It looks pretty close to death now but it may still be salvageable. First thing is a new pot, one that is a lot smaller like 4 inch if not smaller. Hopefully the roots aren't totally gone. Knock off the majority of the old soil and spray anything else off. Use a quality potting soil. Water in and don't water again until it dries some. Hopefully it will respond with the longer days and warmth. If the roots are gone then you will have to determine if the stem is still viable enough for cutting. From the picture it only looks like the wayward branch is all you have to work with for a cutting and it looks doubtful.

They really are tough plants (for the most part) and repotting isn't difficult tho' I know it's scary the first time or two. First be sure you have some good free-draining potting mix. Then knock it out of the pot--turn it upside down and hold the plant with one hand while you rap the rim of the pot against the table or wherever you're going to be working. Usually just a good rap or two will knock it loose, but it tends to be pretty messy so I hope you have a nice place outside to do it. Sometimes it takes a little more work to get it out, but don't worry about hurting it. Might even be necessary to run a long thin-bladed knife around the inside of the pot. Cut back any weak or damaged growth. Work the root-ball so you get as much of the old soil off as comes easily, and check to be sure the roots are healthy. You can prune them back, especially if they've circled around the inside of the pot a few times. Be sure you put a little something in the bottom of the pot to be sure all the potting mix doesn't wash out while the roots are getting re-established--I use various things such as scraps of coir from old basket liners, or a wad of long-fibered sphagnum moss; you can also use the liners from meat trays, and I have a friend who swears by used dryer sheets. But don't put a layer of rocks or broken pots or whatever might be suggested for 'drainage'--it actually stops drainage. Put a little potting mix in the bottom of the pot, put your root-ball on it, fill around it and rap it on the bench a few times to settle the soil in well and prevent pockets of air. Don't put very much soil over it, but a little is probably a good idea. Water it in well, and set in the shade to drain. Does that cover what you need to know? And sorry to the original poster who gets to read all this! In the future it's probably a good idea to start a new thread.

Hi! I'm not an expert on begonias or anything but I'd really suggest rooting them in soil. I tried to root begonias in water and they all rotted. I tried cuttings from the same plant in soil and 4 out of 5 started rooting overnight. The last one took 2 days. I also just recieved about a dozen begonia cuttings in trade and put them in soil. Over half began rooting overnight and the others have all started now and it has been since thurs. If you find that your cutting starts to wilt just put a clear plastic bag over for a 'greenhouse' effect and it should perk right up. ;) Michelle

I do think begonias in general are susceptible to root rots, they don't like damp feet. They also can get various fungus diseases which can cause browning and leaf loss. And being too wet can encourage fungi and mold, so keeping them dryer will help avoid this as well. If fungus has started a mild fungicide can help. In Sonoma you should be able to grow these outside in bright shade or morning sun/afternoon shade. You may or may not loose them in winter depending on what your lowest average winter temperature is. Here they're about 50/50 in winter, and we usually get down to about 40 to 35*f with the occasional 20-32*f. If it gets that cold for more than one or two days, they they're gone. But you can bring them in the house to winter over if they're potted up. Inside I'd give them as much light as you can and re-pot them in cactus mix and be very conservative with watering. They also like to be fertilized regularly but with a mild percentage. They do drop the older/lower leaves as the leaves age, but they should at the same time be putting out new branches from the base if they are happy, so if they're just loosing leaves and no new lower branches are growing then it could be the soil staying to wet for too long. In general begonias like bright light but not hot sun, warm temperatures and keeping on the dryer side.