Quick Care Tips: Iron Cross Begonia (video)

This video is basically an Introduction to a Begonia species named:
Iron Cross Begonia.
I find the most difficult to cultivate and grow.

I had killed it many times in my trials and error and so I would like to share my experience based on what I did wrong.

Here - I show how I cultivate and maintain them: My Tips for the Day:

1) When purchasing the Iron Cross Begonia -
Look out the foliage which is the least damaged.
When it is very light green - it means that it is exposed to too much sunlight and the center dark area will appear to shrink and fade.

2) After purchasing the plant - place is a shaded area where it only get indirect but mild light - check and see for the new leaf formation on their coloration. It is on the dark green with the dark pigmentation appearing strong - Then it is in an ideal condition for it to grow.

3) Place the Potted Plant in a position where it is not exposed to open rain -
as in a control position where you can water them once a week and also no water gets to the leaves or the leaves will end up having burned marks at the edges.

4) Over watering can cause this plant to have root rot. I have placed it on a double pot so as not to allow the water to seep in from below.

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Begonia for Beginners: Martin Mystery Begonia (video)

This video is basically an Introduction to a Begonia species named:
Martin Mystery Begonia

I find the most hardies and easy to cultivate and grow. 

And thus I would recommend this as the Best Begonia for Beginners
to try their hands on with before trying out with other types as most of them are actually very sensitive and unforgiving. 

Here - I show how I cultivate and maintain them:

My Tips for the Day: 

1) Place the Potted Plant in a position where it is not exposed to open rain - as in a control position where you can water them 2-3 days once based on your garden condition.

2) Over watering can cause this plant to have root rot - however if the medium is porous and fast draining - then daily watering is recommended. - Of course, it is more on the fact of trial basis to identify the condition of the garden - on humidity and how much water the potted plant can take.

Thank you for visiting, do click like & subscribe and love to hear your comments or questions concerning this begonia topic.

Cane Begonia - 'Orange Rubra'

Photo credit: Zaba Matali

Identifying this one is truly a challenge as I was not even able to get any clues and reference for this particular one - As such, I'm just labelling it to what I think the closest it can be from it's family order group.

The closest I manage to find was the genes category known as Coccinea Begonia. However this one is labelled as "Orange Rubra" in the plant market and so I'm just adopting this ID for this identification purpose.

Identifying this one is truly a challenge as I was not even able to get any clues and reference for this particular one - As such, I'm just labelling it to what I think the closest it can be from it's family order group.

CHARACTERISTICS:

This one is a spotted Cane Begonia but more subtle with speckles with fading dots when exposed to bright sunlight - the dots are more visible when placed in more shaded environment .

The Leaves appears to Fully Green in Full Sun and the plus point is that these will start blooming in that condition - the Key Identification of this particular Cane Begonia is this one has orange inflorescent. 

1) Spotted White Cane Begonia - disappears when in Full Sun - Leaves in Flushed Plain Green

2) Cane Begonia Flower Colors: Salmon - to Orange Tones

My first experience with propagation this one was a small cutting which almost died and I had revived it slowly over the months. Eventually the plant stabilized - however it is not so glorious as what I thought it would appear to be. The pictures below are the journey I had from a small cutting to a fairly decent plant growth.

Sept 2019

It took awhile almost forever for this one to slowly grow from this bare stem cutting into a nice full formation. The trick is lightly plant it at the medium surface - I often plant it deep into the soil medium which I normally do for most of my plant cuttings.

However, this one doesn't favor planting deep into the medium causing it too rot and the whole stem fall apart in rot. Due to this fact of sensitive root system - I dare not do anything until the plant had established itself with good roots and strong growth.

Even disturbing it now, may cause it to go dormant and may die back. Therefore - I just maintain it until it had grown much bigger filling up and become too big for that pot.

This is how the original Cane Begonia looks like - but because it is planted in direct hot sun - the coloration on the foliage has no spots and the leaves are very much yellow in color. The flowers are actually in light pink. I will have to patiently wait and see how is the outcome of this particular Cane Begonia fairing. Only time will tell.

After sometime, Almost a year for now - this particular one is fairly stable. 

I notice some similar characteristics - it does from slight fade speckles appearance similar like a Maculata breed. However when fully exposed to bright light the foliage appear to be light green and those speckles disappear.

Also it has pink-orangey flowers - which is far from a maculata species.

