hi there,

you don't really say much about the soil condition (how wet was it?)or the growing environment, but if your plant was dropped or if something fell on it, those stems would most likely be broken and not limp.
my guess is that it's too dry. i've found that some substrates can dry up overnight--especially the ones that begonias come potted in from the nursery! if this is the case, give your begonia a soak for about 10-15 minutes and then let the soil drain. most of the leaves should spring back, but you'll have some casualities.

-ming

Thanks for your post Ming. You really got me thinking with the fact that the stems should have been broken but still turgid if there had been an accident. Also, your comments about the soil helped me realize that it was not too dry, but too wet. I really think what happened is similar to damping off. I have never seen a begonia do this before, and especially not overnight like that. I still can't get over it. It is still a limp, pathetic, mess. Besides knocking it out of the pot and setting it on paper to absorb the excess moisture, any thoughts on how to help it pull through?

that sounds good, for starters. how long have you had this begonia? most of the time i repot begonias from nurseries in my own mix. the ones from the nursery tend to either dry out too fast in my home, or stay very damp if not given ideal light/heat (and i have far fewer "ideal" spots in my home than "so-so!"). i've over watered a few begonias in my time...and yes, i usually de-pot and let dry a bit. sometimes increasing the air circulation helps things to dry out, too.

also, if you see any leaves that look healthy, i'd propagate one for back-up. good luck!

-ming

I've had it for a couple of years and it was in my own soil. I really learned something about how fast a begonia can collapse. I wonder if there was some dormant fungus in there waiting for the right soggy soil. Thanks for the luck, I think I'll need it!

I'd probably take those branches and cut them off the rhizome and try to root them in water, or in a baggie. Anyplace the branch is soft where it attaches to the rhizome won't grow back because the tissue is damaged. Cheryl