How to Care for Angel Wing Begonias

Angel wing begonias (Begonia coccinea) are engineered hybrid plants that are most commonly kept as houseplants. Angel wing begonias are low-maintenance perennials that are prized as much for their attractive foliage as their flowers. Angel wing begonias bloom in hanging clusters of orange, pink or red flowers and have large, bronze and variegated leaves that are shaped like angel wings. These fast-growing indoor plants can reach up to 48 inches tall with canes that can grow up to 24 inches long.

Difficulty:

Moderately Easy

Instructions

things you’ll need:

• Water spray bottle
• Lime-free water
• Drainage dish
• Gravel
• Water-soluble houseplant fertilizer
• Planter pots
• African violet potting mix
• Horticultural oil, insecticidal soap or pesticide (optional)

1. Place your angel wing begonia in bright indirect sunlight. Set the plant outdoors during the warmer summer days in a partially shaded location. Maintain air temperatures around the angel wing begonia of 50 to 75 degrees F.
2. Water your angel wing begonia once or twice each week to keep the soil evenly moistened. Allow the water to drain through the pot and empty the excess water so that the pot doesn’t sit in the water.
3. Maintain elevated humidity levels around your angel wing begonia by misting it once a week with warm, lime-free water. Set the pot on top of a drainage dish filled with water and gravel, ensuring that the pot is sitting on top of the gravel and not in the water.
4. Feed your angel wing begonia once every two weeks with a water-soluble, lime-free houseplant fertilizer at half the normal dosage rate. Don’t fertilize the begonia when it’s in bloom.

Tips & Warnings

• You can repot your angel wing begonia once every one or two years when it outgrows its container. Repot the plant in early spring, using a commercial potting mix made for African violets or a mixture of two parts soil, two parts leaf mold (humus), one part perlite, one part peat moss and one part rinsed aquarium charcoal chips.

• Watch out for spider mites, aphids and mealybugs infesting your angel wing begonia. If you detect any pests on the plant, apply an appropriate horticultural oil, insecticidal soap or pesticide spray, according to the instructions on the label.