Pinching Back Dragon Wing Begonia
velamina
13 years ago
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oilpainter
13 years agocalliope
13 years agoRelated Discussions
Dragon Wing Begonia
Comments (35)Hello Begonia people, I just planted Dragon Wing Begonias in porch urns. I bought them good sized, and they came with a tag saying fertilize twice monthly with 20-20-20. If I can't get 20-20-20, is a digit or two one way or the other on each item -- like 18-19-21 for example -- good enough? Or would it be better to use 5-5-5, keeping the propotions correct, if not the volume? I haven't had luck with Begonias in the ground in past years. I'm hoping that because I can move the urn to a sunnier spot if necessary, and control the soil mix more closely, I'll get better plants....See MoreCare instruction for a Dragon Wing Begonia
Comments (19)Diamond Frost will survive but may need higher light levels - it will get very leggy if the light levels are too low. I lost mine after two years but I have the weedier Euphorbia that often pops up in many pots and the cracks in our flagstone patio. Cutting your plant back by a third to half should not hurt but if you have overhead space (if you use lights) then you don't have to cut back either. The easiest thing to do is treat it as an annual and buy new vigorous plants in the spring. Here is a nice little purple Euphorbia I got as a hitchhiker many years ago from an order to GHW (one of my freebies that actually is still around after many, many years). and my fat fingers to show scale of the leaf...See MoreDragon Wing Begonias
Comments (10)It looks like mechanical damage - a tear in a leaf can be caused by most anything stronger than the leaf itself. I don't see any evidence of eaten leaves. Some brown spots that are probably damage to that area of the leaf and possibly some kind of fungal disease setting up in the damaged areas. I would cut off those leaves and let the plant grow some new ones. It appears this is indoors and while that is okay, they do so much better outdoors for summer. I bought one yellow leaf dragon wings called Canary Wings this spring and I have it in too deep of shade to do its best but so far it is doing just fine. When I grew Dragon Wings years ago they grew best in full sun....See MoreDragon Wing Propagation
Comments (16)Hey tom8olvr, here's the update on the tip cuttings I'd given back to my friend: they continued to grow healthy, big leaves, big bloom stalks and NO branching. Just 2 thick long stems with large glossy rich green leaves. Taken care of well, in a spot allowing them morning sun 'till just past lunch, so to me conditions not an inhibiting factor, just didn't feel like branching? Who knows. Took a look at her indoor one that grows in a large north window, bright light but no direct sun, and some stems are more than 3 feet long with no branching, the stems she'd snipped to give me a cutting appear to have started a new branch at the tip, but that's it, no other new branching further back. I've no advise to you but to try your cuttings and get a better % of how many branch out, or maybe take some bottoms like I am doing. I'd brought my baby wing indoors since we are experiencing lows near freezing, and I'd read somewhere pertaining to geranium cuttings that once temps fall below say 50*F the cellular structure changes and the plant may have a harder time rooting, but back to my plant, I cut back severely and still thought the base was too big to keep, so I cut through the base, in an attempt to separate it, keeping a relatively thick chunk of stem on each portion (I made 3). Those are each potted in a 4 inch pot, I'll allow to grow through the winter even if they become spindly, come spring I will cut back and give the best sunny spot I've got and see if I get more stems coming up from the base near or beneath the soil. If this works I'll let you know, and then I will know whether this is something I can do each winter, only if I end up with a good performing plant by June as I would have had, had I purchased one from the greenhouse. If not, then I feel I'm better off saving window space for plants that reward me back, and I'll shell out the money to buy a new baby wing if I want it. Good Luck with your project! Tnfreds: I find the dragon wing begonia roots real easy, I just stuck in one of those peat thingys, the ones that are dry and flat and you soak in warm water before adding your seed/cutting. I stuck in a bright spot that received some south sun (kind of sheltered behind a larger plant), they had evidence of roots within 3 weeks. I think these are tough plants. The issue is with getting them to branch, they do not grow like geranium cuttings, that's for sure. ~kioni~...See Morevelamina
13 years agoizharhaq
13 years agoken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
13 years agovelamina
13 years ago
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