

Once warmer temperatures return in spring, you can move your plants back outside. Because wax begonias never go dormant, keep the soil slightly moist and fertilize lightly throughout the winter months. If you want to bring your wax begonias indoors for overwintering, put them in a window with bright filtered light, avoiding direct sunlight if your plants were growing outdoors in the shade. Wax begonias are also self-cleaning, so there’s no need to remove spent flowers to ensure continuous blooms.


If necessary, pinch back plants lightly if they become too leggy. Pruning of wax begonias is rarely needed to maintain their nice, mounded shape. To help conserve soil moisture, top dress the soil after planting with a layer of organic mulch. Amendments and fertilizer:Īpply a balanced water-soluble fertilizer once a month during the growing season or a slow-release fertilizer at planting time. Make sure the pot has drainage holes so the soil doesn’t become soggy. When growing plants in containers, water when the top inch or two of soil feels dry to the touch. Avoid overwatering, which can lead to root rot and cause the stems to turn mushy. Watering:īecause the leaves and stems of wax begonias are thick and succulent-like, established plants don’t need constant moisture and can even withstand short periods of drought.Īs a general rule of thumb, give plants about an inch of water per week and allow the soil to dry out slightly before watering again. On this page: Basics | Planting | Care and Maintenance | Pictures | FAQ's (Learn more about growing different types of begonias.) In the fall, simply pot up your begonias and grow them as houseplants indoors, where they will bloom continuously under the right conditions. Wish you could enjoy wax begonias year-round? You can! A wax begonia is fibrous-rooted, which means it doesn’t go through a period of dormancy like its tuberous-rooted cousins. What’s more, these tough little plants are a breeze to care for and need little more than occasional watering during dry weather.
#Wax begonia toxic to cats full#
But unlike most impatiens, wax begonias grow as well in full sunlight as they do in shade, making them one of the most versatile plants in the garden. If you could somehow combine a succulent with an impatiens plant, it would probably look a lot like a wax begonia. In addition to the above ways, consider giving your cats alternative safer plants to eat if they love grazing, teaching them not to eat plants, reducing boredom by having some toys, and so on.Double Up™ Pink begonia. Try Orbit 62100 Yard Enforcer Motion-Activated Sprinkler with Day & Night Detection Modes, Black.

Therefore, besides not planting them, other ways to ensure these animals don’t eat your begonias include: While the leaves are not as toxic as the part under the ground, cats are still not safe. When oxalic acid is absorbed into the body, it will encourage urinal and bladder crystals (struvite and calcium oxalates uroliths) formation, which will damage the kidneys. Kindy damage (commonly noted in horses or grazing animals)įor starters, when the oxalate will embed themselves in various tissues resulting in irritation, they can also be broken down to oxalic acid.
