The easiest houseplant to grow: root a cutting and it lives, blooms all year round, and can even be trained as a bonsai

Introduction

Green plants and potted flowers have become essential decorative touches in home life. Keeping some flowers and plants at home brings many benefits: they beautify the room and lift your mood. "Huasheng Potted Plant Diary, Issue 1137" introduces you to a super easy-to-grow indoor plant.

Today's star

I am from Lingnan in my hometown, and my home is next to Asia's largest flower wholesale market. I have loved flowers and plants since childhood, have come into contact with a great many flowers, grasses, and trees, and know a little about plants. Generally speaking, flowers that can be grown indoors are mostly low-growing herbaceous types, and those kept entirely indoors will not bloom, such as pothos and spider plant. The flower introduced today is called spotted-leaf begonia (Begonia maculata). It is woody and can also be grown indoors, and its flowering period is super long.

Spotted-leaf begonia

Spotted-leaf begonia is named for the spots covering its leaves. Because its branches are jointed like bamboo, it is also called bamboo-joint begonia. It is a perennial shrub plant in the genus Begonia and belongs to the woody flowering plants. Grown in the ground, it can reach two to three meters tall; in pots, it is generally about one meter tall. It is native to Brazil and is cultivated in Guangdong and Guangxi, China, while in other provinces it is mainly grown indoors in pots for ornament, with high ornamental value.

The flowers are very beautiful

The flowers of spotted-leaf begonia are rather unusual. The flower shape resembles a five-pointed star, and many small flowers cluster together to form a string. Seen from a distance, it looks like a bunch of pink grapes hanging from the branches, beautiful and full of cuteness. In Northeast China, it is called "grape string." Its flowering period is super long; this plant blooms all year round. It is very floriferous from the seedling stage onward, one wave after another without interruption, giving its owner a great sense of achievement.

A branch cutting will root and live

Spotted-leaf begonia belongs to the genus Begonia, and plants in this genus are all very tough. Fellow flower growers who have kept them know that in many places in the south there are wild ones (probably grown from seeds of home-grown seedlings that dropped outside). Spotted-leaf begonia is the easiest-to-grow indoor woody flowering plant I have ever seen. A branch cutting will root and survive, and it stays perfectly fine without water for ten days to half a month. Care secrets: bright indirect light, water when dry and let it dry between waterings, and apply light fertilizer frequently.

It can also be made into a bonsai

Spotted-leaf begonia is woody, grows rapidly, branches well, and tolerates pruning. It can be shaped into a beautiful bonsai tree. The branches cut off can continue to be used for cuttings and propagation. One mother plant can become many pots of flowers in a year. Placed at home, it blooms with festive red flowers all year round. Put in the living room or reception room, its decorative effect is excellent, and it is very worth having.