In addition to agreeing with what Socks said, I might add that your plant might have been over-watered, so I'll reinforce the idea that damp/moist are the operational words. Wet/soggy are to be avoided at all times. Ideally, the best way to ensure your medium is not too water retentive is to learn how to build your own. Trying to amend a poor (water-retentive) medium by adding perlite or pine bark doesn't work, in fact, it takes the grower backward in terms of aeration before it gets better, and it only gets better AFTER the the bark and/or perlite are the overwhelmingly large fraction of the medium .... 80-95%.

There is a possibility your plant is at war with a mite infestation; however, the images aren't clear enough to be sure. Check the underside of the leaf/leaves with a magnifying class and look for tiny specks which move about. They can be treated with a 2:1 mix of water and 70% rubbing alcohol (unscented) sprayed from a spritzer (cover ALL plant surfaces) or a half-teaspoon of insecticidal soap mixed in a quart of distilled or otherwise deionized water. Water filtered through a reverse osmosis water filtration system is equally as good as distilled water. If you mix insecticidal soap with tapwater, it quickly goes through alkaline hydrolysis, which significantly limits the mixture's effectiveness. At a minimum you should add a tablespoon of white vinegar to the mixture if you don't have distilled water.

I'll leave you with a couple of tricks that can help you overcome excess water retention:

Using a 'tell'

Over-watering saps vitality and is one of the most common plant assassins, so learning to avoid it is worth the small effort. Plants make and store their own energy source – photosynthate - (sugar/glucose). Functioning roots need energy to drive their metabolic processes, and in order to get it, they use oxygen to burn (oxidize) their food. From this, we can see that terrestrial plants need plenty of air (oxygen) in the soil to drive root function. Many off-the-shelf soils hold too much water and not enough air to support the kind of root health most growers would like to see; and, a healthy root system is a prerequisite to a healthy plant.

Watering in small sips leads to avoid over-watering leads to a residual build-up of dissolved solids (salts) in the soil from tapwater and fertilizer solutions, which limits a plant's ability to absorb water – so watering in sips simply moves us to the other horn of a dilemma. It creates another problem that requires resolution. Better, would be to simply adopt a soil that drains well enough to allow watering to beyond the saturation point, so we're flushing the soil of accumulating dissolved solids whenever we water; this, w/o the plant being forced to pay a tax in the form of reduced vitality, due to prolong periods of soil saturation. Sometimes, though, that's not a course we can immediately steer, which makes controlling how often we water a very important factor.

In many cases, we can judge whether or not a planting needs watering by hefting the pot. This is especially true if the pot is made from light material, like plastic, but doesn't work (as) well when the pot is made from heavier material, like clay, or when the size/weight of the pot precludes grabbing it with one hand to judge its weight and gauge the need for water.

Fingers stuck an inch or two into the soil work ok for shallow pots, but not for deep pots. Deep pots might have 3 or more inches of soil that feels totally dry, while the lower several inches of the soil is 100% saturated. Obviously, the lack of oxygen in the root zone situation can wreak havoc with root health and cause the loss of a very notable measure of your plant's potential. Inexpensive watering meters don't even measure moisture levels, they measure electrical conductivity. Clean the tip and insert it into a cup of distilled water and witness the fact it reads 'DRY'.

One of the most reliable methods of checking a planting's need for water is using a 'tell'. You can use a bamboo skewer in a pinch, but a wooden dowel rod of about 5/16” (75-85mm) would work better. They usually come 48” (120cm) long and can usually be cut in half and serve as a pair. Sharpen all 4 ends in a pencil sharpener and slightly blunt the tip so it's about the diameter of the head on a straight pin. Push the wooden tell deep into the soil. Don't worry, it won't harm the root system. If the plant is quite root-bound, you might need to try several places until you find one where you can push it all the way to the pot's bottom. Leave it a few seconds, then withdraw it and inspect the tip for moisture. For most plantings, withhold water until the tell comes out dry or nearly so. If you see signs of wilting, adjust the interval between waterings so drought stress isn't a recurring issue.

Newton's First Law

For conventional container culture, it's a given that saturated/partially saturated media rob roots of the oxygen they need to function normally and efficiently. At best, soil saturation robs your plants of immense measure of potential in areas like growth, appearance, yields, ….. At worst, plants unable to cope with the strain of drought stress caused by saturated media will succumb to it. This isn't a 'scare tactic, it's a very simple and straightforward observation that will be difficult to disagree with a straight face.

Newton's First Law of Motion states that an object will remain either at rest, or in motion at a uniform rate and in a straight line unless acted upon by an external offsetting force. In this case, we will designate the 'object' as excess water in your potting medium. At risk of my being redundant, the 'law' can be seen as a simple statement about inertia, that objects will remain in motion and in a straight line unless a force acts to change the motion. To put the law to work for you/your plantings, you should water to beyond the point of total soil saturation - so the medium has been completely saturated and at least 15-20% of the water you have applied has exited the pot. Unless your soil is purposefully constructed to eliminate all/nearly all excess water, it's extremely probable, when the pot has stopped draining, there will be too much water in the potting medium for the plants' liking.

To eliminate this excess water: immediately after a thorough watering, hold the pot in one hand over the sink, lawn, or over-sleeping significant other and move it downward, then sharply reverse the direction to upward. You'll immediately note that a good measure of 'excess' water will “continue downward in a straight line” and exit the drain hole. The sharper the reversal of direction, the more water exits the drain hole. When you have repeated the exercise until water no longer exits the drain hole on the reversal of direction, you will have eliminated all excess water and your plants will regard you with a newfound sense of awe.

Al

It looks rhizomatous — if the rhizomes are healthy you should be able to start new plants.

This is not chloroneura but not enough detail to say what it is.

