Tropicals & Tender Perennials: Lighting Requirements, 1 by hcmcdole

hcmcdole wrote:
Some canes seem to bloom a lot easier than others but you are so right on light requirements. For example I had Silvermist in fairly deep shade last summer and it had the largest silver leaves but no blooms. In previous summers the leaves were more green and a bit smaller but it bloomed its fool head off. Dragon Wings love sun and will bloom non stop. If they don't get enough light they get weak and bloom sporadically.

You will have to decide whether 1 PM sun is too much or not. Some begonias handle it with aplomb while others are shrinking violets. Acclimate them slowly (over a week or two) by moving them further out to full sun. If they suffer, move them back. Most thicker leaf canes should be okay and even some thinner leaf canes like Sinbad love it. I think if you keep them from drying out, most begonias can handle a lot of sun. Don't despair if some leaves burn when you first start moving them out to fuller sun. Just cut those off and the new ones should fill out quickly and take the sun better than the older leaves.

The canes in the picture were from a few years ago but got afternoon sun and grew like weeds.