Hi Frank,

It is hard to tell by the picture but it looks like you may have covered up the rhizomes. Also the pot looks too big for that size plant. I would yank it out of the pot, put it in a much smaller pot covering only the roots and bottom of the rhizomes (like a bearded iris). If the leaves have any life in them you can cut them off and try your hand at propagating them for some insurance. This should encourage the rhizomes to throw up new leaves.

Cover the plant with some kind of humidity cover (and the cut leaves if you decide to try propagating them). I would set the plant outdoors as well until a frost warning (it is supposed to be hardy in your area but it needs a lot more size to survive I'd say). Keep in bright light but no full sun (if it hasn't been in sun recently).

I met the breeder (Dan Heims) in Houston at the ABS convention back in May plus I picked him up at the Atlanta airport a few years ago. He is looking to bring more hardy begonias to the market. Let's hope he succeeds.

Terra Nova Nursery

Thanks for your input and insight, hcmcdole.

There were no leaves to propogate since they had turned to mush. I do believe my Begonia has now gone to be with Jesus despite my best efforts to save it... At $15.00, I sure wish Tony Avent had a 1 year replacement policy...haha!

-Frank

It doesn't look like a total lose yet. If the rhizome is still plump, roots or not, replant it as suggested, keep the soil barely damp, maybe top it with gravel or vermiculite, watch for fungus gnats and wait. Watch and make sure the rhizome doesn't dry and shrivel up - then you really have nothing. But even if it stays dormant in this state, as long as it is still plump, you can even put it in the ground when the weather gets warm again and it will grow. At least that has worked for me in the past.

i second loretta's opinion.

your picture is quite small - it's hard to tell if you completely covered the rhizome. uncover the top somewhat similar to the way one plants iris in our zone.

metallic mist is rhizomatous and will go dormant - put your container in a cool place and occasionally mist. once the days start getting longer and the temperatures warm up in the spring, you should see new growth.