Another thing I realized is that this particular one have glossy shiny leaves - somehow it appears to be hardy and able to withstand open direct sun - ideal to place in the open bright area. I had noticed some gardeners plant them in the open area without much thought of placing this one in shade.
Surprisingly the plant able to stand the abuse - I guess it can be a hardy plant.

When place this begonia in fairly shaded area - the foliage appear to be a bit darker and the speckles more prominent but I doubt it would have any chance of flowering in this particular condition.

Just like any of the Cane Begonia types - these are also a slow growing plant.

Recently I had found this same particular type of begonia sold in a nursery with affordable price and I just purchased one for spare plant - knowing how fussy these begonias are especially they can die suddenly.

I believe it have stable roots and therefore the plant is very stable and well formed.

Care & Cultivation:
MEDIUM:

Just like most Cane Begonia species - this one is grown on a medium:
50% coco chip mixed with sand & potting mix. I found this medium used for propagation by the nursery owner - I had slightly added the same medium type and re-pot it in a bigger pot.
So far - the plant doubled it's size.

FEEDING:

I started using 3-4 pieces of Osmocote as fertilizer - 2 week once.
Alternatively I spray root hormone (Seaweed solution) also used another rooting hormone (Vitamin B1) a solution for stronger root growth as these are prone for root rot.

WATERING:

Slightly spray water once a day in the morning and refrain watering rainy days.
I do water twice a day on a dry and hot days - it's depending on the weather.

Apart from this variation.
Other matters are very much similar with the general information about Cane Begonias.

Do click below for more information on Cane Begonias.
Cane Begonia Care & Cultivation information.

Begonia Maculata 'Tamaya’ (Updated 2021)

I had recently found this in the nursery that I often visit. Identified as Begonia Maculata 'Tamaya'. It's actually not a true name as 'Tamaya' is actually referred as a style where the bamboo like cane begonia been groomed as such like an umbrella feather where the plant is just a cane and rising up forming many shoots coming forth from top crown - like a topiary style.

This growing condition style is called "Standard Form" as such identified as 'Tamaya'.

And such - You can actually groom the 'Tamaya' style to any Cane Begonias that have that bamboo like features - especially the Albo picta species, Lucerna species and the ones that appears to be hardy.

However, I had faced challenges when identifying this particular species and somehow here locally this is currently identified as 'Tamaya'. 

Until I truly identified the real identification of this particular species/hybrid - I'm just identifying this as a common Begonia Maculata 'Tamaya' for now.

Characteristics:

The foliage appeared to slight waves at the leaf edges and the spots also having an compressed feature on the foliage surface.  Another noteworthy characteristic is that there are red veins appearing at the back of the foliage.

A friend had passed me two cuttings of this one in exchange with my begonia collection. It took awhile for it to grow - however it is quite stable and appearing hardy. Eventually it grew at a steady pace and manage to put out 2 leaves almost like every proceeding month.

Unlike Begonia Maculata species where the spots are irregular in size and it's uniformly spaced out. These do not have such spots - rather it has more like speckles than spots - and these 'dots' don't appear bigger when the leaf grows larger in size.

I have yet to see the blooms yet to truly identify the type of this breed. 

If in any case - if the flowers turn out to be in white - there are high chances that this is from a "Maculata" hybrid, otherwise if it is more on pink then most likely its from the Albo picta parentage.

I have to observe and see how this one goes. As such maintain and growing this one is currently the first priority for now.

One of the slight variation that I had recently found is the leaf edges have jagged features.

In comparison with the Begonia Maculata 'Tamaya’ (above) with Begonia Maculata Albo Picta (below)

Do note the foliage leaf structure difference.

Care & Cultivation:

MEDIUM:

Just like most Cane Begonia species - this one is grown on a medium:
50% coco chip mixed with sand & potting mix. I found this medium used for propagation by the nursery owner - I had slightly added the same medium type and re-pot it in a bigger pot.
So far - the plant doubled it's size.

FEEDING:

I started using 3-4 pieces of Osmocote as fertilizer - 2 week once.
Alternatively I spray root hormone (Seaweed solution) also used another rooting hormone (Vitamin B1) a solution for stronger root growth as these are prone for root rot.

WATERING:

Slightly spray water once a day in the morning and refrain watering rainy days.
I do water twice a day on a dry and hot days - it's depending on the weather.

 Apart from this variation.

Other matters are very much similar with the general information about Cane Begonias.
Do click below for more information on Cane Begonias.
Cane Begonia Care & Cultivation information.

