Full sun / Part sun / Part shade

Moderate water

10"

Compact mounding tender perennial grown as a warm-season bedding annual

Plant out only after the last frost and warm soil; wax begonias are frost-tender and stall in cold ground.

In hot-summer climates give sun-dappled part shade and mulch; reserve full sun for bronze-leaved selections.

Space 8-12 inches for air circulation to head off powdery mildew, botrytis, and stem rot in humid weather.

Grow in average to moderately fertile, moist, well-drained soil in full sun to part shade; in hot-summer climates it prefers sun-dappled part shade and a good mulch. Set transplants out only after the last frost and once soil has warmed. Space plants 8 inches apart for dwarfs and 12 inches for taller selections to promote good air circulation and reduce fungal disease. (Missouri Botanical Garden PlantFinder.)

Usually grown from nursery starts rather than divided; move container plants out after frost danger passes and water in well. Plants can be lifted and potted to overwinter indoors as houseplants or stock for cuttings.

Keep moisture consistent through the growing season while roots establish; despite drought tolerance from the waxy leaves, even moisture produces the best flowering. Bronze-leaved varieties tolerate more full sun than green-leaved ones.

Mature plants form a 6-12 inch mound that blooms reliably from June to frost. In USDA Zones 10-11 it persists as a tender perennial; elsewhere it is killed by frost and replanted each year.

Start seed indoors 6-8 weeks before the last frost date, purchase starter plants, or take cuttings from overwintered plants. (Missouri Botanical Garden PlantFinder.)