Begonia maculata removing damaged leaves

3 years ago

Hi! I have a Begonia maculata. It is very healthy overall and has lived "wild" happily outdoors at my moms under a shaded porch all summer. She didn't "care" for it as I would have and there were a few chewing insect issues that got to a few leaves but all is well now. I was away for the summer so it was better than leaving her to die at my place. You can see there is new growth coming out of 2 of the 3 shoots.

Going into winter here in Australia (Sydney) and I have brought her inside to protect from the harsher cold weather coming. I will be buying a humidifier for this "plant" room to make sure she and others stay healthy through the dry winter (I have a few Calatheas as well that will require higher humidity).

My B. maculata has gotten some additional leaf damage transporting her back to my place in Sydney. She probably has about 20-25 leaves total and about 3ish are damaged. I'm really tempted to remove them as the other leaves look amazing on the plant.

Anyway, my question is this, if I remove a leaf will a new one grow in it's place? I did a little research and from an illustration I was able to see that the node above the leaf(s) I want to cut off there is a "bud on the node" (as shown below). This should grow into a new leaf right? The leaves without this bud have the "scar" left from the bloom petiole and those won't grow a new leaf right?

My long term plan is to let her grow wild over the winter and come spring propagate from one of the three long shoots she has. I figured it might be best to leave propagation until then but maybe I should leave the leaf situation too? If there is a better chance of a "replacement" leaf happening during growing season I'm willing to wait.

Thanks for any info!

Comments (7)

hc mcdole
3 years ago
The node with the bud will not grow a new leaf but rather a new branch BUT only when the top growing point is removed. The nodes that had blooms will not grow any new branches so you are correct on this aspect. I would remove any leaves you do not like, trim slightly misshapen leaves if that is what you want to do.

Usually starting new plants from cuttings is a way to rejuvenate the plant as new stems should come up from the ground from the mother plant.

I often remove every leaf off a plant if the leaves are torn, infected, or just downright ugly - hydrangeas, begonias, and most recently a Chionanthus. The plant will respond with a new flush of growth if it wants to live and most plants want to continue living.

My maculata seed grown plant had a massive outbreak of mildew this winter so a lot of leaf drop on their own, some branch die back, and I removed the worst of the leaves. I sprayed the entire plant twice during winter with Orchard Spray (a combo fungicide/pesticide but I use it mainly for mildew control). The plant now is outdoors for summer and starting to bloom. It is probably 3 feet tall now.

PS - I wouldn't use a humidifier as this can help spread mildew.

Here is one of my seed grown maculata plants with blooms just starting. I had to cut off a few dead branches due to mildew attack.

Last September, a seed grown hybrid with maculata as the mother plant.

Dec 30, 2019 in front a window in the basement.
ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
3 years ago
removing 3 of 20 odd leaves is not going to be a big deal ... and it will make you happy .. just do it.. imo ...

that said... a little leaf damage.. wouldnt bother me all that much .. and i might just leave them ... they are food making machines .. and what difference does a little cosmetic damage really matter ...

imo .. it really about how you want to cope/deal with it ... it probably doesnt matter to the plant ..

what will make you happy???

and of course.. you can just take the worst one ...

agree on the humidifier ... why dont you wait to see what it needs.. before you go fixing a problem which may not really be a problem ... or create bigger problems ...

ken

ps: if this is some valued heirloom plant .. i might try to propagate at least one piece now.. just in case the other fails ... leaving other pieces to spring.. if you wish ... growing a root mass is something many plants do in fall/winter... to get ready for spring ...
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Shelia Glover
2 years ago
I have a new peace lily I may have over diluted the neem oil when I watered it I know it was 2 tbsp and I had about a half a gallon of water a little more now my plant droopy sleeves two or turning very yellow I think the whole thing might be too wet I sprayed the leaves to get any excess neem oil off I poked a bunch of holes in the black container with a knife and turned on the fan overhead hoping I can dry it out soon I sure hate to lose this plant you're so pretty if I can't grow this one it'll be 3 I've lost do you always water with neem oil included
Shelia Glover
2 years ago
I purchase to begonias when is the polka dotted the other just has a silver streak it did have some damage leaves one leaf had a whole like something had a date on it kind of made me sick to remove those polka dotted leaves but there is New Growth underneath and I feel like she will fill in I haven't taken much off of the other plant except one that was very crunchy I'm not sure exactly what they're light requirements are I'm 72 years old and all the sudden have a great interest in flowers I even want to get a String of Pearls to put in a porcelain gravy boat that I found at Goodwill so pretty and also an African Violet to go in a glass square container I found that has purple flowers all up to size I realize I will have to plan it high I'll put a lot of gravel in the bottom so she will sit near the top I'm new at this but it feels nice to have plants in the house I have a fiddle fig tree behind me and also a small bush
hc mcdole
2 years ago
Sheila, join the club (age club that is). I turn 70 in May but have been dabbling in plants for nearly 50 years.

B. maculata is easy once you learn to give it light, keep it warm (I keep the basement thermostat on 66 for those very cold days), and most of all - DO NOT OVER WATER. Easy - peasy.

Here is mine just a short while ago (I was doing some potting up of starters and two older begonias today).

It is on the floor so the coldest area it could be but still warm enough with two furnaces in the same room
Shelia Glover
2 years ago
I did remove some damage leaves and thank you so much for responding I didn't really expect to hear back I did miss them today with some orchid fertilizer my other begonia I purchased at the same time has a lot of new growth coming I haven't cut any I bet back some of it looks crispy underneath I probably should remove it I don't want it to have damaged
hc mcdole
2 years ago
I would not mist (miss) begonia leaves with fertilizer water due to encouraging mildew. It would be better to use the same fertilizer water for the roots. Once summer arrives and you can move them outdoors, then spraying the leaves with a fertilizer sprayer (hose end) would be good but I stopped doing that a few years back since it is a hassle and the water goes to the ground as well as the leaves and pots.

I would remove any severely damaged, yellowing, mildew infected, insect infested leaves as warranted. I know I should practice what I preach but I try to remove leaves as I see them and can get to them - some are in the back and hard to reach.

This big 'Freddie' is very hard to reach as it is in the corner of the utility room so I water when I think it is wilting - can't even seen the soil. PS - I use a 75 foot hose hooked up to the shower in the basement.

Here is where the maculata is located and I can reach it but the canes behind it are harder to reach.

a new cane from an unknown I bought many years ago from a local nursery. I do not use any kind of humidifier and water moderately or lightly depending on soil, growth - robust or slow, pot type, and size of pot and plant.