If you still have that one leaf then you may as well go for broke. It can be done but treat it gently and you may be rewarded. I had a very small Connee Boswell plant leftover that I had placed outdoors and it got shaded out. When I discovered it again at the end of last growing season, I took the last two very small leaves of it and put them in Jiffy pellets and let nature take its course. I took one of the growing new leaves and started a third one too.

Here is what one looked like in May

and this past week before leaving for Thanksgiving. I potted all 3 into a 12" pot a day or two ago.

Here is an overhead shot earlier this month of others I propagated from one leaf.

leaf wedges can be done as well if there is enough material. The rajah in the middle was from one leaf cut at least a dozen times.

Al, you are absolutely right. I had overwatered it. I got the plant a few months ago. The leaves were drying due to I believe, direct sunlight and not enough water. I started watering it lightly. New leaves started appearing and it looked like it was improving. Then I felt the upper layer of soil which felt dry so I watered it generously a couple of times. I feel awful.

HC McDole, your results give me hope. I am not sure what jiffy pellets are, but I will find them.

At this point, what does everyone suggest? The pot has a lot of roots and one leaf that isn't getting better or worse. The soil is damp/moist but not wet. I haven't watered it and will not water it. Can I put some roots (without leaves) in water? Should I try to propagate from leaf cutting?

Thanks for your help. Losing the plant will make me very sad. It was beautiful when I received it, even though it wasn't healthy.

Sue.

Show pictures of the entire pot. If the soil is wet, stop watering immediately. Put a baggie or better yet, a round clear dome over the pot to keep humidity up. Place under lights for 10 to 12 hours a day. If the rhizomes are firm, you are in luck. If they are shriveled (under-watered) or worse - rotted (over-watered), then you have bigger problems to deal with.

I would not put the rhizomes in water as this is asking for more trouble. If you want to take further action than the first paragraph, then take any healthy rhizomes out of the pot - cut off obviously bad roots and you may have to cut off rotting rhizomes too. Let those callus for a day or two - no soil, no water but humidity (baggie or plastic container) will help keep them firm and viable. Put the callused rhizomes in a very shallow pot or tray with sterile media and a lid or baggie - make sure they are oriented properly - root side down and leaf side up. Lightly moisten the soil. If the rhizomes have any life left in them they should put out roots in a couple of weeks. Good luck but do not despair if you lose it - this is a lesson in caring for begonias as they can be quite temperamental in growing. I think you have to kill them several times to learn from your mistakes.

Here is a weedy begonia that only needs a humid environment and water every couple of weeks.

Once you get the hang of growing begonias, they are fairly easy to take care of.

Summer growing is where they should really put on size and vigor.

Thank you HC. I hope I can call you that. I haven't watered it in a couple of weeks. The soil is not wet but moist/damp. I won't water it again. I know the pot is too big for it.

The one leaf has shine and life in it. I think it looks better today.

Is this a begonia? Which variety is it?

There are a lot of rhizomes, above the soil, away from the one leaf. I can cut those and try to propagate. Should I try to propagate the one with the leaf? That one is totally under soil.

I can use an empty, clear plastic, salad container with a lid. How do I create humidity in the container?

Can I use the following jiffy pellet for the medium?

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Jiffy-36-mm-Peat-Pellet-Refill-36-Pack-J3R36-24H/205577270

For 12 hours under light, I can place it under a lamp with an LED bulb or I can set up a lamp with a garden/growing bulb that I have.

Please, please help me save it.

Al, I will spend time over the weekend reading your detailed instructions on watering. Thank you for taking the time to post them.

Sue.

Also, I checked under the leaf. There are no bugs.

I just realized I don't have the jiffy starter tray so maybe the pellets aren't right for me. Would it be OK for me to place the saturated pellet refills in small, clean pots, and put the pots in the clear plastic container with a lid?

Sorry about all the posts. I am grateful for your help. After letting the rhizomes callus, I will use the following as a shallow sterile medium in the salad container, or I can use the pellet refills to mimic separate pots for each cutting. Which do you suggest?

https://www.homedepot.ca/product/jiffy-seed-starting-specialty-mix-13-2-l/1001197336

Got the process started. Clear plastic bag over pot and grown light next to it which I will turn on tomorrow. How do I create humidity inside the bag?

Sue,

Yes, you can call me HC (my two initials).

You do have a begonia and it is a rhizomatous type where the stems grow across the ground and root along it. Never bury any stems of rhizomatous begonias. The top half contains the leaves and blooms while the bottom half contains the roots. It is similar to an Iris rhizome.

The leaf is your best bet to create new plants but the rhizomes should sprout new leaves once it is in a happy place - warm, semi-moist media, and a well lit location.

Just placing any clear lid over the pot will help humidity. A clear or even semi-clear lightweight plastic sheet will seal the edges better than an irregular hard plastic lid. I found the painter's semi-transparent drop cloth (very lightweight) for doing my baker's rack two years ago makes a very effective seal on my aquariums. Chip clips add weight to the edges of this drop cloth so it makes a very good seal.

I get Jiffy pellet refills too. There are 3 sizes - small, medium, and large. Small and large are still in the garden section of Home Depot. Medium sizes are hard to find this time of year but can be found on Amazon, maybe eBay. The tray and lid kit help get you started but you can use any thing that keeps humidity high to use the pellets. I have used lettuce containers from the grocery store for a small number of pellets.

LED lights are good. You don't have to use a grow bulb but it may have some good uses too.

There is no magic pill for propagation. I have used almost every media and found the pellets the easiest thing I've ever used. Often you may buy a plant at the big 3 and notice a paper or mesh around the stem if the soil erodes some. So the big growers use a similar system. I've used straight perlite (good for succulents), seed starting mix (heavy in vermiculite I find), gravel but I don't recommend that other than experimenting, sand - okay for some plants but heavy when watered, and just some good potting mix. Humidity is key.

