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(March/April 1999) Rhizomatous Begonias: Care
by Maria Holmes
Bringing Your New Begonia
Home...
Rhizomatous begonias are interesting
plants: Spectacular. Varied. Cantankerous and
difficult to grow. But there are a few simple
actions you can take that will insure a high
rate of survival with these beguiling
beauties.
Humidity is the Key..
Many well-meaning begonia enthusiasts kill
off their new rhizomatous begonias soon after
bringing them home. "Dam, I must have
over watered another one!" mutters the
grower. But, this is often not the case. I
think THE SHOCK of bringing one of these
rhizoids home to a new climate is simply too
much for many of them. Let me explain...
The new plant most probably came from a
place where the environment was hotter or
colder, wetter or dryer, or sunnier or darker
than your back yard. This often proves to be
too much for such delicate vegetation. But,
it's easier than you think to compensate for
this.
When I bring a new plant home, I put it in
a plastic bag or clear plastic box in a
relatively dark, protected spot for a week or
so. I mist the plant with water, or water and
Superthrive (tm) for extra humidity. Every
day, I open the container a little. I
gradually move the plants into an area with
more light. Since I've been doing this, I've
only lost two or three plants, which is
infinitely better than the mass suicide
situations I used to encounter. Remember to
keep the container out of direct sunlight
since this mini- "greenhouse" will
trap heat and quickly turn your plant to a
brown mush. The two best places I've found to
purchase plastic boxes are Pic and Save and
Target.
Even Weak Plants Can
Survive...
In case you bring a very small plant home
from somewhere, there are other measures you
can take to ensure its survival. Understanding
that infant -plants are more delicate than
older ones, you might want to keep the plant
in a darker and/or more protected spot than
the others. Keeping it in a plastic bag or box
with a little extra humidity for as long as
needed also helps.
Do not overwater the plant, because baby
rhizomatous begonias are even more sensitive
to water than their more established siblings.
One good way to determine if a plant needs
water is to pick up the pot and feel how heavy
or light it is. By doing this often, you will
soon develop a sensitivity as to when a plant
is dry and requires watering. You can, of
course, put your finger a half inch or
three-quarters of an inch into the soil. If
it's cool to the touch, there's still water
down here. With older plants in larger pots
you may want to put your finger three-quarters
of an inch down into the soil to check for
wetness. If it's dry that far down, you can go
ahead and water.
One last help for very young or
particularly sensitive plants is to seal them,
pot and all, in some sort of terrarium and put
them indoors under a fluorescent light. While
this may sound like a lot of work, it's well
worth the effort to put up a fluorescent
fixture in the garage or spare bedroom. Some
plants do not winter well, even in Southern
California's mild weather, and an indoor setup
will keep them robust through the damp, cold
winter. It's also comforting to have one's
treasured plants nearby so you can enjoy them
without having to go outside in the drizzle or
icy fog. Most nurseries and hardware stores'
garden shops have one or more books which
discuss terrariums and indoor gardening.
Soil Can Make the
Difference...
I repot all my rhizomatous begonias in my
own soil mix once I get them home. Others'
soil mixes may hold more or less water than
yours. Your own soil causes the new plant to
dry out at about the same time as your other
plants, making watering uniform.
The last safety measure for rhizomatous
begonias is to take a leaf and propagate it.
Maria Holmes is our Quick Tips Editor
(Don't forget to send her yours!). She lives
in Harbor City, CA;
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