Bring a touch of heaven indoors with angel wing begonias
Angel wing begonias are growing in popularity and readily available in garden centres
Angel wing begonias are so called because the asymmetrical leaves are shaped like an angel wing at rest, rounded or slightly pointed at the top, broadest just above the centre and narrowing to a point at the lower tip. They come in a wide range of leaf colour, from pale green to deepest burgundy; most varieties have large, pendulous inflorescences of red, pink or white flowers. The leaves can have a selection of pink or white spots, dashes and splashes.
Some of my favourites:
B. albopicta ‘Rosea’ is a tall-growing specimen with small, light green leaves which are suffused with white spots. Towards the autumn this variety will produce a mass of small, rose-red flowers in large clusters.
‘Down Home’ is a short-growing, floriferous variety with red flowers and deep burgundy/green foliage.
‘Irene Nuss’ has fragrant, coral-red flowers on a tall habit with burgundy/ red leaves; an easy to grow variety.
‘Lucerna’ is an old hybrid first released in 1892, undemanding and good for the beginner; a statuesque variety growing to almost 2m (6½ft) in height. The large, mid-green leaves are covered with small spots; the reverse colour of the leaf is red.
B. maculata ‘Wightii’ is a very popular variety; the leaves are long and narrow, olive green with large white/ silver spots. A mature plant will have large clusters of delightful white flowers.
Angel wing begonias like a bright position without the full midday sunshine; this ensures stems are strong, self-supporting and don’t need staking. They'll tolerate low humidity making them more tolerant to household conditions compared to other forms of begonia. If you see a leaf going brown and crisp it's a sign it needs more humidity or moving away from a heat source.
Watering should be based on the size of plant you have and the average ambient air temperature. A large plant with a large leaf area will need more water than a younger plant. Wait until the surface of the compost is quite dry before watering – never let the compost become saturated. Feed fortnightly during spring and summer with a balanced fertiliser; this regime keeps leaves strong and healthy and encourages a large flush of flowers later in the season. During the winter months reduce the frequency and volume of water.