Rex Begonias are beautiful, stunning foliage plants. Here’s how I propagate them and grow in full water culture! :-) Come browse my favorite plant products in my Amazon Affiliates Store: amzn.to/48siHU3
Thank you for making this video! I was given some cuttings from a customer as a tip and I didn’t know what to do with them. Other methods looked time consuming. Yours looks easy and right up my alley.
I have a Rex begonia macarena that sprouted a leaf on top as well as rooted on the bottom from water propagation! I'd love to show you a pic of it! And I love your begonias and your specific style of growing them! It's great!
oh nice!! I have a rex and love water culture, so was looking for propagation tips - awesome! gonna take my cuttings now ehehe Thank you :)) and your plants look awesome ^^
@@paultheplantparent2702 thanks Paul, will go shop for yarns now...i tink they make a mich better medium than soil. Btw, wat, how, wen do u fertilized these begonias. My propagations are growing rapidly only from the centre of the leaves and the roots are along the entire stem. Thus i cant cut it like in ur video. do i bury the whole stem in yarn, cos the mother leaves are drying up. Thanks Paul.
I've never had any luck propagating any plant. I'm now trying Rex begonia is I have them in tupperware with leaf cuttings pressed into soil with a small hole cut in the top. I have one with just the curled-up leaf and then one with the leaf and stem stuck in the soil. For some reason my cuttings never ever work no matter what I do. Ive tried roses, violets, and now the begonia but they always just seem to turn mushy and die on me. I have no idea what I'm doing wrong 😢
I messed that up. Just got first ever begonia leaves, amber and Cleopatra, and you ha e stopped my poor brain from boiling o er. I love water propagation but could only find rhizome instructions. I now have to go back through your videos to find out what else I can plonk into water to fill my obsession.!🐝
@@paultheplantparent2702 I think water culture actually makes begonias more viable for beginner plant parents. I waited a while to get my first rex, but now I see I can go wild with them. There's lots at my big box store right now!!
@@JessicaRuiz323 I agree. I always had problems with the soil. Haven’t isolated what the problem was. Made sure I didn’t overwater but they still didn’t make it.
@@paultheplantparent2702 so do you just leave them in water? That’s why I’m here, I had a great root ball with some little leaves sprouting off, planted in soil, dead within a day. So bummed
@@thecrummycrafter5625 believe me. I’ve been there. Way too many times. I either leave them in water and keep it clean and add fertilizer or I then grow in my favorite - lava rock!!! 👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼. I prefer the lava over any other growing medium. It’s fantastic!!!
Good video for a learner like me. Thanks for sharing. What type of root fertilizer did you mix wy water and the amount please ? I have white powder rooting hormone, will that work ? Thanks again.
For propagation I do t add anything to the water. Just bright light. Once you have roots and a plantlet growing, then I use hydroponic nutrients - either aerogarden or Maxigro. They’re such pretty plants.
Oh no. I’ve been there. It saved my plants to propagate them. I only added fertilizer after I saw a new baby plant forming. Let me know how it goes!!! 😃😃😃
Hello there. I only add the fertilizer once there’s new root and plant growth. Before that I’m changing out to water to make sure it stays clean. Thanks so much for watching. 😃🙏🏼
Okay do you submerge the end of the stem and the water before they produce roots? I have one in water now. It's been a few weeks and I have not noticed any roots yet. Wasn't sure how long it takes for them to start rooting. New to the water method and the whole begonia propagation.
Hello. Depending how old the leaf is it can take from 2 weeks to a little over a month. One thing that sped it up for me was putting the leaves under lights. LED lights helped them progress. And yes, I usually submerge most of the stem in water. Just keep the actual leaf dry. 😃👍🏼
Hello and thank you for the video! I have several really fabulous Rex begonias and I've almost killed all of them so far! So I'm just trying to save them at this point... What kind of light do you have above all of these water propagation glasses? Do you have a heating pad underneath?
Hello. I can relate. Soil never worked for me. I use LED lights. Daylight bulbs or grow lights for plants both work well for me. If you want to try another method, I’ve used leca and lava rock with them and the also do well. There are options other than soil, thankfully. Let me know how it goes for you.
@@paultheplantparent2702 Thank you for responding to me. You mentioned something about fertilizer solution. Do you add any additives to the water that you're propagating these stems in?
It came with no id. But I agree. It’s really beautiful! Once in a while they pop up in big box stores like Lowe’s and Home Depot for a good price. Thanks so much for watching!!! 😃👍🏼🌱
I loved your video. If you cut the rhizome , where do you cut it and do you submerge it in water? Mine is growing out of the pot and I would like to propagate it and share it with my friends.
