A small container of tap water is all you really need. Put a cut leaf with an inch or two of the stem (petiole) in the water. Cover with a baggie to keep the germs out or change water every day or two. When roots appear you can put it in small pot with good potting mix - keep the humidity high until new babies appear and wean them from the humidity over a period of a week or more. My mentor used the small vials that prescription pills came in and kept her cuttings under a plastic high humidity dome.

Cool! How long does it take for roots to from in the water?

1 to 2 weeks depending on what plant you are doing. Do take a healthy leaf though.

Thanks for the tip! I tried this on my rex begonia just because of this explanation and it worked really well - so strange that there's nothing online about this. For some reason all I can find are sites talking about leaf cuttings. I tried it and my wedge cuttings rotted too. My cone cutting didn't (new growth happened in about 6 weeks). However, it's the water method that has been fastest and has the highest rate of success for me, comparatively. I have mine in glass vials and didn't provide any humidity (perhaps it would have rooted faster if I did) and they rooted in a little over a month. Strangely, I saw new leaves sprouting from the center of the cutting before I saw roots. Photos below if interested!

Cuttings newly taken. Leaves were trimmed down pretty dramatically. If I were to do this again I'd probably cut the stems down shorter:

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Cuttings a little over a month later:

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Shot of the roots (not a great one, sorry)

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Glad it worked for you. Any cover over the cuttings is not so much for humidity as it is to keep the germs out of the water. A small vial with the leaf blocking entryway into the water is probably why it worked for you. If using a larger vessel (glass for instance) then plastic wrap or "tin" foil would also serve to block germs from polluting the water. I've had a couple cuttings in a cup of water inside a tall "cookie" jar for months without any problems. The babies just don't grow in this growing environment but they also did not rot.

Thanks! Question - when do you typically pot them in soil? I'm wondering because they don't look like they have really strong roots yet, despite all the new leaf growth. So strange to me. Any tips for how to pot them in soil? Ie. depth, transitioning etc?

Really appreciate your help!

Any time you feel like it. I would suggest plenty of humidity when you do this and keep the soil moist but not overly wet so that the roots will try to fill the pot or area it is planted in. Some folks say "water" roots aren't worth the investment but I disagree as my mentor does most of her begonia propagation this way and she has the "magical" touch.

Cover the roots with a porous mix, keep it humid to begin with, and wean as the plant becomes more vigorous. I.E., treat it as a baby plant.

Thanks! Good advice. I agree with your mentor - I've never had issues getting anything rooted in water to take to soil yet. Would you say to just bury the bottom couple inches of stem or should it be buried up to its shoulders? I know some plants grow roots from only the cut end and others grow roots from pretty much anything you bury. Really appreciate your advice!

If the stem is firm enough to support the weight of the leaf then you could let the leaf stick up a little. You could also stick it all the way in. I think the cut has healed so germs shouldn't be a problem. Rexes often get plantlets from the rooted area but can also pop up on top of the leaf

excellent discussion. Once rooted, how long b4 you can plant seedling inground?

I have not had success with any of mine and now my silver plant is dying!

UGHHHHH

tlbean was that comment directed at me or general for everybody? It seems I lose a lot of water rooted seedlings once they go inground. I'm wondering if I'm planting them too soon

Just a general comment. I wish i was at least having some success.

I dont think i will be growing Begonias again sadly.

Practice makes perfect. I cannot tell you how many failures I had when I started but I kept trying again and again until I got pretty good at it. My point is if you really want to do something you have to keep trying until you learn from your mistakes. It's like learning to ride a bike or type on a keyboard.

One of the easiest methods I've found is the Jiffy pellets mini greenhouse. Having problems posting pics using my tablet after breaking my laptop last night.

So I moved some photos from network drive to tablet to post

Some are my new fav - Jiffy pellets. Others include perlite, coir, seed mix, and water. I've used sand and even pea gravel but just for fun.

Awesome photos. They're doing so well! Some of these almost look like leaf wedge cuttings though? Or are all of them stem cuttings that were rooted in water and transferred to Jiffy peat?

Another question for hc mcdole. Something strange is going on with one of my cuttings. The leaf died, but the cut end is still growing roots like crazy... And now small green things that definitely look like leaves are growing out of the cut end... UNDER WATER. I am so confused. On all the other cuttings, new growth sprouted from the petiole. Tried to get photos from a few different angles to show you. I'm not really sure what to do with it. Cut the original dead leaf off and bury the roots, leaves and all, in some soil? It seems odd to bury leaves but you can see from the way it's growing that I don't think its possible to bury the roots without burying the leaves. Or should I wait till a rhizome forms under water before touching it? Has this ever happened to you?

All are leaf cuttings. Unless it is a cane.

Wedge in Jiffy. Mix of wedge and whole leaf in coir. Whole leaf in perlite.

My major point is to experiment. My mentor does water rooting primarily while I find Jiffy pellets almost fool proof. Don't quit, try something new or alter something in your methods or your plant material, i.e. an easier more robust begonia. Once you start having success then you can try harder fussier begonias.

Kelli,

Looks like leaflets coming on. I wouldn't bury the end but possibly raise the end closer to the surface of the water (or lower the water level) or wiggle it into a potting mix like an iris rhizome. They are so small that any additional stress may kill it.

PS leaflets can grow in water but will not be as robust as ones growing out of water.

You are full of good advice. I think I may macgyver a plastic cover with hole to hold the stem up higher so the leaves are closer to the surface of the water. Hopefully the leaves will get taller than the roots so I can plant it later. Thank you so so much for your help. You are a begonia master!