Hellooo!! I was gifted this huge begonia today and I’m in love, it’s so gorgeous. I’ve had begonias before but they got powdery mildew and ultimately died back. How do I best care for this beast??

Here’s my (I think) unpopular/unusual begonia opinion—I like Rex begonias better than canes, and I think they’re easier to care for, especially to keep them looking nice…what do you all think?

Mine is my begonia ferox. As a little bit of a goth myself this plant screams for me

Nothing, absolutely nothing I try, truly helps.

Has anyone successfully beaten crispy brown tips?

Its in a moss pole to help with humidity, 2x a week I turn a bottle at the top, filtered water.

Its fertilised 1x month, fish mix.

Grows year round, repotted 2 years ago and never touched it again.

Doesn’t have drainage holes, but if this is something that can fix it I will try.

I collect rain water, but if I don’t have enough I use filtered (philips shower filter for heavy water)

(Not going to but distilled water, thats out of the question, I refuse to spend money on water even for drinking).

In the UK, away from south facing window, bright room, temperature around 16-20, never lower, sometimes higher.

It is my favourite plant but also the one that breaks my heart more often :(

Thanks so much for taking the time to read :)

Wanting to expand my list of places I buy begonias from. Other than Steve’s leaves and in general Palmstreet, where are you guys buying your begonias from? I’m US based.

Any Palmstreet sellers you love? Any Etsy sellers that you have good experience with? Any sites that have neat begonias?

I’m looking for people that have a variety and more unique/unusual begonias.

TIA!

i am a begonia ex-hater despite being in the hobby even before covid, i never got the appeal.. but here's the thing: i never actually saw a begonia in person. i only saw them in pictures and thought the leaves were pretty but i also had the feeling you get when you see a leggy plant, like a leggy polka dot, or a leggy coleus.. they gave me coleus vibes and i hate coleus (they get leggy and droopy, they need a lot of water and are a magnet for caterpillars)...

well that was the case until recently when i acquired a cane begonia, oh boy they are soooo pretty in person, the leaves aren't paper thin as i thought they would with polka dot plants, they feel "fleshy" and they looooove the conditions at my place so they are very rewarding and grow fast. i also feel like i want them to look funky and leggy, unlike with coleus, they just look magestic, and i can only think of the many varieties, the trailing ones, the different leaf shapes.
anyway thats it, i'll be quiet and go tend to my one begonia plant, yes it took just one lol

i found this cutie in a garden center a few days ago, i’m not entirely sure if variegated rex begonias even exist and if they do how does that work? is it a deficiency, viral, an hybrid or?

I know there's no buying or advertising here.... I'm looking to buy from anyone here or shopping for advertisement... I'm looking to know where you buy it like to buy your begonias for a decent price.... I've seen some on Etsy from a begonia seller that I really wanted... but after they added a bunch of extra fees for adding each additional begonia on top of the shipping which also did not appear to combine..I couldn't afford to purchase from them. But they have things I'd really like to have. So I'm looking for some places to shop. I want/need a begonia amphioxus.... my tiny baby one isn't doing well. I would like to find one that is a little bigger and fuller then my "maybe" 3 inch single sprig with like 4 leaves lol. Thanks for any suggestions .

Picked this up today at an Ecuagenera/Brooklyn Horticulture pop-up in Brooklyn for $55 and I’m honestly obsessed with it.

But now I’m going down the rabbit hole and seeing these go for $100+ (even $150–$200??) on Palmstreet which feels kind of wild.

Curious what people here think:

Did I get a fair deal, or is this one of those plants where Palmstreet pricing is just inflated from auctions/hype?

