Thanks again, your information is very helpful! I apologize, I did read that you said you didn't remember the name of the second one. I don't know why I asked again. Brain fart, lol. I will keep an eye on both of them and see if the lighting they're receiving is adequate and adjust if necessary. Is it better to have shallower pots with these? I apologize, I meant to ask that in my last post. I was curious anout the second one, I was also wondering if it had two different plants in the same pot, but I'm as novice as they come with Begonias, so I was unsure. Planto This post was edited by plantomaniac08 on Wed, May 28, 14 at 22:13

Heather/GrowHappy Try starting new plants with the dropped leaves if they aren't completely rotted (provided you haven't thrown them out). Also cut any healthy rhizomes off and start them as well. Just don't bury the rhizome, rather lay it horizontally on top of the soil (root side down) or stick the cut end in just a little bit. You can use slighty moistened medium for this and "tent" leaves/rhizomes until you start seeing growth. I am using disposable lasagna pans with clear lids this year and have had good luck on almost all rhizomes and some leaves. Some begonia leaves prefer a dry soil since the leaves may have all the moisture it needs. 'Snoopy' is a good example of this. I'm experimenting with 'San Miguel' as well. 'Bull's Eye' is another example. Most rexes/rhizomatous prefer a moist soil though. The other thing you could do if it isn't too late is yank the entire plant out of the pot and let it dry considerably on some newspaper/paper towels. I have saved several using this method. If the soil is heavy you may want to wash it off and repot afterwards. If you use plastic pots, then I would consider clay in the future. I also am amending my soil with lots of perlite (nearly 50% now for rexes/rhizomatous). Rexes and some rhizomatous defoliate when light levels decrease. This is normal and this is just a rest period but DO cut back on water severely at this time. My best results have come from moving these types to a cool somewhat dark garage. I water them once every two weeks or so and then sparingly. GH, I suspect 'River Nile' is a goner because I think it does not defoliate in winter so this does not sound good. I think it prefers being on the drier side. Live and learn. I don't know how many I have DROWNED over the years. Most of our experiences say to water wilting plants. But some plants are wilting because the roots are drowning and rotting. Butch

I agree with Harawlins on this. What I would do is get a lettuce container or any small square or rectangular plastic container from the grocery store, place an inch or two max of potting mix in the bottom half, make a furrow about half an inch deep and lay your stem in it with the leaf sticking out. Forgot to say back fill over the stem. This should produce plantlets at the cut end and at the leaf (this part will be sticking out of the soil but as it produces more leaves then push it down in contact with the soil so it can develop roots too). Do not over-water the container soil though. If already moist then that may be all you need to begin with. Put the lid on and place under lights or near a sunny window. If it starts to dry out some, add a little water. Once your plant has some size then you can start venting it more and more until the lid is completely removed. You can eventually pot it up when you feel like it then. Here are a few of my cuttings in large trays, lettuce keepers, etc. Most in this pan are Immense cuttings that I started in November. I have a couple canes in there along with a rhizome of Bashful Bandit. The two little pots are of fern spores (I typically put a plastic lid over this tray). Most are Red Umbo leaves that I removed from the mother plant due to their ugliness. Had a couple spare leaves and a spare pot with no plant in it so... Ok, this next one is ugly but it just shows you can reuse old Jiffy pellets and the roots of this Zaida leaf have penetrated the mesh liner and looking for moisture and food perhaps. Once you get some size on them then you can move them up to a bigger pot - I'm using 3 inch pots in this photo. Here is an example of a strawberry container used to start a leaf of Alligator Alley And another deeper container with two Freddie plants, a maidenhair fern from a spore, and a variegated watermelon peperomia. These begonias were not from leaf but rather small plantlets from the mother since the mother was quickly dying. After the begonias started growing, they eventually pushed the lid off. These are about a year old now.

I don't think you have enough roots to plant it now. I've done water cuttings of various plants over the past few years. When you do pot it up, I wouldn't do anything to the top of it. That is the part that is giving the plant light and energy to grow.