Thank you so much!!! 😃🌱 For the rhizome you can cut it pretty much anywhere and just place in a pot of well draining soil. Since they already have a growing tip, it’s much easier and quicker. 👍🏼
It depends on a few things. Warmth, light and the age of the leaf. At around 2 weeks you should see activity. Then it’ll take off pretty quickly. Keep me posted. 👍🏼
What fertilizer do u use? Iam new to bagonia rex so far I've had it two months now and its doing well I was nervous id kill it.. mines in soil .... thank u
Have you planted any of the new plants in soil after propagation? I’m wondering what the success rate is of them being transferred. What fertilizer do you recommend and how do you prevent mosquitoes from being attracted to the water?? Does the fertilizer make them stay away from it? So many questions lol
Hello there. I’ve started moving some to a soil medium but it’s very light and high in perlite. I add bark to the soil too. As far as mosquitoes I haven’t had any issues at all. These are all indoors so maybe that’s why. No fertilizer u til there are little plants and a lot of roots. A good fertilizer is Maxigro. 😃👍🏼🌱
@@paultheplantparent2702 awesome. Thank you so much! I have a couple cane clippings that have baby plants growing from them now, so I’m planning to pot them soon. I had never tried sticking the leaf in water to propagate until I saw you video. I have done the canes though. What I’ve done in the past with Rex leaves is cut them up and stick them in soil, keep semi moist and lots of humidity. I also did rhizomes that way. I do have roots on the rex leaves I’ve started since watching your video! I’m really glad I saw your video because sticking the leaves in water is so much easier than the soil version! I have another question. Have you ever stuck leaves from a rhizomatous begonia in water to root or have you only stuck the rhizome in water? I have a leaf from a rhizome in water now with so many roots! I’m wondering if it will actually make a new plant when I put it in soil. That would be crazy!
@@nikkisefried467 hey there. Yup. Rhizomatous begonias can all be propagated from leaves. It’s usually the cane and shrub types that need stem propagation. I e noticed some of my non-Rex rhizomatous leaves take a little longer than the Rex to root but they should grow new plants as well from leaves. So cool that you’re experimenting too!!!! Keep me posted! Begonias are awesome!! 😃🌱
@@paultheplantparent2702 yeah, I’m a begonia collector for sure. I had so many about a year ago and I was VERY successful with leaf in soil propagation. When I became pregnant however, I was so sick and couldn’t take care of all my plants and I lost all but one. I was so devastated. I have begun building my collection again but I can’t find all the varieties I had before. I’m so sad about it! I miss my begonia Manaus 😢 it was so pretty. Anyway, my baby is six months old now so I finally have time to dedicate to plants again. I’ve gotten in to some other types as well like philodendrons and alocasias, but begonias and episcias are my favorites! So will the leaf I have in water that I cut from the rhizome eventually form another rhizome??? If so, that is soooooo cool! Are you on Instagram???
@@nikkisefried467 it will definitely grow another rhizome, although it’ll just look like a stem for a while until it matures. But yes. You’ll have a whole new plant in time. 😃😃😃
Wow , I had no idea this could be done so easily with Begonias so thank you! I love water propagating but for the oxygen I always drop a round air stone into the bottom to run an air pump with and it makes all those millions of tiny tiny bubbles like in a fish tank, giving the roots and the plant plenty of oxygen in the water and it also I think it helps boost and speed up the routing process as well. You might want to try that out just a thought. 😁
It definitely makes a difference. I’ve been propagating in large groups so I’m unable to use the stone since they’re all in separate containers, but that’s a great idea to speed it up. 😃👍🏼🌱. Thank you so much for watching and your comment. 🎊🎊🎊
Hi Paul, if u can do show me how to post a pic on your comment column. Took picture of my propagation growing from the centre of the leaves. Tks. BTW, how do I plant these propagations?
Hey there. Unfortunately you can't post pictures on RU-vid, but we can chat on IG: CuttingzPlus To plant that top portion, I have a video on that... a recent video how to plant propagations that sprout at the bottom of the stem and top of the leaf surface. Let me know if you can't find it. 🙂
How high do you put the soil level for the babies that is growing at the end of the stem and also on mother leave on top? Do you cut in the middle and make it like two plants?
Hello. If you’re planting in soil, I would cover the new roots and bottom of the baby stem with soil. You can cut the leaf stem in half and plant the top portion too. I like to leave them growing in water, personally. Makes my life easier. 😃👍🏼🌱
@@vuochlengkiet1564 hello. A lot of people do that. Just keep the humidity high…sometimes water rooted plants can temporarily get set back a bit, when transferred to soil.
Depends. As long as there are new leaves you can plant them when they’re about an inch or two tall. As long as there are a nice amount of roots you can pot them up.
Buddy, your propagated plants look healthier than most peoples plants. I see in dirt and have been established for a very long time you have that fertilizer water solution down Pat if you don’t mind me asking what is it that you use and what are the ratios, my friend?
Wow. Thanks so much. For the fertilizers, I’ve used two different types - Maxigro sometimes and usually Bettergro Orchid Plus. I’m very unconventional. I make some up per the instructions, but then I only add drops of it into the water/medium….usually weekly. Some weeks I miss but these guys always seem to love water!!! I appreciate you watching!!!! 😃🌱👍🏼
I have been keeping succulents, cactus, ficus bonsai, etc, etc (plants..🙂) for over 20 years and the sane for high tech planted aquariums. So I got the basics… I’ve had an Escargot begins a bit over a year and it feels like all I’m doing is stopping it from dying. 😅
@@brandonsmith3447 I get it. That’s how I always used to feel about Calathea. Once you stumble on something that works, it’s a game changer. Let me know how things go for you with the escargot. 👍🏼😃🌱 🐌
Hey there. I’ve seen that happen when the air is not humid enough. That’s when my plants’ leaves would start getting dry around the edges. A tray under the plant with pebbles and water can help, or you can use a humidifier. I got a humidity meter to keep an eye on it as well.