Cane Begonia Maculata Hybrid 1 - Mother Plant (Haji Nursery Origin)

This is the same plant which I have - I just wanted to showcase the mother plant which this nursery have and I would like to have a record of this big mature plant and how it looks like.

For the sake of identification which is virtually impossible to identify, I'm just going to calling a hybrid from the nursery which I had purchased from (Haji Nursery) and therefore it is easier for me to talk about the origins with my gardening friends when it comes to exchange some cuttings and as for some facts where identification is easier when it comes for discussion concerning their variation colorations and features.

Sometimes having a small plant-let may take years to mature to this size and identifying them in keeping a record of the mother plant helps for easier identification in comparison to a small little plant.

This plant however is not for sale. It is used as a mother plant for propagation purpose.

I have manage to purchase a small plant-let for a reasonable price from this nursery. I must say - it is however a sensitive plant and not recommending it for new beginners.

The branches appear to be fragile just as I had suspected. And I also noticed it is a maculata hybrid due to the white flowers in bloom. If you able to identify this breed - do let me know in the comment below.

Notice the flowers - it is in white, just like a characteristics of a maculata hybrids.

These are the underside of the foliage - the appearance are much lighter in soft notes.

 Apart from this variation.

Other matters are very much similar with the general information about Cane Begonias.

Do click below for more information on Cane Begonias.

Cane Begonia Care & Cultivation information.

Cane Begonia Maculata Hybrid 1 (Haji Nursery Origin)

I had found this particular Cane Begonia Hybrid sold in an exclusive nursery that specialize on rare plants. And so like most plants sold for an affordable price - I manage to get this small plant-let for half of the market price which is quite risky too in case if this plant succumbs to stress and dies.

Upon arrival - I had a huge mistake of not securing the plant properly and I had accidentally crushed a leaf. You can see the damage done and it took few months for it to eventually recover and put on a new leaf.

Upon inspection, I had found the nursery had propagated this using only coconut chips with sphagnum moss and perlite. Eventually when the plant grew I had used the same medium in slightly a bigger pot.

For the sake of identification which is virtually impossible to identify, I'm just going to calling a hybrid from the nursery which I had purchased from (Haji Nursery) and therefore it is easier for me to talk about the origins with my gardening friends when it comes to exchange some cuttings and as for some facts where identification is easier when it comes for discussion concerning their variation colorations and features.

Eventually the plant stabilized and started growing. It was a slow growth but nevertheless it was growing. 

Some characteristics:

It has slightly broad leaf with no white tip.

Also it has slight red veins on the back of the leaf with green back.

Unlike maculata wightii - this one don't have burgundy back.

It is a terrible slow growing plant - almost like a single leaf for a month, and just as that - an old falls away. This plant maintains like 4-6 leaves throughout.

I must come out with a strategy to make this plant grow big and healthy. The last time I had over fertilized it and almost killed it when I saw the burns on the tips of the leaves. Another lesson learned.

These are the pictures of this particular Cane Begonia Maculata Hybrid - the collection of the pictures over the months period.

The back foliage has more of a molten red faded tones and the spots seemed to be invisible in the pigmentation on the reverse side. I understand not much study and research is done concerning their botanic difference and variation and therefore - I have to keep these in note for personal observation.

 I must say this plant is quite sensitive as I almost killed it by overuse of fertilizer and over-watering.

It was difficult at first to restraint myself from watering the garden out of habit on daily basis. Now - I just lightly mist my garden 2 to 3 days once, depending on the situation whether if it rains that day.

Care & Cultivation:
MEDIUM:

Just like most Cane Begonia species - this one is grown on a medium:
50% coco chip mixed with sand & potting mix. I found this medium used for propagation by the nursery owner - I had slightly added the same medium type and re-pot it in a bigger pot.
So far - the plant doubled it's size.

FEEDING:

I started using 3-4 pieces of Osmocote as fertilizer - 2 week once.
Alternatively I spray root hormone (Seaweed solution) also used another rooting hormone (Vitamin B1) a solution for stronger root growth as these are prone for root rot.

WATERING:

Slightly spray water once a day in the morning and refrain watering rainy days.
I do water twice a day on a dry and hot days - it's depending on the weather.

Apparently they do better as watering once a week - again depending on the type of medium and the condition they are in. If they are located in a cool and bright shaded area with good humidity - this plant fairs well.

Apart from this variation.

Other matters are very much similar with the general information about Cane Begonias.

Do click below for more information on Cane Begonias.

Cane Begonia Care & Cultivation information.