A begonia has been on my plant wish list for years and when I saw her at a local market, I had to have her!! But my question is, what in the world do I do? It looks like she’s been staked up when previously was like vining out of the pot.. im so nervous to do anything with her, I don’t want to mess it up! Do I unstake her? Cut her down? Repot?? Please help! Her stems are also becoming very woody? Is that normal? Any help is appreciated!
by Ok-Lengthiness3748
2 Comments
Yes the stems from previous years growth become woody. The older leaves fall off frequently after turning yellow. That is completely normal. New leaves and growth come on the ends of the branches and occasionally from a new shoot that comes from the roots under the soil. My begonia blooms every year. Big beautiful balls of tiny pink flowers. Amazing. I’ve had my mother plant for twenty years now and she is very happy. Mild fertilizer during growth season and watering only when a finger poked into the soil is dry. If a branch gets too over grown simply prune back approximately one quarter inch above a node or joint line, similar to pruning a rose. Stick green growing end in good potting soil and keep moist. Bingo bango you have a new plant! I love begonias! Your plant was probably staked up because the branches were hanging down over the edge and because it needs more filtered sunlight. Good luck 🍀 you got this
https://preview.redd.it/hq7kxfoxoqxf1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=7a2bc3870943fc45227b5f7863a5a62f6d3259aa
I rescued a begonia maculata from someone that was even more overgrown than this one- flopping all over the place. Totally uncared for. It was a shame. These plants are quite easy to maintain if you follow a few simple rules. Only water when dry- do NOT overwater. Try not to get the foliage wet. Use a good, well-draining soil, and a pot with good drainage- begonias hate wet feet. Give her plenty of indirect bright light, but no direct sunlight- you’ll burn her leaves. She’ll give you lots of baby leaves.
Anyways- back to the rescued plant. I ended up giving her quite a “haircut”- trimmed her back until the stems could pretty much stand on their own. Always cut below a node, with a bit of extra stem, so that you can propagate your leaves and stems if you wish. (Yes- even stems with no leaves take root and grow!) I have an entire rolling cart outside filled with prop cups and rooted begonia cuttings! It has been a few weeks now, and I also repotted her into a much better soil mix. She is very happy and has many, many baby leaves filling in all the blank spaces on the stems. These plants grow very quickly if given the right conditions. You can do it! 🙂