Annuals & Biennials

Begonia
Begonia
wax begonia

Height 6-9 in (15-23)
Planting distance 8-10 in (20-25 cm)
Flowers early summer to early fall or first frost
Rich, moist, well-drained soil
Sunny or lightly shaded site
Half-hardy annual

The wax begonia (Begonia x semperflorens-cultorum) and its cultivars are grown as annuals and used as summer bedding and pot plants. The plants, which generally reach 6-9 in ( 15-23 cm) high, are smothered with small white, pink, or red flowers from early summer until early fall. The foliage, too, is attractive: succulent and glossy, pale or dark green, purple, or coppery brown. Fill containers with wax begonias to brighten a patio, window box, or use them in formal beds. In fall you can lift wax begonias and take them indoors as winter pot plants, and flowering will continue if the room is well lit.

Popular species and cultivars
Begonia x semperflorens-cultorum is now represented by an increasing number of cultivars.
'Cocktail Hybrids' have white, pink, rose, salmon, and red flowers with glossy deep bronze foliage. Notable members of this group are 'Gin,' which bears deep pink flowers with reddish leaves, and 'Whiskey,' a white-flowered cultivar that has light, bronze-green foliage.
'Coco Hybrids' come in mixed colors and have bronze foliage.
'Danica Red' has brick-red flowers and glossy bronze leaves.
'Danica Scarlet' has large scarlet flowers and bronze foliage.
'Frilly Dilly Hybrids' have scarlet and pink flowers with frilled petals. The foliage is green.
'Olympia Hybrids' have exceptionally big flowers, which are pink, white, red, or bicolored.
'Options Hybrids' have green or bronze foliage and pink, carmine, or white flowers, often picoteed.
'Organdy Hybrids' come in a wide range of flower colors and have green and bronze foliage. The plants are very compact.
'Pink Avalanche' has delicate pink flowers and green foliage.
'Viva' has pure white blooms and dark green leaves.
'Wings Hybrids' bear white, rose-pink, and bright red flowers that are very large, opening to a width of as much as 3 in (7.5 cm).

Annuals
and
Biennials