My maculata took a huge leap to the worse side. I am so upset. A few leaves dropped and the plant just looks sick. please look at the following photos. the first 2 were where it was placed, first on the bottomost tier, then moved to the one above it then back to the bottom because I wasn’t sure if it needed to be nearer ti the grow light. As mentioned in my previous comment which hc mcdole so kindly replied to, I had moved the plant from a 2” pot to a 6” pot.

The soil is moist, but not damp or wet. I took the photos under the kitchen stove light to get a better look.

Thanks in advance for your advice!

Help needed!!! I don’t want to lose my maculata!

This is a followup to the comment I made previously and after hc mcdole so kindly advised on. my polka dot plant has taken a turn for the worse. In sequence here is what I did which you can see from the photos I will attach (I will attach 2 photos per comment because tbe forum is not allowing me to submit my comment with all the photos I guess).

First and as previously mentioned, I moved the plant from a 2” pot to a 6” pot. Then placed it on the bottom tier of a plant stand under a grow light. It started to look a little sickly so I moved it to the tier above it where it started to look even worse, so I moved it back to the bottom tier. The soil was kept moist, but not wet and I even let it dry out a bit. I moved it to the kitchen to take photos under the stove light.

Would really appreciate advice to save this plant. Btw, I purchased it from the Houzz online store.

The next 3:

Soil (moist, but not damp or wet):

It looks like a lot of duplicate posts but overall the soil condition looks very good. Move it as close to the light as possible without the leaves touching it (too much heat will burn the leaves eventually) and give it lots of hours too. I give mine 12 hours a day shop lights (LED or T8). Keep the faith/patience and you should be rewarded. Remove all damage on the leaves including the entire leaf if the damage is wide spread. Mildew is the bane of big polka dot begonias.

This is 'Lana' (not a polka dot) and I cut it to the ground a year ago because it was kind of crooked. It has made a dramatic comeback. It is next to a window and has an LED overhead light on it 24 hours a day.

I apologize for the duplicate posts. i dont know how it happened. as for my polka dot plant, i believe it’s on it’s last legs. I transferred it to a smaller pot, and when I took a look at the roots they appeared to be very thin. I placed it under the stove light which is always on. Please take a look at the picture and please offer your valuable advice!

Give it time to respond. DO NOT OVER WATER! This is probably the number one reason for begonia death.

You can put a saucer under the pot and put a little water in the saucer for bottom watering and add some humidity. When the surface is dry, you can give it some water (not a lot of water).

Be patient above all else and do not keep it wet.

Anyhoo been there, done that! I thought begonias liked it wet so would continue watering when I saw wilt (in my earlier years). The roots were rotting due to being so wet.

I think it's in shock. My Gryphon Begonias went through this when I first planted them outdoors.

I took the damaged leaves off and kept them watered well not wet.

New leaves sprouted back and more hardier than the older ones.

Many houseplants do this some more drastically than others.

🤔 Also are leaf edges crispy or soft? Crispy means dry air or too hot. Soft means rot or coldness. Or it could be the water you're using some chemicals in it.