Angel Wing Begonia Care: How To Grow An Angel Wing Begonia Houseplant
They don’t go dormant over winter, just grow more slowly. The weakly weekly method is recommended to keep up with their nutrient needs (they can be hungry plants!) without risking deficiencies or excess.
Angel Wing Begonia Care Guide
Incorrectly called all sorts of different names, but the most common species of Begonia called ‘Angel Wing’ that you’ll see commercially available is Begonia Rosea Picta.
They often get incorrectly called ‘Maculata’ which are much rarer, with bigger leaves, bigger spots, and often attract prices in the triple figures upwards for an established plant. It’s likely your beautiful spotted Begonia is the more common Rosea Picta.
Angel Wing are a real stand-out in the Begonia family with their stunning, almost iridescent, silvery-white spots on deep olive green leaves. At first they seem so delicate with those thin leaves, but Begonia Angel Wing will surprise you with being super easy care once you know what they love. Bonus of sweet little round pink, peach, orange or white flowers too. Keep reading for the full care guide.
What light conditions do Angel Wing Begonia prefer?
Bright, indirect light is ideal but they will tolerate lower light levels better than most. You’ll get better variegation in medium to low light, but faster growth and more flowers in brighter light. Once acclimatised, they also tolerate direct sun, but take it slowly getting them used to a little sunbathing indoors.
What temperature range is best?
Warmth is appreciated by the Angel Wing Begonia. Around 18 to 30 degrees is a good temperature range. They will handle lower temperatures indoors over winter provided the rest of the conditions are ideal.
What watering requirements do Angel Wing Begonia have?
Angel Wing can be fast growers in the right conditions, and will happily drink everything you give them (within reason), so aim to keep the soil consistently moist in summer, and lightly moist in winter. No wet feet please!
When watering, let the pot drain till there are no drips coming out, before returning to the cover pot or saucer. Let the top 5cms or so of soil dry out between watering, just don’t let her get completely dry. They are surprisingly tolerant of dry conditions, but it will stunt growth and lead to dry, brown tips and leaf margins if left dry too long between watering.
They don’t go dormant over winter, just grow more slowly. The weakly weekly method is recommended to keep up with their nutrient needs (they can be hungry plants!) without risking deficiencies or excess.
Over-watering is much worse than underwatering for the Angel Wing. They will thrive with a bit of humidity, especially in winter (even more so if you have a fireplace or heat pump going, or an HRV / DVS system).
What’s the best potting mix?
Your choice in potting mix depends on your watering style. If you’re prone to over-watering, go for a more free-draining mix (succulent mix is a popular choice for Angel Wing Begonia). If you’re more of an under-waterer, adding about a quarter indoor potting soil in with three quarters succulent mix will give you a bit more moisture retention. My go-to for mine is the fine-grade Bio Leaf Succulent and Indoor Plant mix. Luckily, Angel Wing tend to be way more forgiving of ‘bad watering’ than many in the Begonia family so don’t get too caught up on potting mix.
Angel Wing Begonia pro tips and problem solving
Pale spots
Lower light levels bring out more contrast in variegation than brighter light. In medium to low light leaves tend to be darker, making the silvery white spots stand out more.
Dry, brown tips
A typical sign of under-watering. Give your Angel Wing a good drink. Existing brown tips may not recover but new growth should come through happy and healthy and the existing tip damage shouldn’t get worse. You can trim the brown tips off.
Drooping stems
The Angel Wing’s stems should be firm. If you notice them drooping down, that’s a sign she’s thirsty. Check that soil and give her a good drink. If you’re confident it’s not water related, a lack of calcium or silicon can also be to blame for weak stems. Check if your fertiliser is one that includes calcium. Also take a look at a silicon supplement like ProTekt.
Yellow leaves
There’s only one reason for yellowing leaves. This is why >
Leggy growth
Don’t hide in the dark or you’ll let leggy growth, usually a sign of not enough light. If you regularly pinch back you’ll get a fuller, bushier plant also. New stems will grow from where you prune. Plus they’re easy to propagate too so don’t throw out those pruned-off stems!
No flowers
You should get sweet little white, peach or pink flowers regularly in the warmer months. If yours hasn’t flowered but is putting out new leaves, a shift to a position with brighter light, or a fertiliser boost, may both be needed.
Is the Angel Wing Begonia pet safe?
Unfortunately that’s a no. Begonia are toxic to pets, and the Angel Wing is not an exception. It’s rare for it to be serious, but pets could get sick from chomping on your Angel Wing, so best placed out of the reach of pets.
How to propagate the Angel Wing Begonia
Super easy to propagate. Take a stem cutting (with one or two nodes) and pop in water covering the nodes. You ideally need at least one leaf to get energy to produce new roots. You can prop straight in to soil if it’s a warm time of year but it makes it harder to know when those precious roots have formed enough to pot up.
Pro tip: Plant rooted stem cuttings back in to the mother plant to create a much bushier effect.
Angel Wing Begonia Care: How To Grow An Angel Wing Begonia Houseplant
The angel wing begonia is commonly named for the shape of its leaves. Numerous cultivars of the angel wing begonia houseplant offer many sizes and heights. Begonia x coralline, or the cane begonia, is known as one of the easiest begonias to grow inside. There is an angel wing begonia houseplant for most indoor situations. Growing angel wing begonias inside can provide a dwarf plant for the desk, or a large bushy, shrub-like floor plant, reaching 5 feet (1.5 m.).
Angel Wing Begonia Flowers
Learning how to grow an angel wing begonia indoors provides a houseplant with attractive year-round foliage. Speckled or streaked foliage appears on glossy green leaves with red tints or backing.
An angel wing begonia houseplant blooms in pendulous clusters of flowers if located in the right area. Large clusters of flowers in a range of white, orange, pink, or red appear on the happy angel wing begonia houseplant. When growing angel wing begonias indoors, the right lighting and fertilization promotes flowering.
Angel Wing Begonia Care
The right angel wing begonia care encourages flowers to bloom throughout the year as well as healthy growth.
Plant the angel wing begonia in a soil or soilless mix high in organic material. The angel wing begonia houseplant likes moist soil, but not soggy. Allow the soil to dry between waterings.
Locate the angel win begonia houseplant in bright indirect light, in moderate temperatures. When growing angel wing begonias for the attractive foliage, flowers may not be desirable. If this is the case, place them in low light areas. Plants located in low light conditions will grow, but will not likely flower.
Feed with a houseplant food high in nitrogen to promote larger leaves when growing angel wing begonias for foliage. Growing angel wing begonias for flowers requires a different type of fertilization than those grown for foliage. Angel wing begonia flowers need a fertilizer slightly higher in phosphorus than those grown just for foliage. Fertilize every two weeks. Depending on the cultivar, the angel wing begonia flowers in late winter through autumn. Some may bloom multiple times throughout the year.
Repot yearly in spring. Move to a slightly larger pot each year. Add pebbles or broken pot shards in the pot to aid in drainage.
Now that you’ve learned how to grow an angel wing begonia, experiment with different cultivars. All are attractive and low maintenance when grown in the right area.