If you want to achieve lush flowers with as little work as possible, then the ice begonia, also called crooked leaf or god's eye, could be the ideal plant for your purposes. It is extremely easy to care for, very frugal and extremely flowery.
How do you properly care for ice begonias?
Ice begonias are easy-care plants that prefer a partially shaded to shady location. They require slightly moist soil, but cannot tolerate waterlogging. Only water the plants when the soil dries out and fertilize occasionally with liquid fertilizer.
Location and soil
Ice begonias do not place great demands on their location. They even thrive in deep shade, but prefer a partially shaded spot. Here they bloom particularly profusely. Because they grow beautifully compact, ice begonias are often used for grave planting, but are also suitable for the balcony or as a container plant. The soil should be slightly moist.
Different varieties and species
Ice begonias offer you a large selection of species and varieties in different sizes and with different flower and foliage colors. Small varieties reach a height of around 20 centimeters, medium ones between 25 and 30 centimeters and large varieties reach a height of up to 40 centimeters. The growth is always quite compact, the foliage is green or dark with a reddish touch.
Planting ice begonias
Ice begonias are generally perennial, but not hardy. That's why they should only be planted in the garden after the Ice Saints. Repotting or planting in a balcony box is possible until autumn. Make sure that rain or excess irrigation water can drain out of the box.
Watering and fertilizing
The fleshy ice begonias require a certain amount of moisture, but do not like waterlogging. Please allow the soil to dry out a little before watering the begonias again. Every now and then add a little liquid fertilizer (€14.00 on Amazon) to the irrigation water if you haven't already added enough compost to the planting hole when planting. However, the ice begonia does not need a lot of fertilizer.
The most important things in brief:
- very easy to care for
- Location: partially shaded to shady
- Flowering time: from May to the first frost
- perennial, but not hardy
- Flower color: white, various shades of pink and red, also two-tone
- Foliage color: green or reddish
- compact growth
- Growth height: depending on the variety between 20 and up to 40 cm
Tip
Ice begonias can be perfectly combined with other plants such as verbena, busy lilies or lilies.
