So what does Tapla suggest for winter feeding? I'd say go with his recommendations.

In my zone 5 the biggest factor is giving them enough light. Mine are very near a south facing window and get direct sun for about an hour or two. I don't use ferts from mid-November to mid-March.

tj

tj,

I have fertilized most winters but last winter I did not. Fertilizer encourages new growth and greens up the leaves but can also crash the plant later on which is a huge step backwards (too much salt buildup?) I was using water soluble in those past years. I went to strictly slow release this summer without any issues.

I agree on light - makes a huge difference. Keep them warm and water regularly as well.

Here is one of my newest rexes (grown from two little leaf cuttings - about a year and half old).

Nice plant, hcmcdole.

Sorry for any confusion. I did not mean to imply one should not use ferts in winter, only that I do not and it does not cause the plant to shut down. As you reiterated, light seems to be a much more important factor.

tj

Thank you for your replies, which are VERY helpful. Unfortunately, I have no south windows as I live in the north side of a duplex that faces E/W. (And no space for plants in the other directional elevations.) The plants I over-winter are located on a surface in a window area that is fairly well-lit with the reflection off of the neighbors white, south wall. Maybe I'll just have to make do with the three seasons outside and start over each year. :(

neuf,

Sometimes that is the easiest if there are only a few begonias and are easily obtained. It's the ones that are hard to come by that you either pass up or make every effort to make them welcome.

I have several hundred I drag in and out of the basement each year (crazy I know) so I would hate to 1) look for all the rarer ones each year and 2) it would be a lot of money each year.

This is just a glimpse into my madness. (And I've never made any special soil mix either)

I am very new to working with Rex Begonias. I had poor or no success growing them in the past, but swiped a leaf or two from my sister and others and started propagating from leaf cuttings this year. I am new to experimenting with soil too, so I am seeing what plants like what kinds of soil. I don't see how one could argue with your success, so I will start using MG Potting Soils exclusively for the Rexes. Although I will not start new cuttings until spring, please let me know what you think about the following: I start by slitting the veins of the leaf, dusting the wounds on the bottom of the leaf with MG starting hormone, them placing the leaf on a 50/50 mixture of perlite and very well moistened and worked Sphagnum peat. (No fertilizer) I use plastic Chinese Food containers with clear lids...at least a dozen holes drilled in the bottom that have been washed after soaking in a 10% bleach solution. At what point should one move the new plants to a ceramic pot of MG soil? I moved mine when the plants were about 1-1/2" tall and just very gently set the root ball in a depression I formed by pressing the soil with a finger. I finished by gently soaking the planting hoping that the roots would settle in. When should one begin feeding the plant, or should one rely on the fertilizer in the MG?

Thank you for your thoughts.

There are many ways to propagate rexes (rhizomatous) by leaf cutting. The method you propose sounds very doable. You may experience some failures along the way but I've tried many methods over the years. Laying a leaf flat with cut veins is not the easiest way to go (why I do not know) for me - seems like I can never get the moisture level just right - too moist leads to rot and too dry will desiccate the leaf structure very fast. I'd rather cut the pieces in little wedges and insert them vertically to keep the moisture high and rot low. Wished I could show multiple images in one post of some of the methods I've used recently (and in the past). Jiffy pellets with a grow tray works very well. I move the pellets to a 3 inch pot when the leaves start crowding their neighbors. A lot of potting soil will have some fertilizer already mixed in so you should be good to go without any extra fertilizer.

I do agree on plastic containers with lids or covers to keep the humidity up (it does not have to be moistened much at all). I use the containers that spinach/lettuce come in to propagate plants on the fly inside and outside (in warmer months). I spread a small layer of potting mix (an inch or two at the most) and insert stem and/or leaf cuttings in this mix. I try to keep leaves from touching the soil by inserting the petioles in a vertical manner. Some larger leaves you can insert the full sized petiole in one container and keep the lid on until the leaf is rooted and new plantlets show.

Aluminum trays work well too - I will use perlite in these for almost anything including succulents. Punch holes in the bottom and use another tray for a drip tray. A high rise top helps keep the humidity high until the plants/leaves have rooted.

Here is an example of a small propagating tray (Jiffy with watering mat). Most of the leaves have fallen off because I did not move these up in a timely manner.

And a few trays of potted up plants from the year before (these are in 3 inch pots)

Consider when your plants get big enough to take stem cuttings and use an aluminum tray for sticking the cuttings in. Makes for a good community pot and begonias seem to prefer shallow trays over deep pots.

Here is a tray I started last winter of Selph's Mahogany (the big dark leaves), deliciosa (palmate leaves), and Holley Moon (green kind of hidden leaves).

hello hcmcdole,i noticed in your pic that you have fluorescent tubes on the shelves over the tops of begonias.can you tell me what kind of lites they are,how long and how many on each shelf?i have the same kind of shelving unit.i really found this post informative and all your plants and everyone else's on this site are so beautiful. i want mine to look like all of yours.thanks so much for your time.

Hi woollady,

Those are just common shop lights - some of the cheapest I could find. I am close to swapping out all my T12 fixtures to T8 so I am paying for everything twice. The fixtures are two bulb 48" T8. I buy the 25 or 30 bulb packs to get the price as cheap as possible. Nothing special about the bulbs either. I hang one fixture per shelf but I did hang two fixtures per shelf for tall canes last year - there are only 4 shelves that I did this. You will find that you should rotate your plants every few weeks to get stronger light on the "dark" side. Any light beats no light.

Here is an example of a shelf with light above it.

hi hcmcdole,thank you so much for repliying.you gave me lots of good info.question: what do you do when the plants get real close to the lite fixture?also,do you have one warm lite and one cool lite in each fixture?thank you for your help!

If the leaves touch the bulbs they can burn some. You can either move it to another shelf with more height or let it be (I let them be usually). New leaves will replace damaged ones later on.

I do not use mixed bulbs. I really haven't seen the benefit of all the hype. I'm trying to get them through the winter the best I can as cheaply as I can ($2 bulbs do a fairly good job). If I was growing for showing then I might try some other gizmos but I haven't seen any evidence of superior growth using the latest gizmos.

hi hcmcdole,thanks for your response.your plants looks so big and beautiful!what is the name of he plant in the front?thanks again for your help.

The one in front is B. 'Paul Hernandez' in a four inch clay pot (it can become a giant but I will wait patiently to move it to the next size pot this spring). The big one under the light fixture is Philodendron gloriosum and the one behind it is Alocasia 'Frydek'. There is also B. 'Immense' in the same photo plus a few other oddities.

I found out after many years I do not like to take plants down from their place under lights to take photos so most of the time I take them where they sit all winter.

hi hcmcdole,thanks for giving me the names of your plants.enjoy them as they are all beautiful,thanks again for all the info on this post and pix too.

Those are really nice looking plants.