This is how a commercial wholesaler grows begonias by the thousands (and African violets and peperomias too). Very small space, mister overhead in very large greenhouses in the Orlando area.

You can see I use the flat lids from Jiffy Grow trays on ten gallon aquariums in this photo

Look around the web for pictures that may look similar to your mystery begonia. There are thousands of begonia hybrids and probably more than a thousand species.

Start at Steve's Leaves, The Violet Barn, Kartuz, Logee's, Taylor Greenhouses, Astro begonias (Houston begonia branch), and the international database of begonias (this is a search engine though so you might start an advanced search with just rhizomatous).

Sue, the moisture in the soil and warmth should create a lot of humidity. The pot looks pretty deep. I would downsize in diameter and depth as well, for a rhizomatous begonia. I like to call them squat pots but a bulb pan is another word for the pot I prefer to put rhizomatous in today.

Here are a few I put in big squat pots last year before summer. I had overhead lights on these few in the floor so not that much light.

A pan with an inch or two of potting soil would be plenty. A saucer would suffice but be careful on watering unless you add a drain hole or two. It is a lot easier to add water than trying to remove excess water.

My bonsai begonia in an 8 inch saucer for at least two years until it got too big this summer.

That is Selph's Mahogany in the middle of the picture sitting in that very shallow saucer. The stem on the right is in the next tray over.

All of the bits and pieces of this begonia are now sitting in a square aluminum pan with the tiny bit of soil that was in the saucer. One day I must put it in a pot or a bigger saucer.

I made another mistake of burying the rhizomes thinking they were roots. That might have contributed to its decline. It had started sprouting new leaves before the decline.

How do I get the rhizome with the leaf out? It is buried. Do I gently pry it up...do I cut it or try to get as large an area as comes undone? Using the jiffy pellet will not allow a large rhizome to be used...right? Is the jiffy seed starting specialty mix, that I posted the link for earlier, just as good as the pellets? I prefer the pellets since they seem more effective but can picture how to use rhizomes with pellets. Pellets seem better for seeds.

Finally, I have set up a grow light bulb but I can easily change it to an LED. which is better?

Thanks for your help, HC.

Sue.

I would turn the pot sideways and gently rap the outside of the pot to dislodge the excess soil into a tray or newspaper. A vacuum would work too but it may also pull up part of the plant as well. I would say water it in but it sounds like your soil is already wet.

Yes, you can place segments of the rhizome across a pellet or put it upright into a pellet. For rhizomes, I would recommend a tray with your favorite potting mix (not a deep tray), moisten the surface and lay the cut rhizomes on top of the surface with the proper orientation. Cover with a lid or plastic sheeting. Place under lights and check for roots and moisture every few days.

As for lights, it doesn't matter. As long as it is somewhat bright and stays on for several hours. LED is the newest type, is bright, uses less power, and has a long life (allegedly).

I agree with Floral_UK about the ways to propagate begonias - fairly easy once you get the hang of it. Jiffy pellets just makes it super easy to do hundreds versus a few at a time.

Here are some I did back in 2017. I kind of quit doing these since they are just doing a few at a time instead of 72 in the same tray.

A grocery container (kale, lettuce, spinach). Sam's Club seems to have bigger containers than the other grocery stores though.

The Jiffy method is not without its own faults - they can easily overcrowd a tray in a few weeks/months shading out the smaller, slower growing brethren.

Thank you floral_uk and HC. How do I tell which side is up for the rhizomes? How do I determine where to cut the rhizomes?

The grow light is 9.5W LED. I have attached a picture. The non-grow LED is 10W. Picture also attached. The grow seems to be generating a lot of heat around...perhaps that is desirable. Which do you suggest?

I made the mistake of burying the rhizomes. Since there is a bag on the pot, I had to slide my phone in for the pictures, so they may not show a lot. Sorry. But I have no visible rhizomes above the soil. :( I am not sure if the upright sticks are part of the plant or support. I received the plant this way.

I will use salad containers and either pellets and/or jiffy specialty mix ( link provided earlier) based upon availability. I will also try potting soil that I have. Will get it started this weekend. I may water the plant to loosen the rhizomes. Does allowing or not allowing the rhizomes to callus, before putting them on mix/soil, impact the results? I will do whichever is best.

Thanks for everything.

Sue.

Floral_uk, your picture gives me hope.

HC, impressive setup.

Thank you again. I don't want to lose this beauty.

Sue.

Do I just place the rhizomes on top of the moist medium/soil or do I bury half of the rhizome under?

Sue,

If you look at the rhizomes as they are growing you will see the leaf side has scars from where the leaves were. If you pull a rhizome up you will see the bottom side is smooth (and hopefully has roots). To cut rhizomes, it doesn't matter where. You just want to cut them long enough to have several nodes (where the leaves were or are). I prefer to cut them with at least a few nodes on them.

Any light source will generate some heat but the wattage is where you can get an idea on how hot it is. A 100 watt bulb will burn your fingers if you touch them for a second or more. A 10 watt bulb is warm but I doubt hot enough to burn your skin. Think of a leaf as your finger and you get the idea on why the leaf should not come in direct contact with a light bulb.

From your photos, I would take the bag off and remove any dead or dying leaf and any organic material that will be a food source for fungus and mildew. Then put the bag back on.

The sticks do not look like anything begonia related. You can use some plastic supports to prop the bag up if you wish. I have used bamboo skewers in the past but they are also breeding grounds for mold/mildew. UGH!

Fresh cuts on any plant can be an entry point for germs just like a cut on our skin. Callusing (scabbing) just help seal the wounds from germ entry or from what I have read and observed. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure?

Here are some photos I took yesterday in the basement. I usually do not take photos of the stems or rhizomes of plants unless they are super interesting BUT I made an exception to that rule for this case.

