Tell us more about your set up. Indoors/outdoors (if outdoors where do you live)/lights if indoors/watering habits/soil type used/etc. Photos are worth a thousand words too. Here is how a pro does it - tiny cubes, good potting soil, lots of humidity (this is in Orlando) and in a greenhouse which feels like a sauna most times I am there. Never ever let your soil dry out when growing young plants whether from seed or cuttings.

I find that Jiffy pellets and their mini greenhouse is quite easy. Wedge for big leaves, whole leaf with stem for small leaves. If that all fails then get a piece of the rhizome. Make sure your leaves are healthy and freshly cut - not too young (they rot fast) or too old (may not have enough "energy in the leaf" to make new plants). Wash leaves as a precaution - warm water with anti-bacterial soap isn't a bad idea but not always necessary. Some folks use rooting hormone but I don't find that necessary either with begonias.

Well shoot the photos cannot upload at this time. Will try again maybe tomorrow.

I have a "mini green house" which is just a tray with a big clear dome top. It is sitting on my kitchen table in front of a north facing window. I put the cutting in the tray about 3 weeks ago and the soil stayed moist the entire time. Although it was only slightly moist not sopping wet.

Here are some pics

Not sure how much light they are getting with a north facing window but seems like it should be adequate.

The mini greenhouse should be fine as well. Do you see evidence of condensation on the walls/top of the dome? With a high top, you may need more humidity.

Here is an example of what I did back in the spring with cuttings (no leaves in this batch). I have moved most of my propagation to Jiffy pellets. For very large leaves I can use wedge in Jiffy pellets or use the entire leaf with a long petiole laid horizontally in a tray (lettuce container from the grocery store works well) with the petiole laid flat under half an inch to an inch of the potting mix.

And the example of the big nursery in Orlando with wedge cuttings.

Cropped into the same photo showing a little more detail (note the small cells). They do use a misting system so that they never dry out but don't stay sopping wet either.

And another view with the leaves facing 180 degrees.

One more photo of a Jiffy pellet tray I did for fun reusing the same tray and new pellets.

TLBean, the only kind of begonias I've rooted are angel wings, so I can't speak to the particular begonias you're attempting to root. But I've rooted cuttings of many different kinds of plants, and in general, the cutting needs a way to uptake water. Some plants can uptake water through a cut stem, but many cannot do it efficiently enough or long enough to root. So they need to be able to absorb moisture through their leaves; hence the need for a humid environment.

When I root plants that don't root easily in water, I put them in an aquarium. I like clear plastic drinking cups with holes poked in the bottom because I can see when rooting happens without disturbing the cutting. The soil needs to be damp but not dripping wet. I have a lid with a light over the top and gravel in the bottom of the aquarium. I put water in the bottom of the aquarium no deeper than the gravel. I also use a reptile cage heating pad (they get warm but not too hot - around 75-80 deg. which is perfect for cuttings) and place it under the aquarium for bottom heat. Obviously, the cups with the cuttings sit on top of the gravel. Since the water is just below the gravel level, the cuttings aren't sitting in water, but the water evaporates and provides the moist environment they need. I have the aquarium light on a timer for 14 hours a day and the heating pad is on all the time.

I've had great success with this set-up. It provides constant moisture and heat, which cuttings generally need for rooting, as well as light. The more light your cutting gets, the more energy it will have and the better it will root. The aquarium is a controlled environment, whereas if you enclosed your cuttings in plastic and placed them out in the sun on a warm day, they'd probably cook.

BTW, I always clean the aquarium with soap and bleach, as well as soaking the gravel in soap and bleach (rinse it of course before using) before setting up the cuttings. Cuttings are very susceptible to pathogens so everything needs to be very sanitary. And cuttings can take a month or two to root, so just when you think nothing is happening - voila! You start seeing some roots!

Good luck!

Deanna

Deanna,

Your last paragraph about cuttings taking a month or two to root depends on a lot of things. Warm, bright conditions and they can root in a week but dim, cool conditions can take months (or rot). I had one leaf of a beefsteak that I stuck in a pot of canes (years ago) during winter so everything was in the basement. While it wasn't cool, it was very dim in its location. It sat there for at least 3 to 4 months before finally pupping. That was the longest I think I've ever seen.

Good thought about the fertilizer Tiffany. I know it is discouraged for seed starting but it might be detrimental for cuttings too...

Not to change the subject but I had a new issue this past weekend. A sparrow got into the basement (I guess I had the door open too long on Friday). I could not chase it outdoors either. We went to TN on Saturday and came back on Sunday. I finally got it trapped in the small utility room (closed the interior door to keep it contained in that small room) and opened the door to the outside and kept chasing it from one corner to another until it found the exit. What I didn't know was it made a mess of a lot of my starter trays - scratching soil everywhere which included some small plants, bulbs, etc. If I had known I might've killed it (not really but I was quite ticked off from the mess).

Here is one tray showing some scattered soil. I could sweep what was on the floor but I would have to turn out lights to turn on a vacuum - GRRR!

I have not used fertilizer on my own, but im sure the soil had a bit in it.

I did recently buy 2 of the silver leafed begonias about a week ago simply becuase they were on clearance for a dollar each. Hopefully they will make it to spring and i cam pot them up together.

But i dont think i will ever be try to take cuttings again. I just dont like the plants that much. Hoyas are my current obsession.

I know a person who is a hoya-holic and spends thousands of dollars each year replacing his dead ones (too rich for my blood). I have maybe four hoyas and don't plan on anymore unless they are at Walmart, Lowes, or Home Depot.

Let me know if you need to contact this person to learn the dos and don'ts on hoya growing (like ordering from Thailand and what to expect).

If you don't want to give up on taking cuttings I'd HIGHLY recommend this:

http://harriganshydroponicsandsupply.com/shop/aeroponics-cloner-systems-accessories/the-clone-king-36-site-aeroponic-cloning-machine/

Its ts every bit as good as they claim. The only thing I've found is that in reality it will take 2-3 weeks to see good roots, not 10 days. I have had 100% success though and begonias were a big part of the cuttings I took to overwinter this year. Put it on your Christmas list ;) I'll warn you though, you may find yourself taking cuttings from public gardens and neighbours when it's this easy.

I know the hydroponic cloners were a thing a few years ago. I never tried it so I can't speak from experience. Did talk to the hoya guy who tried it and at first he was gung ho about it but then it quickly fell out of favor and put away.

I find the Jiffy pellet system very easy and very cheap in comparison but the problem either way you go is you have to move them up to bigger pots and that takes time and more space. Going from a 72 tray to 3 inch pots require 3 times the amount of space for example.