Common Name: begonia
Type: Herbaceous perennial
Family: Begoniaceae
Native Range: Natal to Tanzania
Zone: 8 to 10
Height: 1.00 to 2.00 feet
Spread: 1.00 to 2.00 feet
Bloom Time: Seasonal bloomer
Bloom Description: Orange to reddish orange
Sun: Part shade to full shade
Water: Medium
Maintenance: Medium
Suggested Use: Annual, Naturalize
Flower: Showy
Leaf: Colorful
Culture
Best grown in evenly moist, well-draining soil in part sun to full shade. May not bloom as well in deep shade, but filtered or high overhead shade is suitable. Afternoon shade will be appreciated in hot summer climates. Hardy in Zones 8-10. May be hardy in Zone 7b (5-10°F) in a warm microclimate or protected site with a layer of mulch to insulate the roots. Plants will enter dormancy during the winter. Container grown plants can be overwintered indoors in a cool, frost-free location and kept moderately dry. Overly wet soils during the winter dormant season will result in root rot. Pruning is not necessary. Slow to break dormancy. Fertilize lightly with a high phosphorus ("bloom boosting") fertilizer when growth resumes in spring. Propagate through cuttings or bulbils that form in leaf axils.
Noteworthy Characteristics
Begonia sutherlandii, commonly called Sutherland begonia, is a tuberous begonia native to forested, mountain slopes in southeastern Africa from the Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal provinces of South Africa north through Lesotho, Eswatini, and eastern Zimbabwe to Tanzania. Mature plants will reach 1-2' tall with a similar spread. The thin, fleshy, red, well-branched stems arch and cascade bearing oblique, 2-3" long, ovate-lanceolate shaped leaves with toothed, red-tinged margins. Bulbils will form in the leaf axils. Pendant, airy, terminal and axillary clusters of bright red-orange, 0.75-1.25" wide flowers bloom seasonally.
Genus name honors Michael Begon (1638-1710), Governor of French Canada.
The specific epithet sutherlandii honors Peter Cormac Sutherland (1822-1900), Scottish geologist and physician who collected this plant in South Africa while serving as surveyor-general in 1864.
Problems
Susceptible to powdery mildew. Overly wet soils during the winter dormant season will result in root rot.
Uses
Well-draining areas of woodland gardens, shady borders, rock gardens. Will naturalize through bulbils. Containers, hanging baskets.