This is an aluminum warming pan that I use for drip trays and some propagation. You can see the rhizomes in here are bumpy looking from where the previous leaves separated from the stem. The one in the middle with some wet looking soil is one I just put in there a few days ago. It had separated from its mother plant when it rooted in the ground and I lifted the pan to bring indoors for winter. I finally went and dug this piece up and wiggled it into the potting media in this big pan.

Here is a very long rhizome - the begonia is popenoei. It has been in this pan for years. I also added the marred blade of a Sansevieria to the pan - propped up by the long rhizome of the begonia. A small piece of a epiphytic cactus is in the same pan as well.

'Helen Townsend' with new growth where the tip of the rhizome rooted in to the pot. The old rhizome could be cut out at this point and tossed or coax some new growth out of it for some more plants.

'Judy Cook' rhizome is outside the pot. The rhizome is a stem but creeps along the ground.

B. hatacoa var. Silver has grown outside its pot. It had rooted in the ground this summer and I have not separated it (yet)

new growth of hatacoa near the base and between the Mexican black pebbles and broken clay pot. I use stones and shards to deter squirrels and other rodents from digging in my pots.

I do add water to the pan to keep this section happy. I see at least five stems I could start new plants with plus all the leaves too.

The Selph's Mahogany that was in the "bonsai" saucer is now sitting in this small warming pan.

The begonia I showed at the begging of this reply came from this pan of 'Silver Dollar' and 'Chumash'. Outdoor growing shows the beating the plants take at the end of season so forgive the mess. The new leaves will soon replace all the old worn out leaves though.

This is what it looked like on September 9th this year. The rhizome of 'Chumash' got a lot larger growing in the earth than this shallow plastic (Jiffy or Burpee mini-greenhouse - no fear as I punch holes in the tray for growing outdoors)

October 12 showing the bigger leaves from the bigger rhizome outside the pot.

B. thelmae is kind of weedy and considered a trailing type begonia. As you can see it is past the edges of this makeshift terrarium (14" salad bowls from Party City)

Lid off with the plant growing in a small 3 inch pot. This begonia loves humidity.

The news is not good. I carefully removed the soil hoping to find rhizomes but because I had done such a great job of burying them and then overwatering, I only found the skin of one rhizome. :( The one leaf still has life with tiny roots. For now, I put the leaf in a small pot with its own soil and watered it a bit. It is under the grow light. Should I put the leaf in a shallow dish of soilless mix (sphagnum peat moss, vermiculite, perlite), or a glass of water, or flower and plant soil? Should I cover the pot with a clear plastic bag to create humidity?

I have attached a picture of a couple of dried up leaves. Can you please tell me which type of begonia this is?

I am grateful for your help and suggestions.

Sue.

I believe this is the begonia I have...

https://www.gardenia.net/plant/begonia-tiger-paws

If you have any life in leaf and/or rhizome then you have to quit agonizing about it and do something. I would reduce any live parts to a very, very small pot whether it is moss, perlite, or any good media and cover with a baggie or plastic wrap. Place it under some light and let on for at least 12 hours a day and keep your fingers crossed.

From your very first pictures I would say it is not Tiger Kitten, Kit Kat, or Tiger Paws (not sure I've seen this one before) BUT the very last photo you have with the completely dried up leaf (not a candidate for any of the names I mentioned) and the semi-alive leaf which might be close to one of the names I mentioned. These are also called "eyelash" begonias and all have a common parent back to the species bowerae. You can search these out on the web and maybe find one you like to replace your dying plant.

Check out The Violet Barn (https://www.violetbarn.com/store/begonias.html),

Logee's (https://www.logees.com/browse-by-botanical-name/begonia.html),

Steve's Leaves (https://stevesleaves.com/collections/all/begonia_all),

Kartuz (http://www.kartuz.com/c/2BEG/Begonias.html),

Taylor Greenhouses (https://www.taylorgreenhouses.com/begonia.html?gclid=Cj0KCQiAqbyNBhC2ARIsALDwAsCDFXTVwfWfCz866tmgGtGDKou0FHMLoCHqDEJPMYN34CFB08fGwHgaAhjUEALw_wcB),

Accents for Home and Garden (https://www.accentsforhomeandgarden.com/ecommerce/begonias.html),

and eBay (https://www.ebay.com/b/Begonia-Houseplants/19617/bn_52460966).

There are other sites as well but these are the main ones.

I did some potting up two nights ago until I ran out of potting mix and patience. I got all the ones I wanted to do, potted up.

double flowering confederate rose (Hibiscus mutabilis) from eBay that have been sitting on the kitchen windowsill for weeks forming roots and some leaves.

all the overgrown begonias in this tray were potted up to 3 inch pots.

Here are some of the transplants a few minutes later

This tray definitely needed potting up.

Here is one of the plugs on the left of the tray above and it is not even the biggest of the six or so I started by a leaf wedge back in late September.

Here were the original cuttings September 19 after our begonia meeting the day before.

The following pictures are some I did back in late summer.

I took these in to our club meeting the middle of September. These are Rex Putzey and I started 21 clones off one leaf that I got from our July meeting. Fast growing. There are 15 in this tray.

July 19 - the leaf is over 11 inches wide and probably 15 inches long.

getting ready to cut

I cut off the stem and made my first circle cut

the first wedges put in pellets

there is still a lot of veins to cut along

lots of wedges

scraps could be used too but I had enough so these went in the compost heap

Aug 22 or 23 and I decided to pot these up

The rest is history

HC, you have a super green thumb!! It appears that everything you plant, works.

