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Begonia acida is native to Brazil. It is a rhizomatous species with nearly orbicular leaves that are roughly puckered to 9 inches (23 cm) across. It makes a great plant for hanging baskets and for the windowsill.
Blooming Time: From late winter to early spring, tall inflorescences with white to pale pink flowers 5/8 inch (1.5 cm) across adorn the plant. Individual inflorescences are up to 6 inches (15 cm) across.
Culture: Begonia acida need full shade to bright indirect light, with intermediate to warm temperatures. We grow ours under 52% shade all year long. We use a soil mix consisting of 2 parts peat moss to 1 part loam to 1 part sand or perlite. The soil should be kept moist at all times. Fertilize weekly with a balanced fertilizer diluted to ½ the strength recommended on the label. Since the rhizome grows quickly you may need to repot often.
Propagation: Begonia acida are propagated by division of rhizomes and from leaf cuttings.
Begonia acida was featured as Plant of the Week September 27-October 3, 2002.
Guide to Past Plants-of-the-Week:
Cal's Plant of the Week is provided as a service by the University of Oklahoma Department of Botany & Microbiology and specifically Cal Lemke, who is OU's botany greenhouse grower and an avid gardener at home as well. If the above links don't work, then try the overview site. You may also like to look at the thumbnail index. To receive Plant-of-the-Week by e-mail, go to the Plant-of-the-Week listserv subscription page. To contact us, please use this online form. ©1998-2009 All rights reserved.