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Species library › Begonia › Begonia veitchii
Begonias Partly documented

Begonia veitchii

A tuberous high-Andean begonia from around Cusco and Machu Picchu in Peru, with bright red-orange, round-petalled flowers held on stiff stalks above the leaves. Richard Pearce found it in 1866 at 3,000-3,700 m. It is one of the parents of the tuberous hybrid begonias (Begonia × tuberhybrida). It needs cool temperatures, moist air, and a dry winter rest as a tuber.

Begonia veitchii
Photo: Joseph Dalton Hooker, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
At home, aim for
Day Cool-growingTargets in Plantistry
Night Close to the dayTargets in Plantistry
Humidity Ordinary room humidityBand in Plantistry
Light Bright, filtered lightDLI and PPFD in Plantistry
Expects a seasonal restGrows on rock (lithophyte)

Where it grows wild

It grows in rocky places by waterfalls and on mountain slopes and trails in montane forest and scrub. It has been recorded alongside the orchid Masdevallia veitchiana. Recent records cluster around Machu Picchu, the Urubamba valley, Paucartambo and Marcapata.

Pearce collected it at about 3,000-3,700 m (10,000-12,000 ft). Records around Machu Picchu suggest it also grows lower, in montane forest at about 2,000-3,000 m.

PeruBoliviaEcuador

🔒 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.