Before I posted that only one leaf, with tiny roots, was left, I had already moved the leaf to a small pot with a bit of the original soil and a bit of water. I placed the pot in a salad container and turned grow light on. The only question I have now is whether to plant the leaf with the stem and tiny roots (this is how I have it now), or do leaf propagation (works for tiger paws) by cutting the leaf off of the stem, making cuts (along the vein) on the back of the leaf, and planting at Pettiole.

How would you do it? I am grateful for your help.

Sue.

Sue,

I've killed hundreds in my lifetime but it is a learning process. Remember: nothing ventured, nothing gained. Rah-rah! The road to success is often littered with failures along the way. Anyway, I just want to say if I can do it, anybody can do it.

As for your question about the last surviving leaf, that is something you have to decide yourself. If the rhizome looks good, then let the leaf on. On the other hand if the rhizome looks doubtful then for insurance, I would definitely propagate the leaf. Depending on the size of the leaf, you can cut it to have the major veins in each wedge piece or let it in one entire piece. Six of one, half a dozen of another. Remember there are no guarantees in life (other than death and taxes as someone once said).

Here are some others I moved up to a 3 inch pot late August. Some were in pellets for two months while others may have been six months or longer. They typically don't die in pellets but they won't grow a lot either.

Here is what they look like this month after moving them up to 10 to 12 inch pots

Don't have the name for this beauty

B. staudtii has two plants in there and both were started by an entire leaf

B. soli-mutata started with one leaf (I had two but one died from some mystery disease I suspect)

U476 that I divided two leaves into five pieces. I planted the 3 largest in this 10 inch pot.

Connee Boswell that was started by two tiny leaves left on the mother plant.

This was in September - two crispula (smallest leaf plants), two staudtii, and five U476

May 25 - the two crispula and two staudtii starts in this tray (jiffy pellets), U476 is in there as well but smaller since they were divided.

There is no rhizome with the one leaf...just very fine small roots. The leaf is still alive after moving.

Keeping fingers crossed for you. It can be saved but your chances are greatly reduced with one leaf left.

If and when the one leaf does reproduce, you can make a lot more with each and every leaf.

Keep your eyes peeled come spring as the garden centers and the big 3 (Walmart, Home Depot, and Lowe's) often have begonias.

I bought 3 very small (3 inch?) pots of Escargot (the one on the left) from Walmart in 2020. The first one I didn't know if it was Escargot or not since it was too small to see what it really was. It was less than $3. The next two were purchased at another Walmart that still had a bunch left over and were on sale - about $2.25 each. I put those three in a big bowl and this is what it looked like this summer. The colorful rex next to it is from Home Depot and is still in its original pot (maybe 8 inches so it cost a lot more but less than $15).

This is what they looked like in March, 2020 (the first one was at our local WM and grew to look like the next two I bought)

and this is what they looked like in early January, 2020 at our local WM store. Not exactly Escargot looking, do you think?

A ray of hope.... I had potted the one leaf with a bit of root into a small pot, with potting soil, and placed the pot on a bed of rocks with water. Since then, I diligently turned the grow light on everyday for 12 hours and let the soil dry a bit before watering. There are now two very tiny leaves...please see the attached picture. They took a long time to show up and are growing very slowly...perhaps the soil isn't perfect for them. At some point, I would like to cut the original bigger leaf into wedges and try to root it. Can you all please give me advice on what to do now?

Thanks for all your help,

Sue.

That looks very encouraging. The soil still looks quite wet so I would allow it to dry some more before watering again. The big leaf can be cut and wedged as a bit of insurance. I did that with Connee Boswell last year as I was down to three very tiny leaves so I pinched them and put them down whole (the entire leaf instead of cutting into smaller pieces). Now I have a very good sized plant that could be done again and again.

Connee is the grey star shaped leaf on the right bottom corner with two tiny leaves coming out. That is how small the entire leaf was and I think I had one more that was half the size. This was April 22, 2021

May 30 (five weeks later) it looked like this

I put the 3 good sized starters in a 12 inch pot (no pictures when I did that) so here they are December 21.

Your props are beautiful HC! I wish I lived closer to you! I'd help take some of those off your hands. *wink wink

thank you popmama for the kind comments. I wished you were closer to so I could put you to work for our upcoming national begonia convention in late September.

Here is another one I grew out from leaf cuttings.

HC, thanks for all your help. Your plants are beautiful. Do you live near Toronto, Ontario, Canada? I would love to see your plants and get some cuttings.

I will allow the soil to dry out more. I put very little water and the pot has drain holes, so the water does not stay. Should I allow the smaller leaves to grow a bit more before cutting the bigger one? When should I repot the plant into a bigger pot?

Thanks again for everything,

Sue.

Sue,

I am in the Atlanta area (Georgia). Come on down and visit.

I thought I answered this earlier but it appears I did not post or if I did, it didn't work.

The big leaf would be good to insure you have a lot more plants in the future. While it does help put energy back into the plant, it could age out and you would not have any future plants if the small leaves took a turn for the worse. So it is a 50/50 proposition.

If your propagation skills are good, I would cut that leaf off and get it started as soon as possible before it goes south itself. If you doubt yourself, then let it be for now.

Found this torn leaf on the basement floor a couple days ago and decided to see how viable it is by sticking in a pellet.

There are a few empty pellets in this tray so I stuck in the top row in the middle.

Some of the earlier wedges are sprouting babies. This tray was not doing well and I think it was too cold as it was near the floor while its next door tray was doing a lot better but then it was nestled into another tray giving it some insulation. Anyway I moved this tray to another location in the basement so it is atop a light below it which gives it some more warmth.

This wedge went bananas with long searching roots

This is a seedling in a tray with the largest pellets. All the cuttings in this tray died except one (thank goodness as it is a hard to come by Lotusland begonia). Surprised this one seedling grew (don't remember scattering any seed in this tray). It is attached to the side of the pellet instead in the drill hole. I moved this pellet into a proper pot a day or two ago.

one more tray with some cuttings showing a lot of promise.

