Other Names:  Cane, Angel Wing

Group/Class:  Wax Begonia

Brand:  PanAmerican Seed

Description:

A beautiful early blooming selection that provides season-long maintenance-free beauty; vibrant flowers add a pop of color to landscapes, containers and hanging baskets; very floriferous and well branched

Ornamental Features

Hula™ Red Begonia features dainty nodding red orchid-like flowers with yellow throats at the ends of the stems from mid spring to late summer. Its attractive small glossy pointy leaves remain green in colour with distinctive dark red edges throughout the year.

Landscape Attributes

Hula™ Red Begonia is an herbaceous annual with a ground-hugging habit of growth. 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 high maintenance plant that will require regular care and upkeep, and usually looks its best without pruning, although it will tolerate pruning. Deer don't particularly care for this plant and will usually leave it alone in favor of tastier treats. Gardeners should be aware of the following characteristic(s) that may warrant special consideration;

• Insects
• Disease

Hula™ Red Begonia is recommended for the following landscape applications;

• Mass Planting
• Border Edging
• General Garden Use
• Container Planting
• Hanging Baskets

Planting & Growing

Hula™ Red Begonia will grow to be only 6 inches tall at maturity extending to 8 inches tall with the flowers, with a spread of 24 inches. When grown in masses or used as a bedding plant, individual plants should be spaced approximately 15 inches apart. Its foliage tends to remain low and dense right to the ground. This annual will normally live for one full growing season, needing replacement the following year.

This plant should be grown in a location with partial shade or which is shaded from the hot afternoon sun. It requires an evenly moist well-drained soil for optimal growth, but will die in 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 not particular as to soil pH, but grows best in rich soils. It is somewhat tolerant of urban pollution, and will benefit from being planted in a relatively sheltered location. Consider applying a thick mulch around the root zone over the growing season to conserve soil moisture. This particular variety is an interspecific hybrid. It can be propagated by cuttings; however, as a cultivated variety, be aware that it may be subject to certain restrictions or prohibitions on propagation.

Hula™ Red Begonia is a fine choice for the garden, but it is also a good selection for planting in outdoor containers and hanging baskets. Because of its spreading habit of growth, it is ideally suited for use as a 'spiller' in the 'spiller-thriller-filler' container combination; plant it near the edges where it can spill gracefully over the pot. Note that when growing plants in outdoor containers and baskets, they may require more frequent waterings than they would in the yard or garden.