Begonias in full bloom are one of my favorite sights in summer gardens. These shade-loving flowers produce blooms in all sorts of sizes and colors. Begonias are generally easy to care for, and some varieties actually make great houseplants.
But when they are not growing in their ideal conditions, begonias will stop blooming. A few common things can cause this, but the good news is that most of them can be fixed if found early on.
If your begonias aren’t flowering like you’d like them to this season, you should be able to get them to bloom again soon by making a few changes. Why might your begonia not be blooming? Let’s look at the most common reasons and how you can either stop the problem or fix it!
Begonias are some of the most spectacular flowering plants you can grow in your garden. When healthy and happy they will reward you with an abundance of colorful blooms from early summer right up until the first frost.
But what if your begonias just aren’t blooming like they should? Don’t despair! With a few simple fixes, you can coax those beauties into flowering.
Start With the Right Variety
Not all begonias are big bloomers Some popular varieties like Rex begonias are actually grown for their fantastic foliage, not their flowers Make sure you select tuberous or wax begonias for the best blooms.
The tuberous types have large rose-like flowers that come in bright colors. Wax begonias produce clusters of smaller, waxy feeling flowers. You can also find hybrids called Rieger or Hiemalis begonias that give you the best of both worlds.
Give Them the Right Amount of Sun
Begonias thrive in partial shade. Too much hot sun will scorch the leaves and cause the plant stress. Find a spot that gets morning sun but afternoon shade, ideally 4-6 hours of direct sun per day.
If you only have a very shady area, go for a Rex begonia that will show off its fabulous leaves without needing much sun to bloom.
Ensure Excellent Drainage
Excess moisture is kryptonite for your begonias! They have tuberous roots that will rot if left soggy. Make sure your container or in-ground soil drains well. Add amendments like peat moss or coco coir to improve drainage.
If you have heavy, dense soil that doesn’t drain well, consider planting your begonias in containers or raised beds instead. This will allow you to provide the loose, well-draining soil these plants need.
Water Thoroughly But Let Dry Between
Give your begonias a thorough soaking whenever the top inch or so of soil becomes dry. But don’t keep them sopping wet! Allow the soil to dry out before watering again.
If you are growing them in containers, let excess water drain fully from the bottom before putting the pot back in place.
Wet foliage can lead to fungal issues as well. Try to water at the base of the plant and avoid getting the leaves too wet.
Feed Every 2 Weeks
Begonias are heavy feeders and need regular small doses of fertilizer for prolific blooms. Use a balanced liquid fertilizer, diluted to half strength. Fertilize them every 2 weeks during the growing season.
But don’t overdo it! Too much fertilizer can cause leggy growth and few flowers.
Give Them a Drink of Epsom Salts
One of the best tricks to get begonias blooming is to supplement with Epsom salts. Dissolve 1-2 tablespoons per gallon of water and use this to water your plants. The magnesium in Epsom salts encourages flowering. Do this monthly for best results.
Keep Up With Deadheading
Snip off spent begonia blossoms as soon as they fade. This neat trick tells the plant to make more flowers! Deadheading prevents the plant from going to seed and redirects that energy into producing more blooms.
Watch for Pests
Spider mites, aphids, and mealybugs will all happily munch on your begonias. They can spread quickly and will diminish flowering.
Do daily pest checks and treat any infestations right away with insecticidal soap or neem oil. Consider using a systemic insecticide at planting time for preventative pest control.
Prevent Powdery Mildew
The high humidity begonias love also provides the perfect home for powdery mildew. This fungal disease coats leaves and flowers with a white powdery coating.
Choose disease resistant varieties, space plants for good air circulation, and water early in the day to prevent mildew. Remove any infected foliage promptly.
Give Them a Boost Mid-Season
By mid to late summer, your begonias may be getting tired and producing fewer flowers. Rejuvenate them with a shot of water-soluble bloom booster fertilizer. This will supply extra phosphorus to stimulate abundant flowering.
You can also root stem cuttings in water or pot up tubers divided from the mother plant. This will give you fresh new begonias that will flower prolifically.
Overwinter Tubers Indoors
One of the easiest ways to get begonias to rebloom each year is to overwinter them. After the first frost, dig up the tuberous roots. Allow them to dry in a cool spot indoors for a few weeks.
Then pack the tubers in peat moss and store them in a cool, dark place for winter. In spring, pot them up again and you’ll have beautiful begonias already adapted to your climate that will bloom abundantly.
Troubleshoot Leaf Issues
If your begonia leaves are turning brown, yellow, or spotty, this indicates a problem. Issues like improper watering, pests, diseases, or nutrition deficits can all cause unhealthy foliage.
Address any problems promptly to keep your begonias happy. Remove any severely damaged leaves, and give them some TLC to get them back on track. Healthy leaves mean vigorous blooms!
Give Them Some TLC in Hot Weather
If you live in an extremely hot summer climate, your begonias may struggle with the heat. Help them cope by providing shade, misting the foliage, and watering in the morning.
Choose heat-tolerant varieties like the Whopper or Illumination series. Begonias from the tropics are naturally more heat adapted.
Avoid Drafty Areas
While begonias like humidity, they dislike dry, drafty areas. This includes close to heat vents, fans, or air conditioning units. The moving air will quickly dry out their foliage and discourage flowering.