Anyway if I can do it, anybody can do it.

Hi HC. Your begonias are beautiful. They all thrive under your care.

Last year I had the old plant close to the patio door, on the floor. My cat had torn a few leaves off of it. I didn't know then, that I could have propagated those, or that I shouldn't bury the rhizomes. The plant was dying when a family member gave it to me. At my place, it had started to put out new leaves from the rhizomes. The environment was good for it to survive, if I had known not to bury the rhizomes.

Removing the large leaf will direct more nutrients to the new leaves. I will try to propagate the large leaf, as soon as you can advise me on how to create the wedges. It is a dire situation so want to do everything right. What size should the leaf wedges be? Do I need to keep the main vein in each wedge? If you have pictures of how you cut your begonia wedges, I would be grateful to see them.

Thanks,

Sue.

I had a post somewhere showing how to wedge on this forum. Anyway cut off the petiole and the outer edges if the leaf is medium sized or bigger. Cut in between the veins so that the vein is semi in the middle. Place vertically in a moistened media (too wet causes rot and too dry will quickly sap the leaf of any moisture it has). I use Jiffy pellets because the outer edge is exposed to air and should help wick away excess moisture. Almost any media will work but some a lot better than others. Keep the cut leaf in a very humid environment (another reason for a tray with a good fitting lid).

I found an example of one I did back in January - this is a rotting petiole of Mrs. Ludwig (underside of the leaf)

Cutting out the rot and the outer edge.

Needless to say a lot of these did not do well because (I think) the only pellets I had at this time was the largest pellets. Some will make it, some didn't.

Here is a better example but I had to go back a few years (I don't take pictures of every time I slice and dice).

2017

Feb 22 - Bashful Bandit leaves washed and patted dry (using anti bacterial soap to get rid of germs on the surface). PS - I rarely bathe the leaves but this is something I tried.

Cut outer edges off and some wedges.

Reused this tray that has a wicking mat (more expensive and it has a bit higher lid too)

Stuck the wedges and the lid is on and then under lights

March 28 (about five weeks later) and roots are evident along with tiny leaves

April 17 and a lot more growth - some didn't make it

April 24 - about two months now

May 9

July 24 and I moved it into a big square pot along with a couple of rexes I started the same way. Bashful Bandit is in the middle and is dark palmate leaves.

August 10 and it looks fairly mature

September 16

October 14 - last date I took a picture of this pot outdoors.

I hope this helps a little.

PS - you can also use the outer edges of leaves if they have enough vein to use for propagation. I do that at times if I have nothing else to use at the time of cutting and have lots of empty pellets unused.

HC, thank you again. I am grateful for the time you have taken to help me.

I tried to find your post on wedging but was unable to.

After saving the plant, I am petrified of losing it. I will get jiffy pellets.

When should I repot the plant with the two smaller leaves? I think cutting the bigger leaf off and repotting, at the same time, would likely kill the plant.

Wish you lived in Toronto. :) I would love to see your plant lab, but Atlanta is too far for me.

Sue.

If your plant is looking okay, then you can let it as is. If it starts going downhill, you need to downsize it ASAP and put it in a humid environment. Often it takes a leap of faith and a lot of patience to see it recover. It's another lesson in learning on how to grow a nice begonia (it has taken me many years and lots of failures and I continue to lose some here and there).

Good light, warmth, and proper watering is all they need to really succeed.

I think I will stay put where I am but would love to visit Canada one day.

HC, you are most welcome to Canada. Canada, especially, Banff, Lake Louise and Jasper are beautiful. Toronto is a beautiful city. There is Rouge National Park running through the city, which is great for hiking trails.

This morning, I saw another new, tiny leaf on the other side of the big leaf. I was asking when I should transfer to a bigger pot not a smaller one. This pot is small with not too much soil.

I had the plant covered with a clear plastic bag but noticed some white spots on top of the soil, so fearing mold, removed the bag weeks ago. I keep water at the bottom and have raised the pot on stones.

Take a look at the new leaf. The plant is trying hard to survive. I just hope I can help it.

Thanks for your quick response.

Sue.

One day I would love to visit Banff and Lake Louise. Seen lots of pictures over the years of them. Also a co-worker drove up there to visit for a week or so. Another co-worker's daughter lives in Alberta (Calgary I think) and is a professor at a college for veterinarians. He has driven up there at least twice before we retired a few years ago. That is a long drive.

New leaves are encouraging. I don't see the rhizome in those photos but it must be good if new growth is coming on.

Here are some of the newest starters I potted up a week or two ago. (35 in total)

Some look a little ratty while they adjust to the drier air in the basement compared to a dome over them.

Some in this tray may need to be potted up next.

I went to Jasper, BC many years ago. I hope it is still as I had seen it or better. Our family stayed at a campsite called Rampart Creek. Our tent trailer was backing onto a small crystal clear stream of cold, cold water in July. At night we could hear the gentle sound of the stream and watch the most stunning display of Northern Lights. It is one of the best and most memorable experiences of my life.

When should I pot the plant into a bigger pot to allow it to thrive?

Thanks for everything.

Sue.

HC, where in the basement do you have your plants? Do you have any pictures of your entire setup with the grow Lights, racks etc.?

I bet you have treasured memories of your Jasper trip. I hope you got some good pictures too. We did a west trip close to 30 years ago - 5,000 miles or so. Carlsbad Caverns, Petrified Forest, Grand Canyon, Glen Canyon Dam, Zion, Jackson Hole, Grand Tetons, Yellowstone, and the highlight of the trip was unexpected as we went across Beartooth Mountains on the border of Wyoming and Montana - it was harrowing and the thing we talked about most for months. It is a shame digital cameras were not around back then.

