Hi planty people!! Sooooo, after seeing so many spring plant hauls from everyone on here, I finally broke down and had to scratch my plant itch lol. I got myself a begonia (Don miller) Iāve been eyeing for a long time. But now, I wanted to see if any of you begonia lovers have any suggestions or advice for how to care for it (potting mix, type of pot, lighting, etc) I am thinking it isnāt as drought hardy as pothos so I donāt want to give it dry rot. š¬
What, no pictures?? š
2 Likes
I concur
1 Like Haha sorrrryyyy
1 Like Attached some now!
1 Like Appreciate it! Thank you lol
1 Like I donāt have a begonia, I would probably kill it lol. I know they need high humidity and water with rich soil. If I had one, Iād get her a personal humidifier lol
1 Like lol thatās good advice! Try and give the royal treatment
1 Like I love begonias so much! Maybe Iāll dabble in a tiny one and see how I doš
1 Like I know! Theyāre so beautiful, I hope I can learn them to keep them thriving lol. Ooo good idea!
1 Like I love how this comment section became Begonia 101 lol
1 Like Haha me too, I need it!
1 Like
Yes more begonias!! Mine are in a mix with normal indoor potting soil some fine orchid bark and perlite. I feed mine almost every time I water (but very dilute) Try to bottom water whenever possible. Dont let them dry out! Iāve found it really helpful get a feel for how heavy they are when freshly watered. If theyāre feeling very light I tend to water. Cane begonias like humidity but do much better at ambient humidity than Rex (imo).
1 Like Thank you Kades! Love the advice, Iāll definitely try all of that. Do you think terracotta pots would be okay for bottom watering? Ahhh I see, that makes sense about the humidity
0 Likes I personally wouldnt use terracotta for a begonia just bc itās gonna wick some of the moisture from the soil and youāll have to water more. maybe you can use the terracotta as a catch pot?
1 Like So I have a question! Since they donāt like the soil drying out, would a self-watering pot be beneficial?
0 Likes Ahhh that makes sense, donāt need to be watering every other day now lol. Good idea! That coupled with a nursery pot sounds ideal. Another question sorry lol, but do they like being root bound in your experience?
0 Likes They definitely can tolerate being root bound. Iāve seen some people on Reddit say they donāt repot unless theyāre having to water more than they would like. I havenāt repotted any of mine but I have only had them for ~6 months
1 Like
Lol were you on the new Wed Palmstreet too!!
1 Like lol I wish! I saw your palmstreet post and was like I need to get me a plant now, I couldnāt take it anymore
1 Like It was brutal! A few i paid like 3x normal $ but they are so nice! They had a few of the miller's, they're so pretty
1 Like Oh dang, thatās crazy, almost like a live eBay auction lol. Can see how itād get competitive, especially with that beauty of a scindapsus you scored! Oh yeah I love the way the leaves are so vibrant on the miller
1 Like It really is. Gods forbid it's one of the places that do snipe bidding. The auction only runs for a set time, like 30 secs. So whoever bids last wins. Usually if a new bid is added 10 more secs get put on the timer.
1 Like Yikes! Youāre brave! I couldnāt deal with that, my indecisiveness and anxiety would come out and Iād throw out some astronomical number at the end, then instant regret lol
1 Like Since its a Cane hybrid, it will be more low humidity tolerant. But they all do better with some kind of humidity. If in cabinet i kind of put them under a larger plant, so the light isn't full on. I use my normal chunky mix for them with a small amount of chopped or blitzed moss mixed in.
1 Like Oh thatās good, Rex begonias seem so finicky. Ah okay that makes sense, especially since theyāre kind of ground cover shrubs, low to medium light. Cool! I might have to get a little more moss then for this one. So excited! lol
1 Like Rex are such A-holes š I still loves them. I only have 1 cane so far, and it's the living room, I've tried to unalive it several times now. But I shifted it to the window behind a UV film and it seems to be doing great now. I'm scared to move it or repot it lol
1 Like Hahaha, I bet, the slightest drop of deep tropical environment and they off themselves. Oh wow, seems like theyāre resilient little things at least, lol right, just leave it be, should put it in a pot that says ādo not disturb, or elseā lol
1 Like "Touch me & I will DROP these leaves!!"
1 Like šperfect
1 Like