Flowers of modern begonias, similar to roses or camellias, look great both in the garden and in indoor culture. Today, flower growers can grow this beauty from seeds themselves. Since begonia seeds are very small, seed companies offer them in granular form, which, on the one hand, is convenient, but on the other, it requires certain skills.
How to prepare the soil?
Before you start sowing begonia seeds, you need to prepare a light high-quality soil substrate with an acidity of 5, 5-5, 8. It is better to shed the soil before sowing in order to further avoid such a common root disease as root rot affecting all types of begonias. For processing, use a pink solution of potassium permanganate or some biological product, for example, alirin B.
How to sow seeds?
Begonia seeds in granules are sown superficially, without sprinkling with earth, it is enough just to press them to the surface. The seeds sown in the soil must be constantly moistened. This is an important condition for friendly seedlings. The granules are sprayed from a spray bottle or gently dripped on them several times with water so that the shell bursts, only then the seeds will begin to germinate. When watering, granules do not dissolve, but only burst. With insufficient moisture, the granules will remain in the soil.
The seeds germinate in the light. The temperature in the room should be around 20-25 ° C. Begonia shoots appear in two to three weeks.
How to care for begonia seedlings?
As soon as the first small shoots appear, they are "brought up" within a week in a greenhouse, under a film (glass). The temperature during this period of the seedling's life is not reduced.
During this period, seedlings of begonia require additional lighting for at least 12-14 hours a day.
You can dive seedlings when 2-3 leaves appear. For picking, pots of 3x3 cm are suitable. Now the air temperature is reduced to 18-20 ° C. The grown begonia seedlings are transplanted into larger pots with a diameter of 8-10 cm.
They feed the "kids" as needed, once a week. Use nitrogen and potassium for fertilizing. As begonias grow, complex fertilizers are required with lower doses of nitrogen, and more potassium-phosphorus and microelements.
The period of growing begonias from seed before flowering is about three months. The optimal time for sowing granular begonia seeds is from January to March.