Hello. You can propagate the leaves just the same as in these videos and/or pieces of the rhizome. The leaves are easier and safer though, so you don’t set the plant back too much.
Hello there. I have good tap water here low in ppm. So Ive used that a lot. But you can use filtered or spring water. Eventually a mild nutrient solution would be needed to feed but to start you can use filtered. If it’s not looking so good you can take the leaves for propagation in water or soil. I prefer water. Nice bright light definitely helps and makes a difference. Keep me posted. 👍🏼
Good evening I want to ask some question. In 100cc of water how many drops of nutrient solution, is it the same as we are using in our plants? Thank you
@@rashiime hello. 😃. What I like to do is either half or 1/4 the recommended dosage - at least to start, until your plants acclimate. Every nutrient brand is a little different so I’d definitely check what the package recommends and then cut it at least in half. 👍🏼
@@paultheplantparent2702 okay thank you. I’m just a new begonia fan. I got my Rex begonia And I’m thinking to collect more but I’m not that good in indoor plants. So I’m going to try the water solution and some hydro balls( that is what we called it here in Japan) or leca. So wish me luck. Thank you God Bless
I need help. I’ve had my begonias for about 3 months now. 2 have died. Seems after about 2 1/2 weeks they just die. I have 3 under a UV light as of now on a 13 hour timer. And i have 3 on my back porch that gets full shade but indirect light. I’m out of options and i want to keep these plants alive because they’re such a head turner. Any advice? Watering every 9ish days or when the soil about an inch down is dry
Hey there. If growing in soil, I would wait for a slight wilt before watering again. They rot so easily in soil. Have you tried any other methods of growing? (Sphagnum, Leca, etc)
@@paultheplantparent2702 i read they don’t like moss because of the amount of water it retains? Maybe i misread it. I’ll try the wilt method. I wish i could post pictures but the tips of the leaves are starting to get soggy and droopy. Almost like it’s deteriorating
@@MichaelSmith-gu3tt I’ve propagated in moss a lot, and just kinda left them in there. They seemed to do well but everyone’s conditions can be different. Hoping she turns the corner for you!!! 🙏🏼🪴
It really depends on your environment. Warmth and bright light seem to speed up the root and plantlet growth from my experience. Also the quality of the water can make a difference. I started seeing roots forming within a week for a lot of my cuttings. 👍🏼🌱
My begonias only propagated in leaf in soil one time. But in water I always get the little babies growing out of the top of the leaf that’s in water. Always.
I just started adding begonias to my collection. They start off vibrant.. then......well, you know! They are all alive, but not so happy. I've decided recently that I'm going to try water propagation and possibly transfer to leca. Soil just isn't working for me. Thanks for confirming this!
@@msphil4life I completely relate. They’re also humidity lovers. Keeping them in terrarium-like conditions, you can definitely see the difference. 👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼
Hello there. If you want to transplant to soil, I would just make sure the soil is very well-draining, lots of perlite is great. Once you have some nice roots, you can plant it in the soil and keep it damp. Bright indirect light or LED light can help it adjust as well. Keep me posted on how it goes for you. 👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼
I never did. Some people use an air stone or add hydrogen peroxide to the water. Probably wouldn’t hurt. As long as the water is clean and changed out regularly, it should be A-ok. 👌🏼 👍🏼
Hello there. 🙂 In the beginning, I change the water out more regularly if it's not looking so clean. Otherwise, I keep the original water since the rooting hormones in the water can help. Clean is the name of the game - as long as it looks clean and doesn't have an odor, you're probably good. 😀
Okay so I have a Rex begonia and I'm trying to find out if I can just keep it in water. Even after it propagates. I'm dealing with fungus gnats and it's just driving me crazy. So I'm debating on just going strictly water inside for my plants. I've tried so many different things to kill them off and they just keep coming back.
All my rex leaves started getting dry and crunchy and dying one by one until all I had was the rhizome left with a few leaves, so I split it up and left a few leaves on it and planted them individually, but then the leaves died immediately. I have one good leaf left from him sitting in a glass of water and it's been there for 2 weeks and nothing is happening 😢
@@paultheplantparent2702 yeah he had plenty of light. He was outside for a while and I think the bright direct sunlight may have been part of the problem. Then when I finally brought him in, I think it was just too late. I just didn't do enough research about the plant when I got it. Hopefully I can get some roots on the leaf that I have and the few cuttings that I have in tupperware and soil to restart him 🥹
Paul: Are you available by email or text? I would like to chat with you about what I'm doing with rex begonias and ask you a few questions regarding lighting and fertilizer. Dick
