Cane Begonia Collection: July - Dec 2021 Updates

INTRODUCTION:

One of the main problems I had noticed and faced are the countless times when these Cane Begonias are accidentally knocked and broken over especially by rodents and cats that comes into my garden. It was truly heart wrenching moment to find beautiful well formed and grown canes been broken in the next morning and the plant being in shock never recovered and I had lost that particular species from my collection. 

Finding a replacement is often rare as these are not easy to find in the nurseries and often they don't come cheap. A small cutting also appears to have its risk and chances of survival. However, with long-term dedication - I have managed to find some tricks of my own, again with lots of trial and errors - some begonias I had totally surrendered due to many countless failures.

CHARACTERISTICS:

Hence with all the lesson learned cultivating Cane Begonias - I had realized that the one of the most important factors concerning Cane Begonias over any other growing factors are the Location.

The Location of which where you place them is the NO:1 important detail you must consider apart from watering or lighting. The Location that is ideal place for them in your garden spot. I had found that instead of placing them on ground - they seemed to do much better on a stand or on a table setting. 

Here, I had placed them over my pond boundary top as it is very ideal for them to receive excellent humidity and indirect bright light - also the medium is not too wet, especially like the ones placed on ground for comparison - the ones on ground rarely survive long-term for some strange reason. I suspect that due to constant rain and wet ground - the water tend to seep in or keep the medium too wet causing root rot in long-term basis. 

In this condition however, it is not that damaging -  hence they seemed to fair very well.

I also noticed that Cane Begonias loves to be pot bound and prefer not replanted in a bigger pot - I had a horrible lesson learned when I had almost lost a whole collection when I repotted them to a bigger pot. The whole root-ball in all of them started to rot from the bottom. The Cane Begonias doesn't look healthy - slowly the started to shed one leaf after another and the Cane started browning and drying up at the mid-section of the Cane.

By the time, I tried to attend to rectify it - it was too late, I managed to safe few cuttings and the rest never recovered. This is one of the most challenging moments when it comes to Cane Begonias - hence it is very important to always have spares or friend/few friends who cultivate and keep the begonias for you in case yours gone into the state of emergency or kaput.

Even with all of the Care and proper Cultivation - you will still find one or two which will show some resistance and sudden death - something that I'm so used to it that I do not have high expectation over them as I know they seemed to have a temporary life span when it comes to begonias.

I also noticed that some Cane Begonias are much more hardier than some. Also there are few types that are very much sensitive and difficult to cultivate in comparison to the rest. Hence it is always important to check and figure it out what is your interest and the other factors on what you are willing to invest in creating the ideal conditions to cultivate temperate like begonias for their growing conditions.

I for one, prefer to cultivate the ones that are easy to take care and manage in the basic maintenance which require less care - if I'm going to place too much care needs for them - I would consider it is not ideal conditions for them to grow in my garden in that general idea - similar like having a temperate garden plants like tulips and pansies in the tropical hot and wet garden - these plants will rot away within a weeks time.

With all things said, I find growing the Begonias together works like magic - especially when they are clumped together and grown closely with mixed matched pots, they don't seemed to mind. And Cane Begonias do appear to be hardy and easy to care for in comparison to rhizome begonias.

These are the Collection of the Cane Begonias which I managed to Cultivate and Grow on July to December 2021.

GENERAL BEGONIA PLANT CARE:

Plant Care is very similar like most Rhizome Begonia Care & Cultivation Needs. This depends in different garden or indoor conditions - its all depending on getting the right balanced conditions.

Depending on the Begonia adaptation and its ability to handle hardy conditions - if the plant is stress it may drop all it's leaves before regeneration - hence more care is required to ensure the right balance of watering and humidity verse root and stem rot. 

Medium:

Fast Draining - 1/3 Compost at the bottom layered with coconut chips and sand in between the rhizome root-ball.

Watering
Water only when the Medium is Dry

Feeding
Foliar Fertilizer - Once a Week with 1/2 Dilution Strength. 

(Depending on what works best in your garden conditions - some gardeners use chicken/goat manure, coffee based fertilizer, organic fertilizer - test out and see on a trial basis to see what works best in your garden conditions)

Light

Place in Bright, Indirect Light - Shaded from direct hot sun areas - Ideal for Balcony Plants.

Do take note that this one truly hate too much water - the leaves may also change colors, especially turning pale green and the red and burgundy coloration faded. Do take note that if this happens - most likely the plant lifespan is numbered and the eventually leaf by leaf - they start dropping and the rhizome dried up or rotting and it is too late to safe the plant or rectify the problem.

Hence - do watch out on the overwatering part - the medium too play a big part on this, especially if it purchased with cocopeat planted with it - its more likely a dooms-day time clocking by the days for it to kaput.  It is much better to take the risk to replant it to a new medium and allow the plant to grow through shock and recover and safe the plant - keeping it long term for years to go by then seeing it fall apart when the cocopeat dried up together with the root-ball.

Begonia Common Names and Images

Do click on the Link Above ☝

Here is the link where I had put together a list of all the begonias that I had come across. 

A database of all the different types & their characteristics. 

Please click on the link on the title above for the post.