By Gary Wade
University of Georgia
Dragon Wing begonia isn’t a typical begonia. It’s more.
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Named after the mythical beast of books and movies, Dragon Wing
begonia is a fire-breather when it comes to heat tolerance. It
blooms nonstop from spring until fall frost and adapts well to
hanging baskets, large containers and landscape beds.
Dragon Wing begonia was introduced by Pan American Seed Company
in 2000. It soon received rave reviews from California to Florida.
A hybrid cross between anglewing begonia and wax begonia, Dragon
Wing offers the best qualities of both plants. It grows denser
and larger than most anglewing types and has the heat tolerance
of wax begonias.
Dragon Wing begonias grow 12 to 15 inches tall and 15 to 18
inches wide. Leaves are wing-shaped, 2 to 5 inches long and dark,
glossy green.
Low maintenance
Plants tend to branch readily and grow dense without pruning. Two
flower colors, red and pink, are available. The flowers grow on
stalks, called panicles. They grow from the leaf nodes near the
tip of each branch. The flowers shed naturally as new ones take
their place, so the plants look neat all summer.
Planted in the landscape, Dragon Wing begonia does best in
filtered shade and well-drained soils enriched with organic
matter.
For best results, plant on a raised bed, 4 to 6 inches above the
normal grade. To build up the bed, place 4 inches of compost or
well-rotted animal manure on the planting area and till it in to
a 12-inch depth.
Space plants 12 to 18 inches apart. Put a tablespoon of Osmocote
fertilizer in the planting hole below each plant. Mulching and
thoroughly watering are the final tasks to get the summer show
under way.
Feed often
Like other fibrous begonias, Dragon Wing begonias are heavy
feeders. They’ll benefit from a liquid feed such as 20-20-20 or
15-30-15 applied every two weeks during the growing season.
The award-winning summer annual gives a spectacular showing when
combined with tropical plants having bold foliage, such as
bananas, cannas, gingers and tibouchinas.
A single plant will fill a 10-inch hanging basket and five plants
will fill a whisky barrel, so give them plenty of room to grow.
When frost threatens, Dragon Wing begonias can be cut back, dug
and repotted to overwinter indoors. You can root cuttings in
water and pot them, too. Given plenty of bright light and
occasional liquid feedings, they’ll keep up their award-winning
performance indoors all winter.
(Gary Wade is an Extension Service horticulturist with the
University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental
Sciences.)
