Species library › Begonia › Begonia picta
Begonias Well documented

Begonia picta

A small tuberous Himalayan begonia that dies back each winter to a pea-sized tuber and grows through the summer monsoon. It has one or two hairy, heart-shaped leaves 5–8 cm long and pink flowers in August and September. In the wild it grows on mossy, wet rocks and banks in shade by streams and on slopes, so at home it needs a cool, very humid, shaded summer and a dry winter rest.

Begonia picta
Photo: Bentham-Moxon Trust.; Curtis, William; Curtis's botanical magazine dedications, 1827-1927 : portraits and biographical notes.; Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.; Stanley Smith Horticultural Trust., Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
At home, aim for
Day IntermediateTargets in Plantistry
Night Close to the dayTargets in Plantistry
Humidity Humid airBand in Plantistry
Light Dappled lightDLI and PPFD in Plantistry
Expects a seasonal restGrows on rock (lithophyte)

Where it grows wild

Forest margins and shaded, moist rocks by streams and on slopes. Herbarium labels describe it on mossy rock or soil, wet rock faces and walls, rock cracks in very moist gullies, and schistose outcrops in deep shade among wet moss; occasionally on sunnier roadside rocks.

Flora of China gives 2,200–2,900 m in Tibet. Across the range, 30 GBIF records with elevations run mostly from about 1,050 to 3,000 m, with a median of about 1,700 m.

PakistanIndia (Uttarakhand, Sikkim, West Bengal hills)NepalChina (southern Tibet)Myanmar

🔒 Growing it like that

The wild conditions above, turned into targets for a shelf, a tent or a greenhouse. The full profile has:

✓ Day and night temperature targets, and the limits it tolerates
✓ Humidity band, and how to hold it
✓ Light as DLI and PPFD for a grow light
✓ Wet and dry seasons, and whether to rest it
✓ Substrate and airflow
✓ A step-by-step setup to grow it like the wild

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Profiles are drafts built from measured range and climate and from published sources; each section carries its own confidence in the app. Photo from Wikimedia Commons, used under its Public domain licence, unmodified.