A Gardeners Forum Forums General Discussion The House Plant Forum I need your help once again.

So I found one more plant sitting on a window sill in the radiology department of my hospital. I think it looks like a Begonia species but i am not 100% sure because it's growing like a vine. I don't think you can see this on the pics but the leaves have very fine thorns giving it a fussy appearance on the bottom of the leaf and the stems almost look transparent. They have two of these plants one with red flowers one with yellow. I just took these pics yesterday.

If it is a Begonia any tips on propagation? I know Begonias are tubers and thus cuttings won't sprout roots is that correct? I heard about taking a healthy leaf and pinning it down on moist soil and cutting a few of the veins to propagate, are there any other ways?

As always thank you very much for helping me out, you guys are awesome!

Yes those are begonias. The leaf cuttings you describe are one way, but they will also sprout from a leaf half buried. And I have also rooted regular cuttings but with less success than with other plants. Like out of 10 cuttings I'd get one that 'took' and the rest rotted. With the one long branch over to the side I think ground layering may work too. Put a pot under it and have the 'branch' contact the soil. It should develop roots of its own and be able to be cut off the mother plant in a fairly short period of time.

It looks like angelwing begonia .. The shape of the leaves.
No harm in trying to root it .
We had long discussions on those, but I do think the Angel wing will root.

thanks a lot guys. i'll try the leaf cuttings first because it will be easier that way. How moist should I keep the soil? also do I need any rooting hormone (I don't have any) or will it root with out it?

If your soil is sterile and the leaf doesn't look diseased or bruised or something then it should be OK. I have rarely used rooting hormone. If you can put a baggie over the pot you put your leaf cutting in without touching the leaf itself it makes a nice greenhouse effect and keeps it evenly moist. Evenly moist is what you want and in a shady place.

i have the same red begonia ....i love the yellow though ....i just trim the long "vines" and leave them in a cup of water with a baby aspirin in it .....in full direct sunshine in fla room ...in 2 weeks they have roots ....transplant into soil and they take off bangin ......i have made probally 40-50 babies this way to give away .....i do my jade plant the same way ...i have given away probally 70-80 of its babies away ......

ohhh and how lucky or maybe unlucky i cant decide..... that you work in a hospital and i guess you get alot of left plants there .......

thanks for the advise guys, you're awesome! just one question about the bag, i've also read about when people talk about creating terrariums, my question is do I tie a knot on the bag and keep it air tight? it seems like it needs some fresh CO2 to continue the photosynthesis process? Also what does the asprin do? I guess I'll try both leave cuttings and stem cuttings and see what happens.


Also I think these plants were brought in by workers at the hospital, not patient families, just because those flowers wouldn't be potted most of the time. But yes I think it's great that I am finding all these cool plants I just started home "gardening" and am beginning to develop quit a collection. If anyone is in the NJ area and wants a cutting let me know.

thanks again.

The bag can be left on airtight for a couple of weeks or more. The is enough CO2 trapped inside for breathing. As long as it doesn't get too hot under there. Heat is a bigger problem to new plantlets than lack of air. If it is in a clay pot it will breathe through the pot as well. Allow it to breath when you mist the soil and check for moisture then re-cover until the plants really root.
Aspirin has things in it that help plants eat, but not too much like fertilizers do. You can add aspirin to cut flowers in a vase for extending their good looks.

thank you for the quick response. The cutting that I would be able to get have flowers at the tip does that matter? I would imagine it's easier to root a cutting without flowers because it's younger. Also can I root from a stem section that has a few leaves with it, meaning if I take a really long cutting and then cut that in half that way one cutting is the end piece and the other is the middle piece would the middle piece cutting root in water as well?