Greenelbows - thanks for pointing out that they aren't all rexes. I had always thought Iron Cross was, but after reading about it online I found its considered a rhizo. Naturelover, your Pandora is very similar to my Mini Boston - dark background with pink spots. I went to my OTHER local HD last night and got a Savannah Pink Parfait and a Tornado! Now, of course, I just HAVE to go back and get an Iron Cross from the other HD (the one last night didn't have it) before I go crazy. I can't get it out of my mind - its haunting me, and I won't sleep until I have it in my hot little hand! Randi

this is a frequently asked questions about begonias--usually brown, crisping edges are a sign of low humidity (you guessed it, derya!). try using a pebble dish or housing your plants in a terrarium or greenhouse. my rexes are most succeptible to this, as well as some of the rhizomatous varieties with unique leaf textures. you might want to look at older posts on this forum for related threads. good luck with your begonias. irma: where are you in oregon? -ming

That's a shame that your begonia got too big (kidding). You can start a new begonia by a leaf and keep it in a small pot so that it will fit or like you mentioned get a smaller leaf rex - there seems to be many more available these days. From these begonias in six inch pots to this which can be kept bonsai'ed Or this (started a few weeks earlier than the above tray and allowed more soil in a community tray. Here is one from Lowe's and a couple more This last one from Lowe's went into a tailspin - over watered at the store so I yanked it out of the pot so it would dry faster but lost all its leaves. New leaves are appearing now after a few weeks with bare stems. And one from Walmart - this is a little larger leaf variety though (it was around $3.50 in a 3 inch pot)

Here is my take on growing begonias indoors - the air is too dry for a lot of begonias to flourish. You can attempt to acclimate them to their new permanent setting but it may take months to do so if at all. The easiest thing to do is enclose them in some kind of humid environment - baggie, plastic cup or larger container, or a glass housing such as a fish tank or a glass jar and slowly wean them to a drier atmosphere. Another option is to put them in a tray that can hold some water in the bottom. If a leaf is rotting, remove at least the rotting part if you intend to use the healthy part for propagation. Older leaves can be removed when you are ready to deal with them. Often diseased leaves are best removed anyway so that new healthy leaves will soon replace the discards. For spraying purposes, you can spray them with most fungicides that are safe for houseplants. If you are unsure then only spray one leaf to see if there is any harm to that leaf before spraying the entire plant. I know Neem oil, Milstop, sulfur-pyrethrin, and insecticidal soap are safe for begonias. I typically stay away from chemicals that say to wear Hazmat suits (kidding here but there are some chemicals that have a long list of safety precautions so do read all the instructions before buying or using). One of our club members says she never gets mildew but then she keeps all her plants in humidity controlled enclosures and rarely exposes her plants to household air that may contain mildew spores. The downside to this is any begonias that are predisposed to become large plants will not do so in this constrained environment.