Hi everyone...I would like to ask your help, I have a freind who is in last stages of copd and she loves angel wing begonias but doenst have any. I want to give her some. If anyone has some to trade I have some iris and a nice thanksgiving cactus..and a variegated spider plant. Please email me if you can help me with this. Thank you so much. Mary

Did you check out the Trade Forum? Toni

Hcmcdole, well I can see you really know your begonias!! Gorgeous, gorgeous photos! There's nothing like a healthy looking begonia, is there? So shiny and healthy looking and blooms to boot! That last photo of an angel wing is so full and nicely shaped. I got a kick out of the pot with all the different cuttings in it. I haven't seen that done before. Nice idea. Well, the decision about whether to cut or not to cut was made for me yesterday by the squirrels. I was lulled into complacency because they hadn't damaged anything in the yard yet this year, and the day after I got Sophia outside and potted up, one of the varmints decided to have a good time with it. The pulled off leaves and broke off the top part of one of the main stems. I am assuming it was the squirrels but now that I think about it, when it's them I usually see bite marks. Hmmm....endless mysteries in the garden. So I got out there this morning and pruned it back and it actually looks better. I didn't have to cut it that short and now I have two stems for rooting. Since you seem to be the begonia expert, how do you start cuttings? I usually put them in water and then forget about them. I never seem to have the potting soil and a pot when I need it. I also have a Good and Plenty Begonia that I am trying to train into a standard and it was progressing pretty well but now it is not looking very good. I will get a photo of it and see if you can offer any suggestions. Thanks for posting those photos. I LOVE them!

Howdy Janeth, Your Angel Wing will look a lot better if you trim it back so it can bush out later on. Take the trimmings, remove most of the leaves and insert in wet sand or water and they should root easily at this time of year. It's a good time to fetrtilize the plant too. I usually take just a tblspoon of ammonia, in a halfgallon of water and douse the soil when I put the plants out. That supplies the Nitrogen they need for new growth. My potting soil is about half compost so it has most of the other nutrients the plant needs in the pots. Strong