Spotted Angel Wing Begonia questions

Posts

• wild edges Posts: 10,497

  August 2023

  These root really well in a vase of water. I tend to take cuttings with enough stem to sit right down in the vase then pot them on once the roots have started to get to a good size. If you're getting a lot of mould on the compost and pot it suggests a lack of air movement around the plants and they do better with humidity and good ventilation. Bathroom windowsills are usually ideal for these. As with all houseplants try and use rain water rather than tap water too as many are sensitive to the chemicals building up in the soil.
  

  If you can keep your head, while those around you are losing theirs, you may not have grasped the seriousness of the situation.
  

  1
• Danae(dan-Ah-ee) Posts: 966

  August 2023

  I think it needs a very good hair cut.  As W.E. suggested, take cuttings; they root very easily in water.  If that plant were mine I would prune it like this:

  

  You can leave or remove the second upright stem;personally, I would keep just one,   take all the cuttings I could ( 10-15cm long), put them in some water, leave them on a bright windowsill- not in direct sunlight- and wait.  They're really good-natured plants.

  
  

  Here is mine, grown from a cutting.  It sits on the kitchen step from mid-May to late September and blooms:

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

  2
• ColmO Posts: 101

  August 2023

  wild edges said:

  These root really well in a vase of water. I tend to take cuttings with enough stem to sit right down in the vase then pot them on once the roots have started to get to a good size. If you're getting a lot of mould on the compost and pot it suggests a lack of air movement around the plants and they do better with humidity and good ventilation. Bathroom windowsills are usually ideal for these. As with all houseplants try and use rain water rather than tap water too as many are sensitive to the chemicals building up in the soil.
  

  
  

  thanks. re the mould on the compost, i'd just been thinking of taking off the long stems, but i'm sure the actual plant could do with repotting as well. i guess i should let it get used to its smaller state before i do that, though?
  

  
  

  my bathroom window is frosted, and it faces south west. would that be okay? it's actually a wet room, if that makes any difference?

  
  

  i don't have any way of collecting rainwater, and the cost of even a small water butt is quite expensive, and i wonder if it might not collect more than i need. if i do collect some when it's actually raining, in a jar or whatever, how long would it 'keep'? i do always let the tap water stand for several hours, overnight if i can, before i use it, which i understand allows some of the chlorine etc to evaporate.
  

  0
• ColmO Posts: 101

  August 2023

  Danae(dan-Ah-ee) said:

  I think it needs a very good hair cut.  As W.E. suggested, take cuttings; they root very easily in water.  If that plant were mine I would prune it like this:

  

  You can leave or remove the second upright stem;personally, I would keep just one,   take all the cuttings I could ( 10-15cm long), put them in some water, leave them on a bright windowsill- not in direct sunlight- and wait.  They're really good-natured plants.

  
  

  Here is mine, grown from a cutting.  It sits on the kitchen step from mid-May to late September and blooms:

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  thanks. if i cut at the top mark you've made, will that then keep growing? and if i cut off the second upright stem, will i be able to get that to root in water too? would i cut it as near to the soil as possible? your plant is looking gorgeous. i hope mine will become as magnificent.
  

  0
• Loxley Posts: 5,698

  September 2023

  It will sprout from the stem near where you made the cuts. You can put it out of sight (in a bright position) while it recovers, just don't forget to water it.
  
  To be honest the plant is telling you it's in too dark a spot.

  "What is hateful to you, do not do to your neighbour". 

  1
• Danae(dan-Ah-ee) Posts: 966

  September 2023

  Removing the top will help the plant to bush out.  Yes, the second stem will root in water.
  

  1
• ColmO Posts: 101

  September 2023 edited September 2023

  Loxley said:

  It will sprout from the stem near where you made the cuts. You can put it out of sight (in a bright position) while it recovers, just don't forget to water it.
  
  To be honest the plant is telling you it's in too dark a spot.

  
  

  thanks. it's currently close to a NW window, and much further away from the main NE window. other than that i could put it right in the NE window, though that's currently occupied by as number of spider plant cuttings in water.

  
  

  there is a SW window in another room, though that's currently full of boxes, so i could put it in the window there, but watering would involve moving a lot of stuff.

  
  

  how often would i be watering it? my habit is to water once a week unless it's not needed. would it, and the cuttings in water, need food?

  
  

  and also, my habit is to water everything from the bottom. but the top of the soil this Begonia is in never seems to get even moist. i've soaked it in water for hours, and it makes no difference. should i water it from the top?
  

  0
• ColmO Posts: 101

  September 2023

  Danae(dan-Ah-ee) said:

  Removing the top will help the plant to bush out.  Yes, the second stem will root in water.
  

  
  thanks, that's great.
  

  0
• ColmO Posts: 101

  September 2023

  please can someone tell me what if anything i should add to the compost, and what ratio? perlite, i imagine, for drainage? and should i be watering from the bottom or the top? thanks.
  

  0
• ColmO Posts: 101

  September 2023

  here are the results of my pruning and repotting. i just added a bit of perlite to the compost. (you can't see it, because i topped it up with just compost after compacting it a bit.) will keep a careful eye on them.

  
  

  

  0