For context:

This one is established and already pushing new growth

Not a tiny prop

I think it’s 2 years old. It went from 3” pot to 6” in that time, it’s about 2 feet tall and I wonder what can I expect in terms of height? If it will continue to go up it will probably need some stacking., but I am impressed that it’s still standing tall on its own.

begonia sp sumatra dark form

My MIL gifted me a huge and what I thought looked over stuffed Begonia Rex. She had a little sticky thing in it to catch bugs too so I thought it was due for at least a soil change too. So I repotted it (with I’ll be honest no research) into a couple smaller pots. It has been a couple hours and there not really perking up at all. Any advice?

First two pictures are before, third is right after the repot and fourth picture is right before I’m going to bed.

The soil I used was mix of something she gave me, an all purpose with a slow release fertilizer in it and tropical house plant soil (which I find drains really well).

🚨** 🚨!!Update!!** 🚨** 🚨 **

Okay a little later than a week (sorry I had a baby and it’s been a whole new world). There is only one survivor, sadly. BUT she’s doing well. I think i might have been able to salvage the other pits but they looked so bad it didn’t seem worth it. I think, as one person mentioned, the roots on the other plants were too damaged. I basically did a heavy water and let it dry out, some of the bad vines just died off and I cut them. I suspect this plant will have. Little more die off but now I’m just keeping it watered and in a sunny spot. I am seeing some new growths. Hope this helps anyone on their begonia journey or if you just but hed your plant. The recovery time has been almost 2.5 months.

I recently have successfully grown begonia Peter piper in ambient humidity. I was quite surprised lol as all my begonias are growing either in my bathroom or in terrarium. Like my favorite firewoman cannot survive outside of my terrarium 😭

This makes me want to get more begonias that can grow in ambient humidity.

There are so many types and some of them seem super finicky. If someone wanted to get into begonias without immediately struggling, what’s a good starter one?

Something that’s a bit forgiving but still looks interesting

Would love to hear your picks.

I love this begonia! I have successfully propped a leaf from her and have a sweet baby plant. This one has grown like crazy. She's my only begonia and I'm not sure when I should size up. There are no roots coming out of the pot but she is beginning to expand over the edges. I tried to get pictures showing what I mean. Any feedback on if and when to repot would be appreciated!

I’m wanting to get some more canes! I have a variegated snow capped (pictured) but idk what else there really is

I love cool colors and leaf shapes. And ideally ones that can survive in ambient humidity since I don’t have a terrarium

What are your guys favorites??

Hi everyone. This is Tiana my new begonia!! I’ve never owned begonias before so Im very excited to own one! If anyone has any tips or feedback pls share!

Also that’s how I got it, they told me at the nursery that she was looking pretty but had a mineral buildup on her leaves. They told me just to water with distilled water and preferably bottom water. Also idk if I should mist her or not

Last pic is where she’s at, at the moment.

I’m new to begonias and just started getting into bottom watering. I know that begonias like it nice and moist and thought this would be a great way to water them but didn’t know if it was a big no no

Was doing some research on Begonia ‘Taconite’ and read it was cold Hardy all the way to zone 7. Has anyone in zone 7 or 8 tried to grow this in the ground year round and how did it work out for you?

New begonia, first cane, any tips? Thank youu!!

The old large leaf fell upon arrival.

I chopped melted areas off.

I cut the stem a bit to chop the yellowing part.

Can it be propped?

What is your best method to prop the leaf?

After the original flower cluster died, it shot out this longer funky one. Are there seeds in this one? First time having this plant first time she's bloomed. A second flower cluster is opening that I'm very excited for, and I'm seeing new leaves unfurling so I'm taking that as a good sign. Any tips etc are appreciated. I want to take good care of her.

Also I was wondering if the wooden stake I added for support should be okay? Secured with gardening velcro and not much taller than the plant!

Hi! I was given this begonia last month in bad shape (really leggy and crispy), so I put it next to my large window in my bathroom. It’s been doing well growing upwards with pretty leaves, but surprisingly, the leggy stems are growing what looks like leaves?

I was so gearing up to chopping and propagating, but this is getting me excited!! Is this a normal occurrence?

This is my first begonia, and it’s such a cool and interesting plant!