Botanical Name: Begonia × hybrida ‘Dragon Wing Red’

Common Name: Dragon Wing Begonia

Hardiness Zone: Annual in Most Climates; Perennial in Warm Regions (USDA Zones 9–11)

Size: 12–18" Tall × 18–24" Spread

Growth Habit: Arching, Mounding, Well-Branched Habit

Sunlight: Full Sun to Partial Shade (Excellent Sun Tolerance)

Soil: Prefers Well-Drained, Fertile Soil

Water Needs: Moderate; Consistent Moisture for Best Performance

Bloom Season: Late Spring through Frost

Fertilizer: Light, Regular Feeding During Active Growth

Features: Abundant Bright Red Blooms, Glossy Green Foliage, Excellent Heat & Rain Tolerance, Self-Cleaning Flowers

Uses: Ideal for Containers, Hanging Baskets, Landscape Beds, Borders, and Mass Plantings

Patent: ❌ Not Patented

Propagation: ✔ Propagation Allowed

See our complete Dragon Wing Begonia Plant Guide for more in depth care details.

More About Begonia ‘Dragon Wing Red’

Dragon Wing Red is a beginner-friendly plant that makes gardening feel easy, and that’s why I recommend it so often to newer gardeners. It’s incredibly versatile and hardy, thriving in sun or shade, containers or the ground, overwatering or drought, Dragon Wing Begonias simply adapt and keeps growing. If you’re looking for a plant that doesn’t punish you for learning as you go, this one is hard to beat.

Many Begonias fall apart once summer turns harsh, but Dragon Wing Red holds its structure and keeps flowering right through the toughest weather. The blooms stay a rich, true red instead of fading out, and the foliage remains thick, glossy, and clean. Its naturally arching growth habit makes it especially forgiving. It fills in evenly without needing constant trimming or shaping, and it looks good whether it’s spilling from a container or spreading through a bed. There’s no deadheading required as pent flowers drop on their own and it doesn’t demand special care to keep performing. 

Why We Like It (Our Trials)

We’ve been growing Dragon Wing Begonias for many, many years and the Red variety has earned its spot in our lineup by performing season after season without excuses. It establishes quickly, fills space evenly, and blooms nonstop without deadheading or cleanup. The flowers shed cleanly on their own, the foliage stays glossy and healthy, and disease issues have been virtually nonexistent over the years.

We’ve used Dragon Wing Red just about every way you can imagine, and it continues to excel no matter the role. We’ve tucked it into mixed containers as a filler where it knits everything together, let it spill gently over the edges of pots, relied on it in landscape beds for long stretches of uninterrupted color, and planted it in large groupings where it creates bold, uniform sweeps of red that hold all season. No matter how it’s used, it stays full, balanced, and attractive without thinning, stretching, or falling apart as Summer drags on.

Red vs Other Dragon Wing Begonia

Dragon Wing Red delivers the strongest visual impact of our 3 selections, with rich, vibrant blooms that immediately command attention. Compared to Dragon Wing White, it is far bolder and more dramatic. Red is the clear choice for gardeners who want their begonias to anchor containers or beds with powerful color presence. When placed next to Dragon Wing Pink, it reads deeper and more saturated in tone. Dragon Wing Red is ideal for high-contrast designs, sunny landscapes, and statement plantings where intensity matters most.