I wouldn't move your plant to a bigger pot until it has leaves growing outside the pot. You can keep a plant in a tiny pot for a long time (of course that means smaller plant and more attention to water loss). Anyway give it some more time before even thinking of moving it up.

If you look through the begonia forum you will see a lot of pictures/posts from me on a lot of begonias in the basement and outdoors for summer. I don't take a lot of photos of my setup as it is packed and can be messy.

I use four rooms in the basement for my indoor gardening. Here is one rack in the big utility room. The wooden shelves behind this are on a night schedule (8PM to 8AM) so they won't trip the circuit.

This rack is in the rec room of the basement and this is on a night schedule.

Same room but this on the day schedule so the lights are out at this time when I was downstairs.

I cannot find much this year but I am sure I took a couple but don't recall the name I might've given it - room, utility, rec, shelf, shelves, lights, view, etc. Nothing is coming back to satisfy my memory. Either I have to take some more photos or go back in time like last year.

Here is one end of the big utility room last March so the plants get placed wherever I dump them when moving back indoors. Lights out at this time but I have 3 LED shop lights overhead on 24/7

Here is another view if I back up some and miss the U-corner altogether. The wooden shelves is something I made for about $50 over 15 years ago - 8 foot long, 6 foot high, 24 inches deep. The lights are on this shelf as well as the U-corner (above).

My wife helped me erect this makeshift light stand for taller plants (mostly begonias). 7 foot tall, 6 foot long x 4 foot wide to hold 4 LED shop lights.

Some did well on the floor receiving the light 7 feet up (well maybe 6.5+ because the height of the stand is 7 foot)

Some canes in the utility room last year - the lights are 4 foot off the ground (well the shelf above the lights is 4 foot off the ground)

I am only using the middle shelf and floor for this bench/rack/unit.

I am running 90+ shop lights 12 hours a day in four rooms. The small utility room has 3 overhead lights and only one steel shelf holding plants (with no lights hung on the shelf). There are double doors in this room to get southern sun during the day. It is my over spill room so the raggedy plants go there - mostly Sansevieria and Amaryllis and some other less desirable or hardy to kill plants.

Here is a begonia (U402) that seems to be quite robust.

HC,

WOW. Amazing. What a setup!! Yours is a labour of love. It must take a long time to water and replant them. What do you do with the plants that you propagate - give them away or move them upstairs? Is high humidity a problem? I wish I was closer...I would learn so much from you and your wife.

Your trip sounds fantastic. How many days was the trip?

Unfortunately, there were no phones with cameras when I went to Jasper. I was too young to have a camera, so I have no pictures except in my mind, for however, long they will last. I remember that there was a motel nearby and part of the family stayed there. The rest of us were in the tent trailer. Once in a lifetime trip!!

I am amazed at seeing your plants thriving and being so very healthy, even though they are in the basement and only get artificial light.

I water by a 75' light weight hose hooked up to the basement shower the last two years. I had cataract surgery December 2019 and January 2020. The surgeon tells patients that the can not lift anything over 10 pounds and not to bend at the waist more than horizontal. What to do? A hose would solve both problems and it has been GREAT. It speeds up watering chores at least 3 fold. And I no longer have to fill up containers (I was using 15 or so 3 gallon kitty litter containers - that is roughly 25 pounds) and carry them to each room where I would tip them over to fill up a watering vase (open mouth) and water each pot one by one - that was a lot of work.

I give away a lot of my starts to our local begonia chapter of the American Begonia Society.

My wife doesn't want a lot of plants on the main and upper floor of the house so I have two African Violets in the master bathroom and at the moment two florist azaleas on a baker's rack in the kitchen area. The rest are in the basement.

That western trip was two weeks and it was a lot of driving. To do a proper trip would require a lot more time to see it all. My parents and "baby" brother were behind us in a pickup truck while we were in the lead in a four door Oldsmobile. We used CB radios to stay in contact. Good times.

You didn't have a film camera back then? I took my film camera and a Sony 8 mm video camera on our trip but the Sony became worthless after I hooked up the battery backwards (blew a fuse inside the camera). You make do with what you have at the time. Beats paint and canvas.

You should recreate your trip ASAP to see how much has changed in that amount of time. Now you will have a digital camera with you. Our other west trip was shorter on sightseeing but we saw Devil's Tower, Mount Rushmore, and The Badlands in South Dakota. We also went to Crazy Horse in the Mount Rushmore area and it was very rough draft. 30+ years later the head of Crazy Horse is done. I would go back to see it again. I wonder when they estimate it to be fully completed. Another 100 years?

https://www.blackhillsbadlands.com/parks-monuments/crazy-horse-memorial

Yep, just some cheap shop lights and moderate watering have worked magic on a lot of my houseplants. Now if I had a greenhouse again.

I grew this staudtii from two leaves I got from one of our members last spring. It has grown phenomenally well for me.

Little Brother Montgomery - I think 4 plantlets were used to start this 12 inch pot.

Old Blue had 3 starters (from leaf cuttings) to fill this 12 inch pot.

maculata I picked up from our Walmart last year (it was 3 dollars cheaper than Home Depot - same grower in same ceramic cache pot)

I picked this azalea up at Sam's Club before Valentine's Day - it is one of the two on the baker's rack. Both will go in the ground or a bigger pot to stay outdoors starting this spring.

The other one from Walmart.

HC, your plants are stunning. I am thoroughly impressed that you found a workaround to water your plants rather than give up on them. The plants and pets will keep you healthy. I believe in the power of mind over body/health. We have something else in common...love for cats. :)

Staying in touch between two cars with CB radios sounds like a lot of fun. My family members had cameras during the Jasper trip but I did not have one. There must be pictures somewhere, though perhaps not of the northern lights, since it was dark outside. That trip is memorable because of the place and the people. Some of those present then, are no longer around and other relationships aren't the same...so it is impossible to recreate it. It would be lovely to see Jasper again.

