TLBean, the only kind of begonias I've rooted are angel wings, so I can't speak to the particular begonias you're attempting to root. But I've rooted cuttings of many different kinds of plants, and in general, the cutting needs a way to uptake water. Some plants can uptake water through a cut stem, but many cannot do it efficiently enough or long enough to root. So they need to be able to absorb moisture through their leaves; hence the need for a humid environment. When I root plants that don't root easily in water, I put them in an aquarium. I like clear plastic drinking cups with holes poked in the bottom because I can see when rooting happens without disturbing the cutting. The soil needs to be damp but not dripping wet. I have a lid with a light over the top and gravel in the bottom of the aquarium. I put water in the bottom of the aquarium no deeper than the gravel. I also use a reptile cage heating pad (they get warm but not too hot - around 75-80 deg. which is perfect for cuttings) and place it under the aquarium for bottom heat. Obviously, the cups with the cuttings sit on top of the gravel. Since the water is just below the gravel level, the cuttings aren't sitting in water, but the water evaporates and provides the moist environment they need. I have the aquarium light on a timer for 14 hours a day and the heating pad is on all the time. I've had great success with this set-up. It provides constant moisture and heat, which cuttings generally need for rooting, as well as light. The more light your cutting gets, the more energy it will have and the better it will root. The aquarium is a controlled environment, whereas if you enclosed your cuttings in plastic and placed them out in the sun on a warm day, they'd probably cook. BTW, I always clean the aquarium with soap and bleach, as well as soaking the gravel in soap and bleach (rinse it of course before using) before setting up the cuttings. Cuttings are very susceptible to pathogens so everything needs to be very sanitary. And cuttings can take a month or two to root, so just when you think nothing is happening - voila! You start seeing some roots! Good luck! Deanna

Even if you got most of the thick roots the thin roots are lost, those are the ones that actually absorb water. I would have been much better if you waited a little bit longer actually and moved them when they were dormant, because the leaves draw more water than the disturbed roots can provide. The soft green stems and leaves are used to getting much more water so they are wilting. I would go ahead and clip all the leaves and hope for the best. Maybe you could leave a few at the top and see if the trees can handle keeping them happy. Leaving them all on you risk the whole plant drying out, the tree wants to drop those leaves but it takes time and it might dry out first. That is probably why the others died.

I just cut the flowers off my catnip yesterday. You should do that every time they develop. You can just pinch off the flower buds before they even open. Unless of course, you want to do any seed saving. In that case, keep cutting or pinching them off for now but go ahead and let them flower towards the end of the season.

Im having a tough time with a lot of my cuttings specifically from bougainvillea. The cuttings will put out leaves and I think to myself all is well but then start to die off again without me changing anything about the environment. My watering and the humidity some remain the same. I know for sure no roots have formed yet since it's too early but I would think that I'm doing the right thing at first since leaves are forming. Once some leaves start to grow does that mean i should start to tone down the watering and humidity? what do I need to change about he environment?