Description:

A lovely eye catching selection presenting dark green and cherry red foliage on well mounded plants; bright cherry red flowers bloom throughout the summer months; shade tolerant variety perfect for borders, beds and containers

Ornamental Features

Bright Cherry Begonia features dainty clusters of fragrant cherry red star-shaped flowers at the ends of the branches from mid spring to mid fall. Its attractive crinkled oval leaves remain dark green in color with curious crimson undersides and tinges of dark red throughout the year.

Landscape Attributes

Bright Cherry Begonia is a dense multi-stemmed annual with a mounded form. Its medium texture blends into the garden, but can always be balanced by a couple of finer or coarser plants for an effective composition.

This is a relatively low maintenance plant, and should only be pruned after flowering to avoid removing any of the current season's flowers. It is a good choice for attracting birds, bees and butterflies to your yard. It has no significant negative characteristics.

Bright Cherry Begonia is recommended for the following landscape applications;

• Mass Planting
• General Garden Use
• Container Planting

Planting & Growing

Bright Cherry Begonia will grow to be about 10 inches tall at maturity extending to 16 inches tall with the flowers, with a spread of 18 inches. When grown in masses or used as a bedding plant, individual plants should be spaced approximately 16 inches apart. Although it's not a true annual, this plant can be expected to behave as an annual in our climate if left outdoors over the winter, usually needing replacement the following year. As such, gardeners should take into consideration that it will perform differently than it would in its native habitat.

This plant should be grown in a location with partial shade or which is shaded from the hot afternoon sun. It does best in average to evenly moist conditions, but will not tolerate standing water. This plant should not require much in the way of fertilizing once established, although it may appreciate a shot of general-purpose fertilizer from time to time early in the growing season. It is particular about its soil conditions, with a strong preference for rich, acidic soils. It is somewhat tolerant of urban pollution. Consider covering it with a thick layer of mulch in winter to protect it in exposed locations or colder microclimates. This is a selected variety of a species not originally from North America.

Bright Cherry Begonia is a fine choice for the garden, but it is also a good selection for planting in outdoor pots and containers. It is often used as a 'filler' in the 'spiller-thriller-filler' container combination, providing a mass of flowers and foliage against which the thriller plants stand out. Note that when growing plants in outdoor containers and baskets, they may require more frequent waterings than they would in the yard or garden.