Cane Begonia 'Torch' / Begonia 'Castaway'

 

These are the picture taken from a nursery where I wanted to show how the flowers will look like when it's in bloom. It has a deep red color for it's inflorescence. 

CHARACTERISTICS:

Cane Begonia 'Torch' is also known as Begonia 'Castaway'  and notably this particular one do not have any spots, speckles or visible dots on the foliage surface. The uniqueness of this Torch Begonia is that this one have a thick emerald (dark burgundy) foliage with red lacquered underside. 

It does have beautiful red clustered flowers but rarely blooms if the condition is not favorable, often requires a good bright light for it to induce blooming.

There is also a pink colored flowers variety which is known as "Torch Pink" but I had not come across them. I find that they tend to go dormant and fall apart after a while and thus may require to constant pruning and propagating to keep the plant from totally disappearing.

photo credit: Izan Yunus

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.

DIFFERENT TYPES OF CANE BEGONIAS

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.