Begonia 'Expresso Scarlet' (Expresso Series) (S)

RHS 1997

Annual Biennial Bedding

An annual to 20cm, with rounded bronze leaves and clusters of yellow-eyed, scarlet flowers in summer and early autumn

Position

Partial shade

Loam, Sand

0.1-0.5 metres

0.1-0.5 metres

Loam Sand

Partial shade

Family: Begoniaceae
Native to GB/Ireland: No
Foliage: Evergreen
Habit: Bushy
Potentially harmful: Ornamental bulbs - not to be eaten. Wear gloves and other protective equipment when handling. Pets: Ornamental bulbs - not to be eaten - see the HTA guide to potentially harmful plants for further information and useful contact numbers
Genus: Begonia can be annuals, evergreen or deciduous perennials or shrubs, with fibrous, tuberous or rhizomatous roots and usually asymmetrical leaves, often strikingly patterned, and small or large flowers, both male and female in the same cluster
Name Status: Accepted
Horticultural Group

Horticultural Classification Codes

Horticultural Classification Codes are often given to genera which have a large number of species or cultivars. They are used to categorise cultivated plants based on specific, shared characteristics such as shape, colour, size or flowering time, and can be displayed as letters or numbers

For example:
Dahlia ‘Sunset Kate (Sin) = Single flower
Rosa ‘Marigold’ (HT) = Hybrid Tea: Semperflorens-Cultorum begonias are fibrous-rooted evergreen perennials, much used for summer bedding, with rounded, often attractively coloured leaves, and sprays of single or double flowers 1-2.5cm across in summer or throughout the year

Grow in fertile, moist but well-drained, neutral to slightly acid soil in partial shade. See Begonias: houseplants for further advice.

Propagate by seed or division of tubers

Cut back after flowering

May be susceptible to caterpillars, mealy bugs, mites, glasshouse thrips, vine weevil and aphids

May be susceptible to grey moulds, powdery mildews, stem rot and rhizome rot