Decades ago, I lost a few somewhat rare plants. I didnt have grow lights and didnt know about them. I had two umbrella plants and a night blooming jasmine.

If we were living closer, I would love to take some of your plants and learn from you. It is kind of you to give others pleasure by sharing your plants and your knowledge.

The tiger paw begonia is growing VERY slowly. I wonder if it is lacking something. There is very little soil in it. But I am afraid to do anything to it right now. It took weeks for the first leaf to show up. There were a few tiny threads to the roots when I planted the one leaf. I hope I can get the plant to grow.

Thanks for everything.

Sue.

I don't know about pets and plants keeping me healthy but they do keep me engaged with work and enjoyment. HAHA!

The CB radios were inexpensive and had a magnetic base antenna attached to the roof of the vehicle. Sometimes we got too far in front of them and lost contact so we would slow down until we were in radio contact or could see them in our rear view mirror. CBs are a bit eavesdropping and we had good times with them - listening to truckers talk about their sexual adventures was a bit too much while other stay at home folks would drop in on our conversation and say things like "there isn't much going on in this town - I want to move as soon as I am old enough to get out of the house". Looking for Dunkin' Donuts in Urbana-Champaign, IL was like the Keystone Cops - "where are you", "I'm on Main Street crossing Elm", "Oh, I see you", "I don't see you", etc, etc. No GPS back in those years so we were looking for the Dunkin' Donut on XYZ street. I don't know how many times we went up and down this street and finally located it between two very tall buildings and set back further off the street. If they had a sign closer to the street, it would've been very easy to spot. Anyway we bought our donuts and headed south by east to home. Half an hour later my mother or brother hits us up on the CB wanting to know where we were going to stop to eat the donuts and get some coffee. I replied that we already ate all our donuts 20 minutes ago. Too funny. My mother thought I said we would stop down the road and get drinks. I can't recall if we had drinks in our car or we bought them at the donut shop. Lots of good memories.

I understand you cannot recreate the past since some of the original party has departed. My baby brother (he was 19 years younger than me) died in 97 from a brain tumor (he was a week short of turning 26) and my dad passed six years ago. Our two daughters are grown and have kids of their own. At least they remember the trips (boring for them sitting in the backseat on some very long drives) and the youngest is wanting to do the same thing now as a mother of two young kids. That is kind of funny and karma-like. We also made a long trip to Maine one summer with my parents following. We got separated in Maryland due to a huge dark storm. Luckily we reunited half an hour later. The next day we made it to Maine for a few days. Going across the George Washington bridge going into NYC (4 lanes squeezed down to 2 and my dad is a slow driver but he stayed on my bumper to keep two big semis on each side of him behind him instead of in front) was harrowing.

I think I had one set of grow light tubes many, many years ago. I didn't see the benefit of them but others swear by them. My T8 lights use the cheapest bulbs I can buy and I was buying 30 bulb packs for even more cost savings. LED shop lights have become very competitive today and are brighter (to my eyes), use less energy, and allegedly longer life (I've had two burn out this past year so I am not sold completely on them).

Most folks who come to my house to look at my collection usually leave with at least two bags full of cuttings and any smaller pots of identical plants I have in larger pots (after all I can always make more).

I would be very patient on your begonia - get as much light as possible for 10 to 12 hours a day, keep it warm and extra humidity while it is trying to grow will make a huge difference.

I used to grow a lot of C&S at our last house but then I had a greenhouse which was ideal for this family of plants. They don't do as well under lights as they do with full sun.

I was using the front porch to display some of my larger begonias in 2005 but my wife didn't like that so I rarely have anything growing on the porch for the last several years.

2005 when I had a lot of plants in the front of the house - the big begonia in front is Caribbean Queen and she was a giant filling this 18 inch pot in a few months from a gallon sized plant I bought in Miami in May. This was September

This was her mate - C. King but she was bigger. Both in 18" pots

The problem with big pots is wintering inside - space is an issue.

HC, I am very sorry to hear of your brother and father's passing. Loss is so very difficult to deal with. My mother was my best friend, right from childhood. She idolized me, and loved unconditionally...much more than can be said for everyone else. There isn't a day when I dont miss her. She passed away around the time your brother did.

Your trip sounds awesome. I had such a wonderful laugh reading the details. If I got donuts, I would eat them too. Who can wait for coffee? Do you have Krispy Kreme there?

Being able to eavesdrop and talk to complete strangers on CB radios, has its own charm. I have never done it but have seen programs on TV showing how CB radios get help for people, in an emergency. All these new gadgets have isolated people. Everything is through email and chat, as opposed to in person or even on the phone.

I don't know enough about plants to improve landscaping at my place. It would be nice to put pots out in summer. From your pictures I see that there are so many different types of begonias...they don't seem to belong to the same family/species.

I had the pot with the tiger paw begonia leaf and the bowl with the ricks covered in water, sealed with a clear plastic bag. I could see water droplets on the bag. I got concerned when I saw white mold spots on top of the soil holding the leaf, so I took the bag off. Are those white spits of concern? Should I cover the setup with the plastic bag again, to increase humidity? I turn the grow light on everyday. I am surprised that your LED bulbs died. I thought they go on for 20 plus years.

Your staying busy, following your passions and having people around who care about you and you interact with, is what keeps you healthy. My very best wishes for you to continue being happy, healthy and bringing joy to so many humans and animals.

How do I send you my email address?

Sue.

HC, please check your messages. Thanks.

Thank you everyone for your immense help. I am grateful from the bottom of my heart. My Tiger Paw Begonia now has 10 leaves. They are still small and it took a long time for the first one to come out. I hope it makes it. As of a few days ago, this is what it looked like... the original big leaf is still there.

Thanks again for all your help.