Cheap Rex Begonias

[bgexotics]

Walmart in my area has huge rex begonias for $3.99 and less. I bought 6. Each one split into 3-6 good sized plants for the terrariums.

[Grassypeak]

The only problem with them is that they grow to be very large plants. They’re great if you don’t mind pruning every few weeks though. I have one that has 7” leaves and I’ve seen individual plants that were two feet tall and a foot and a half wide. I believe they grow significantly larger than that though.

[KeroKero]

Rexes can get small bush sized :shock: Beware with Begonias - there are some AWESOME miny rexes, and mini/micro begonias in general, but they are usually expensive plants from specialty begonia places. I'm planning on growing out my rare/uncommon peperomias and philodrons to sell so I can fund my mini/micro begonia habit :shock: I wrote down a list of begonias I wanted just from TWO PLACES that specialized in begonias, and it was well over $150 :shock:

[Grassypeak]

Corey, I’ve got a micro vining Begonia from Ecuador. It looks a lot like the little one you have in your gallery. It’s really difficult to make cuttings from this thing. I have never succeeded in bleaching it and getting it to root. It always melts away a few days later. Out of three cuttings that I received from Chuck N. in Hawaii only one grew. It has on occasion filled its little glass jar and on occasion died way back. Have you noticed anything similar with the little one in your gallery?

[bgexotics]

I have never had a problem with one getting too large in my vivariums. I usually use them in my larger tanks, but even in teh small ones they have stayed compact for me. The frogs seem to enjoy the large leaves and they provide good cover.

[KeroKero]

Are you sure its from Ecuador? The begonia in my gallery is from Chuck, and is Begonia sp. from Lita, Peru - unless you've had plants sent to you after he offered this Begonia (when I got it about two years ago) its probibly the same plant (I just came across it again recently and it was an unknown plant - I seem to be one of the few that remembered the Lita, Peru part). I never had it flower, it was sensitive to low humidity, and seemed sensitive in general - it probibly can't handle bleaching, even dilutely.

I successfully propagated it by taking cuttings about 2 inches long (multiple nodes) with at least one large full sized leaf on it. These cuttings were already rooted on long fiber sphagnum, I simply took out the moss that the cutting was rooted to, moved it to another container with sphagnum, and replaced the removed sphagnum in the original container with fresh. It took a while for these new "plants" to get establish, then they would take off like no other. I only successfully propagated it in air tight containers - clear containers like we use for shipping frogs, but without holes. They would also do well in any highly humid tank, but can get out competed by other plants, such as faster growing peperomia vines so be careful about mixing them with other vining epiphytes! Also, larger Dendrobatids would squish them, tho I think it would do ok with Thumbs.

My plants eventually died back... and never returned. I believe lower humidity was the culprit rather than a dormat period, as I left the containers alone and they haven't come back (they died off about 6 months ago).

I've seen, and had some rexes take over tanks - mostly 10s but they also took over a 29 gallon and were eventually removed. Before they were removed tho, they were a favorite spot for the cobalts to breed on lol, and I imagine the horizontal leaves might be favored by tricolor, and I plan to use the same variety in a 60 gallon I'm getting at IAD and setting up for tricolor Now I just need 10 or so Santa Isabel to fill it

[slaytonp]

I haven't done this in years, but about half a century ago, I used to propagate Rex begonias by placing the leaves flat on a mixture of sterilized sharp sand and milled brown sphagnum moss. (Not the dark brown "peat" moss.) Then I would slice through the main veins on each leaf in a few places, cover the flat with clear glass, and tiny plants would start up wherever the leaf vein was cut. The light brown sphagnum (New Zealand) would prevent damping-off or rotting. It has an antibiotic quality of some sort that discourages fungal and bacterial rot, and is great for difficult seedlings, such as some of the rare cacti and succulents such as Frailias and Lithops.

[Grassypeak]

Thanks for the ideas Corey and Patty. I may try to start this little Ecuadorian begonia on sphagnum this time. I think I’ll try two bleached cuttings and two non-bleached cuttings. Since this plant originally came from a frogger I’d really like to get some cuttings through the bleaching process alive.

[slaytonp]

Chris--I know this is skewing this thread somewhat, but are you bleaching in an attempt to "santize" a cutting that has been exposed to other frogs? Practically speaking, you could do as good a job of sanitizing with less damage to the plant by simply washing it off it relatively warm water and soap, then rinsing it--simply physically removing possible pathogens in this manner. (Maybe I misunderstand the purpose of bleaching, so may be off base here.)

[Grassypeak]

Patty,

Out of consideration for bgexotics, I’ve started a new thread on my difficulties with the little begonia. Please see http://www.dendroboard.com/phpBB2/vi...690&highlight= .


Sorry for the hijack bgexotics. Now back to Rexes. Here is a picture of the only one that I have experience with. There are many cultivars. It may be that you have dealt with less aggressive cultivars than the one pictured. These plants were given to me as 5 cuttings (each with about 4 leaves) at the end of last summer. I keep lopping the tops off of the plants and sticking them into the soil. Not all have taken but there must be more than 15 plants in this pot now. If I keep these guys wet enough they can grow 3” in a month or so. This is why I suggested that they are great if you don’t mind pruning. I’m in the process of setting up a 55 for a possible pair of E. trivitattus. I’ve been told that they like to have a canopy over their heads so I may include a Rex in that tank.