Angel Wing Begonia Plant Care

Adding the Angel Wing Begonia to your home will provide it with a pop of color when it starts to flower.

Interestingly enough, with the Angel Wing Cane Begonia, you have an attractive year-round plant. The speckles with streaked foliage look amazing with its glossy green leaves, tinted with red on the back.

When provided with enough love and care, this small treasure gifts you with a huge cluster of flowers. Clusters can range in color from red, white, or orange, to pink.

Below is a table that shows the general Angel Wing Begonia Plant Care Guide.

angel wing begonia care card

What is Angel Wing Begonias

angel wing begonia

While the Begoniaceae is a huge family of many members, the Wing Begonia Angel is one popular indoor plant species that liven up any home. The foliage is native to Brazil and grows on upright stems with unique colors of leaves, making for a fabulous display once it flowers.

The plant grows year-round inside the home and only needs some basic requirements for it to bloom. Remember, these plants grow fast. The Angel Wing can grow both outdoors and indoors.

If you live in the USDA hardiness zones 9 to 11, you can grow this foliage easily.

Angel Wing Begonia Plant Care Basics

While many grow the Begonia Angel Wing for its gorgeous heart-shaped leaves resembling folding wings, many choose them for their foliage. This rare plant gifts you with attractive blooms when grown in the right conditions. The plant is a fast grower, but you can maintain its size with pruning.

Ideal Soil Mix

Angel Wings enjoy organic-rich but well-drained potting soil. The pot needs enough water drainage, and the African violet potting mix is ideal for your plant. You can keep the soil moist but remember that it must not be soggy. Overly wet soil can cause root rot.

The soil’s pH must be maintained as slightly acidic.

Watering Schedule

During the growth time in summer, you can water the Angel Wing Begonias often. It also depends on the temperature and humidity present. The important thing is to keep the soil moist to the touch but not soggy. In winter, you can cut back on the watering but never leave the soil to dry out.

The best practice is to let the top of the ground dry out, keeping the lower layers moist. Compared to other houseplants, Angel Wing prefers to be watered from the bottom as the leaves retain moisture. If the foliage is too damp, it can cause fungal diseases.

Ideal Lighting

begonia lighting requirement

Okay, the big question is where to place this houseplant. The Angel Wing begonia enjoys bright indirect light. Proper lighting encourages the new growth of begonia.

Don’t place it on a windowsill blasted with direct sunlight because, unlike wax begonia, this plant couldn’t handle such a condition.

Find the best spot in your home a couple of feet away from the window. The plant can still get plenty of light for the flower to bloom. 

Temperature and Humidity Requirement

humidity and temperature requirement

You can plant the Begonia outdoors if you live in areas with warmer and slightly humid climates. However, if the climate drops below 55°F (13°C), it’s best to place your plant indoors. For optimal growth, this houseplant thrives in room temperatures between 60° to 75°F (16 to 24°C).

Avoid exposure to cold drafts so try not to place them too close to open doors and windows. Furthermore, keep your tropical plant protected from stoves, AC, and heating vents. You do not want their beautiful leaves to wilt.

Moreover, just as many of them do not enjoy direct sunlight, they need high humidity levels. Occasionally, you can mist the leaves but preferably, invest in a pebble tray with water or a humidifier instead.

Is Fertilizer Necessary?

Is cane begonia a heavy feeder? The answer is no. From spring to fall, you can feed your Angel Wing Begonias every two weeks with a potassium-diluted fertilizer at half-strength. Doing this keeps the plant vibrant and glossy.

If your plant blooms in late winter or early spring, you can use a high-phosphorous fertilizer instead.

Potting Angel Wing Begonias

Part of Angel Wing Begonia’s care is repotting. The good thing is that this plant doesn’t mind being a bit pot-bound. Therefore, there’s no need to do frequent repotting. We suggest that you repot only when the medium is already depleted and the roots are already seeping out of the pot.

You can schedule repotting in early spring once you notice new growths appearing. Never transplant them when still in bloom as it leads to shock making them fall off. It is always advised to choose a pot that has good drainage.

Propagation

Propagating Angel Wing Begonias is not difficult at all. The best way to propagate this houseplant is by using stem cuttings.

Using a sterilized knife, snip off 3-6 inches of the tip of the stems. Make sure the cutting has at least one node and must not contain flowers. Place the stem cuttings in water or perlite. You can use a rooting hormone for added success.

Once you plant the cutting, keep it in a warm spot and moist until signs of growth appear.

When you notice the roots forming, you can transfer them to potting soil. Another method is planting it from seed, but there is no guarantee what variety of color plant you end up with. However, the process is much more complicated than using your stem-cutting method.

Angel Wing Begonia Diseases & Pests

Just like any indoor or outdoor plant, the Angel Wing Begonia can also get pests and diseases. The plant becomes susceptible to diseases if the ideal growing conditions aren’t met. If the leaves are constantly damp, that could to fungal diseases such as powdery mildew.

The same applies to overwatering, leading to botrytis or stem rot.

Keep your exotic beauty’s foliage. Prune out other leaves to improve air circulation, offsetting the effects of high humidity.

Some insects that can cause harm to your plant are aphids and spider mites. Inspect and clean the leaves now and then. This will prevent the pests from growing in population. You can use also Neem oil to kill these critters.

Angel Wing Begonia Varieties and Similar Plants

You can find many species of Begonia plants, all having some interesting leaves. Here are some of them.

Begonia Apricot – This indoor plant will surprise you with blooms overflowing the pot. You find the blooms in shades of amber, apricot, and lemon while the flowers grow in a single or double bloom.

Begonia Supercascade – This houseplant has pink, orange, white, red, or yellow blooms, and you can grow them from seed. You can place it in a window box, and use them for edging or for mass planting.

Begonia Samba – The foliage is a true splendor as it has fringed blooms growing in pastel colors. You find the blooms on top of the dark green leaves surrounded by rough edges.

Frequently Asked Questions

The Angel Wing is susceptible to powdery mildew that covers the foliage, flowers, and stems. You can use a commercial fungicide to help treat the problem. In order to prevent it from happening again, only water your plant when the soil is slightly dry. Other concerns are root rot from overwatering, aphids, spider mites, and mealybugs.

While not all Angel Wing Begonias are rare, you can find some of them that are, such as the one with polka dots on the leaves, as seen below.

Your plant needs bright indirect light to thrive, and too much sunlight can cause the leaves to burn. Furthermore, other causes such as pests, diseases, to overwatering, can cause your plant to die. If your plant has yellow leaves, it can be a leaf spot disease that happens when the soil is too wet.

You might find these plants intimindating due to their angel wing shaped leaves and gorgeous, colorful flowers. But once you get the hang of your begonia, they are extremely easy to care for. Just provide them with bright, indirect light, regular watering in summer and place them in a well-draining potting mix. It will surprise you with healthy blooms. And flowers for an added bonus if they are exposed to bright light. 

Begonias are outdoor plants in their natural habitat. They’re semi tropical plants thriving in rainforests or under the canopy of trees. However, they can also thrive indoors with blooms. These plants can adapt easily as long as you have a humid enviroment and light coming into your home. 

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