooming period, and combining it with organic compost can extend the blooming period of individual flowers by 2-3 days.
Cultural Connotations and Landscape Applications
From Wang Wei's 'Xinyi Valley' in the Tang Dynasty to Su Shi's 'In Praise of the Chrysanthemum Resisting Frost', the wax begonia is often associated with the 'resisting frost' image in poetry. In modern landscape design, it is often planted by water edges (creating a wax begonia reflecting in water景观) or as street trees, and when combined with ginkgos and maples, it can create a rich autumnal scene.
Mastering the wax begonia's growth rhythm of 'spring sprouting branches, summer forming buds, autumn blooming' and combining it with proper pruning (retaining 3-4 main branches after flowering) and pest and disease control can allow this 'autumn beauty' to bloom beautifully year after year.