Every spring the nurseries are full of beautiful summer flowers in every imaginable colour, shape and size. Ice begonias can also be found among them. However, you should not buy these too early.
Ice begonias should not be bought too early in the year
The right time to buy
Ice begonias are not hardy. If you buy very early in the year, you will need to store the plants frost-free until you can plant them in the garden. Of course, this is only possible if you have enough space available. Otherwise, you should only buy ice begonias from the middle to the end of May.
Prolonged storage in the house or greenhouse not only requires sufficient space, it can also cause stress for the plants. Although ice begonia is one of the undemanding plants and is very easy to care for, it should slowly be accustomed to being kept indoors and outdoors. Therefore, it should not suddenly be placed in the garden even after it has hibernated.
When is the best time to plant ice begonias?
The ideal planting time for ice begonias is around the end of May to the beginning of June. Then the ice saints are over and there is usually no threat of night frosts. These could quickly be fatal to the very frost-sensitive ice begonia. Ideally, therefore, the night-time temperatures also remain well above the freezing point. However, you can plant your ice begonias throughout the summer.
If you would like to cultivate your ice begonias on the balcony, you can buy them in early to mid-May and put them outside on sufficiently warm days. This provides some color on the balcony. However, ice begonias should spend the nights indoors.
The essentials in brief:
- very sensitive to frost
- ideal time to buy: just before planting out
- ideal planting time: after the ice saints until mid-June
- Can be planted out all summer long
- slowly get used to being kept indoors and outdoors
tips
It is best to buy Ice Begonias shortly after planting. Since they are very sensitive to frost, this is only possible after the ice saints in May.