Grow in Containers if Needed
If your garden conditions aren’t quite right for begonias, don’t despair! You can have success growing them in pots. Use a quality potting mix and provide the light, water, and fertilizer they require.
Container growing allows you to move them to the ideal spot and even bring them indoors if needed. With the right care, container grown begonias can flourish and flower abundantly.
The Takeaway
With high moisture needs, begonias do require some special considerations. But take care of their basic requirements for filtered sunlight, rich soil, ample water and nutrition, and your begonias will reward you with a spectacular floral display.
A little TLC goes a long way with these flowering beauties. Follow these tips and you’ll have gorgeous begonia blooms from your garden this season.
You Used The Wrong Soil
For container plants, a light, fluffy potting mix is recommended.
Begonias like light soil filled with lots of organic matter. They do not like heavy clay soils and soil with little to no nutrients. If you get the soil right, you will have lovely blooms all season.
For begonias in containers, stick with a potting mix. This is light and fluffy and the perfect growing medium.
For garden begonias get your garden soil light and fluffy. Before you plant, you might want to mix peat or coir with compost, seas soil, worm castings, or manure in your garden beds. This will ensure a nice light soil for them to thrive and bloom in.
Remove wilted begonia flowers to channel energy into new flower growth.
Deadheading is the process of removing dead or dying flowers from plants. This will trigger the plant to create more blooms. For begonias I trim the flower stalk down to the nearest larger stem.
The begonia will shoot out more blossoms once the old ones are removed. The more you pick the old blossoms the more new blossoms you will get.
It is recommended to use a liquid mineral fertilizer to enhance flowering.
The secret sauce to flowering annuals is fertilizer. I fertilize once every 10-14 days. I use a water-soluble 20-20-20 blend and water my begonias with it.
This will really pump up the blooms. Especially for begonias in containers, they use up the soil nutrients quickly in a container environment.
Make sure to water your plants before fertilizing. Fertilizing dry plants can burn the plant.
Don’t over-fertilize as this can cause the leaves and stems to grow quickly but not the flowers.
Okay, so fertilizer is good, so why not use more? Plants and flowers can suffer if they get too much fertilizer.
You can end up with lots of leaves and leggy growth but no blooms. Or you can even burn a plant with too much fertilizer. Stick to fertilizing one every 10-14 days.
Don’t fertilize newly planted begonias, give them a week or more to establish roots.
You’ve Been Watering Too Much
Too much water will cause them to wilt and the flowers to drop.
Begonias have tuberous stems that hold on to water. They are very sensitive to overwatering. They become a floppy droopy mess when they get too much water. It will also cause all the blossoms to drop off.
To correct this, check the soil and make sure it is evenly moist but not wet. If it is soggy, quit watering immediately. Let the soil dry out.
If your begonias are in a container, make sure the container has drainage holes in the bottom. Also use a potting mix for soil, not black earth or garden soil. This will help the soil absorb and drain moisture so the container doesn’t get too soggy.
For garden begonias, make sure to add a lot of coir or peat to the soil so that it can hold water and let the extra water drain away. Take a handful of soil and squeeze it in your hand. If it stays in the shape of putty, you need to add coir or peat to it.
It should just crumble away after the soil is squeezed. If there are naturally wet spots in your garden, this is not the right place to plant them. They do not tolerate being in standing water.
Since they prefer shade, excessive direct sun can harm them and prevent flowering.
Begonias are shade-loving perennial plants, too much sun and they will burn up and not bloom.
If the plant is short and the leaves are crispy, check to see how much sun it is getting. Shade plants like 4-6 hours of direct sun. I find early morning sun or late afternoon sun is best. The strong mid afternoon sun can burn them and they won’t bloom.
There are some begonia varieties that can take more sun. The wax begonias in the Cocktail series have dark bronze leaves that can handle more sun than the regular green leaf types.
There is also the Solenia series of tuberous begonias that can take more sun than other varieties. Choose these for planting in sunnier areas.
Begonias. How to get bigger flowers and increase bloom production.
FAQ
Why are my begonias not flowering?
How to encourage begonias to flower?
How do I prune begonias for more blooms?
How do you force a begonia to bloom?
Force blooming by letting young begonias mature indoors. If you’re growing new begonias, you can “force” them to bloom as soon as you plant them outside by starting them indoors. Begin growing your begonias from seeds, tubers, roots, or rhizomes in a container inside during the late winter.
How do you propagate begonias?
Begonias may be propagated from leaf cuttings, rhizomes, or tubers. Here’s how: Place a leaf cutting in water in indirect sunlight. Once roots form, plant in potting soil. Rhizomes and tubers can be pressed gently into moist potting soil and should begin to sprout new growth in a few weeks. Begonias grow very well in pots, indoors and outdoors.
How do you keep a Begonia blooming?
Using fertilizer regularly can help keep begonias blooming. The trick is to apply with a light touch, using diluted liquid fertilizer. Never apply fertilizer when soil is dry. Regular deadheading is also essential to keep the plant in tip-top shape and promote maximum blooms.
Are begonias blooming?
Keeping your begonias flowering and thriving throughout their blooming season is vitally important to ensuring your yard is decorated to its full potential with these vibrant plants.