# Begonia help!



## andyrawrs (Aug 16, 2008)

Hey all,

I recently got some of my first begonias. I was wondering if anyone can help me out with general begonia care? Or even better, specific tips on the following species:

Begonia burkilli
Begonia crispula (crispa?)
Begonia glabra
and if anyone is familiar, Begonia sp. "Tarapoto" from Chuck aka Manuran


I accidentally left the B. glabra bare root in a fairly low humidity environment so it went limp; then I put it in a ziploc and sprayed it down. A few hours later the leaves became soggy and are starting to rot! I put them in a frog-free terrarium at the moment with fairly high humiddity and good airflow.

Andy

P.S. The other begonias are still in the sealed bags they came in.


----------



## earthfrog (May 18, 2008)

I have not grown glabra; however, it appears to be epiphytic; therefore, it should be mounted with some only very slightly moistened peat moss in a well-drained location, such as corkbark. 

It may have already died if it was left out without significant humidity for more than a few minutes. 

As to burkilli and crispula, I am growing those and have had success so far if you have particular questions. The burkillii likes bright light, well-drained sphagnum moss and seems fine without much fertilizer. It is rhizomatous and has gorgeous flowers if you leave it alone until maturity. 

Crispula is a little touchy, care must be taken not to let water and detritus sit on the top of the leaf for more than a couple of days straight. New cuttings root best from stems---it is very difficult to get a leaf cutting to root as they will rot very quickly. With fragile begonias such as this, I have had success with Root Riot plugs and rooting hormone made from boiled fig branch shoots.

As for care of 'Tarapoto' and others, I'm sure Chuck would be happy to oblige if you sent him a private message.


----------



## Dartfrogfreak (Jun 22, 2005)

I try not to mount Begonias unless its a tank where I know it wont dry out for more than a day. drying out too much causes the Begonia to go limp and this usually leads to a death sentence.

As far as Begonia burkillii I am growing this one and it has rooted quite easily from the leaf cutting I got and quickly sprouted 2 plants from that leaf. However since it was only growing in Long Fiber Spaghnum it had a washed out coloration and which was probably due to low nutrients. Ive since potted it in a larger pot with a mix of Miracle Grow potting soil and some extra perlite(Begonias dont like their feet wet) We will see if the colors brighten up in the next few weeks 
Begonia glabra I am growing from some stem cuttings I received this past summer and is doing great. I laid the cuttings on top of a pot full of soil and just let the root and do their thing... they took.. quite quickly and needed pruning fairly soon after.. Im now having to repot this one as it almost seems as if its running out of nutrients in the pot.
Do not keep it too wet but never let a Begonia dry out completely.... IF you do and it goes limp, NEVER overwater it.. this is what causes the death sentence I spoke of... its like a shock to the plant. If it goes limp, slowly rehydrate it and this will prevent the shock, when I say slowly I mean over the course of an hour or so.
Obviously youve learned that Begonias typically do not enjoy their leaves wet either.
With some ventilation Begonias can be misted with the rest of a viv. however if you have a tank with no ventilation ... mist very rarely.(By this I mean mist the rest of your tank trying hard not to get water on its leaves.)

I have currently had Begonia 'Red Planet' in a ZooMed for several months now and its gets misted atleast once a day and have no problems! Ive considered that its because of the vent in the front that allows it to dry out quicker than a tank without a vent.


I cannot offer you help on Begonia crispula as Ive never grown(To the best of my memory LOL)


I hope this helps !

Todd


----------



## andyrawrs (Aug 16, 2008)

Thanks for the help you guys!


----------

