Many garden owners and hobby gardeners like to grow their young plants themselves for the new gardening season. This is also possible with the ice begonia. However, you should pay attention to a few things when sowing so that your effort is crowned with success.
Ice begonias can also be propagated indoors
Where can I get viable seeds from?
In principle, you can use the seeds of your own ice begonia for propagation, but only if these are not hybrids. They are infertile. Hybrids often form seeds, but they are not germinable. You are therefore on the safe side if you get seeds from a specialist shop, whether locally or on the Internet.
What do I have to consider when sowing?
Ice begonia seeds germinate in the sun and are very small. If you buy pelleted seeds, then sowing or distributing the seeds will be a little easier. So that the seeds really germinate, they must not be covered with soil, they need a lot of light for this process. Therefore, only lightly press the seed onto the substrate.
In addition, the germination period is very long at around 30 to 60 days. So you need a lot of patience until you can plant your ice begonias in the garden. However, that is not a big deal, because ice begonias are not hardy and may only be planted out after the ice saints.
Sowing step by step
Distribute the seeds evenly on the moist growing substrate and lightly press down the grains. Then place the cultivation vessel in a bright and warm place and always keep the substrate evenly moist. Covering with a glass plate or transparent film can help you to create optimal germination conditions.
The essentials in brief:
- Sowing possible, but not all species fertile
- light germinator
- best sowing time: January to March
- Germination temperature: approx. 22 °C to 24 °C
- Germination time: approx. 30 to 60 days
- prick with about three to four leaves
tips
For reliable germination, you should get seeds from a specialist shop, the hybrids that are often traded are not fertile, and their seeds are therefore not germinable.