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Angel Wing Begonia

I received a part of this great looking plant that was transferred to my home with a root growing hormone in some soil. Once transplanted, it has grown well except that some leaves, about 1 every 2 weeks, falls off. I didn't know what it was till just now when I posted the pictures on the EE forum lol. I was way off. Was hoping someone here could be so kind to tell me what this gorgeous plant needs for soil type, water frequency, ect.

Comments (23)

  • 9 years ago

    Glad you found it !!!!

    Akerman Flooring, LLC (NH)zn5 thanked christine 5b
  • 9 years ago

    This is a cane type begonia, more than likely "Corallina de Lucerna", most folks shorten it to Lucerna. Fast draining potting mix will work well. Do not over water this one to the point of sopping wet soil. Best to water and let it dry out some (not bone dry) before watering again. Bright light. Leaves falling off is probably lack of light. Can take a few hours of sun but acclimate it if you do. Watch for mildew in winter months and spray fungicide to keep it in check.

    An oldie (over 100 years old) that is a great pass-along plant.

    Akerman Flooring, LLC (NH)zn5 thanked hc mcdole
  • PRO
    9 years ago

    I repotted my begonia in a much better well draining medium that I'm very happy with 2 days ago. the last 2 leaves that had just opened have fallen off. I moved to a sunner location but am still concerned if this plant will make it?

  • 9 years ago

    If it were me, I would cut back one of the stalks with no leaves, it will re-grow, I've done it to mine, I'm going to send Tiffany over here, she knows alot about begonia.

    Akerman Flooring, LLC (NH)zn5 thanked christine 5b
  • 9 years ago

    I would cut the longest cane if you decide to do that. At least it looks woody enough to start a new plant with this cane. The green younger stem may die if you cut it.

    Here is a Nokomis I have last July (12th).

    I cut it to the ground in Dec, 2016 or early Jan of this year and here is the results late Jan

    Mid April it looked like this

    I've given a few people the tops that I rooted in drinking cups.

    Here is an example of a different cane in a drinking cup (cut about the same time as the Nokomis)

    I hesitated a long time cutting this unknown cane for the longest time since it seems fussy to grow but I finally took the plunge.

    after cutting I topped the soil with some fresh potting mix.

    The tops

    cutting again into smaller lengths

    and finally into four cups



    Akerman Flooring, LLC (NH)zn5 thanked hc mcdole
  • 9 years ago

    Wow that's a lot of plants HC! I really like that little coppery colored one in the top photo of your previous post, does it stay that small or are they small cuttings that haven't reached maturity yet and what's its name?

    Akerman Flooring, LLC (NH)zn5 thanked Andrea ME z5b
  • 9 years ago

    Yes, that copper colored begonia is a small leaf begonia. That is 'Vivaldi'.


    This is how it looked last year when I bought it at the nursery. So the leaves were bigger but the plant size is about the same. Growing in a greenhouse will typically yield much better results.


    Akerman Flooring, LLC (NH)zn5 thanked hc mcdole
  • 9 years ago

    It's gorgeous, I'll keep my eye out for one!

    Akerman Flooring, LLC (NH)zn5 thanked Andrea ME z5b
  • 9 years ago

    hc, in your 7-16 post above what is the name of the begonia in the last very bottom photo? Love it.

  • 9 years ago

    Kyle, that is Sinbad. It is another mallet and a tad easier than others to keep through winter. Mildew is the bane of mallets.


    A one gallon pot used to be $5 locally (probably grown in Florida though). It will fill an 18 inch pot in one summer. Very robust grower. This was one I did in 2007

    here is one I did in 2015 (same plant that was in my earlier post that I cut back hard, repotted to a gallon pot for winter) The tree philodendron is growing on the other side and a leaf is intruding into Sinbad. The big dark begonia below is Selph's Mahogany and is in a single 8 inch pot. It just wrapped around the bigger pot of Sinbad. The impatiens are volunteers as well as the wild "ageratum"

    Blooms are okay too and I forgot that I had Medora in the same pot - looks like it got swallowed up by Sinbad.


    A spare one I had in a small pot or a lasagna pan

    Almost dusk Sept 28, 2015 it still had enough presence to make a statement

  • 9 years ago

    Spectacular! Thanks for the ID and bonus pics.

  • 9 years ago

    Forgot to add: I also have impatiens volunteers everywhere. Might as well be considered perennials. If the mildew going around doesn't get 'em. It hits mine every other year. This happens to be an off year, thankfully.

    Hope I'm not hijacking. Apologies.

  • 9 years ago

    We used to buy flats of impatiens every year and one year I just happened to take note of all the little seedlings coming up in one of our beds by the hundreds. We had been cutting those down year after year but this year I decided to let them go to see what they were - they were impatiens. After that discovery we never bought another impatiens except for New Guinea impatiens (wished they would seed willy-nilly like the common bedding ones).

    A few years back a grower said that the bedding impatiens would soon go extinct due to a mildew that attacked this type of impatiens and there was no cure or strong enough preventative. Growers were moving on to some other plants to replace the popular impatiens.

    Four different N.G. impatiens this year. Full sun but do not let them dry out - they will wilt terribly.

  • 9 years ago

    I like NGs also. Though I didn't grow any this year. Last year I tried crossing them with some bedders. No luck. A fool's errand?

    The mildew here on impatiens is horrible. In those years it hits. This year no sign of it. Last year it wiped them all out. So evidently the seeds last in the ground for two years. And they are spreading to places they weren't before. I LOVE them.

  • 9 years ago

    I don't remember ever seeing seed pods on any of my NG imps. Wonder why?

    Good luck on the mildew. I hope they find a cure for it so the bedding imps make a huge comeback in the nursery trade.

  • 9 years ago

    Me either. I will try to find out why. Maybe the NGs are sterile?

    Do you ever get the imp. mildew? What state are you in again?

  • 9 years ago

    I haven't seen it here but the experts say when you get it, don't plant bedding impatiens again. I'm in the Atlanta area.

  • 9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I worked in greenhouses in Maine for many years and we never had any problem with mildew on impatiens but when I moved to NC, I was told that it was recommended that retailers hold off on selling bedding imps for a few years to let the fungus die down. It may be the case that in colder climes the fungus may be killed off over winter but persist in the warmer areas.

  • 9 years ago

    Andrea, perhaps? The way I heard it is when it strikes wherever, it is there to stay, like forever. This was coming from the owner of Peace Tree Farm in PA. and he was just passing along the message he heard from all the big growers and why they were abandoning bedding impatiens.

  • 9 years ago

    This is the only bedder I bought this year. Wanted a pure red.

    Overwintering a couple I have in pots. No trace of mildew this year.

  • 9 years ago

    Nice red there, Kyle! Have you ever tried balsam - touch-me-not, another form of impatiens? Instead of branching they have a single stem (if I remember right) with blooms whorled around the main stem. When you touch the seedpod they pop spreading their seeds everywhere.


    We used to buy several flats each spring. We finally settled on a salmon color one year and kept that up for a few until I just let the seedlings grow. First year was mainly salmon with an orange, a red, maybe a pink and a white. As the years went by, the next crop would have less and less salmon and even got some purple going. Genetics anyway.

    Akerman Flooring, LLC (NH)zn5 thanked hc mcdole
  • 9 years ago

    My grandmother had balsams. Never have cared for them.

    Akerman Flooring, LLC (NH)zn5 thanked Kyle
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