Cane Begonia 'U549' / 'Aya' / 'Margaritacea' Hybrid Cultivar - Part 2

INTRODUCTION:

I must say that this one is a bit sensitive in my garden, somehow I also found that the similar characteristics like "Maurice Amey" the furry / fuzzy leaves - somehow tend to rot easily when overwatered or their foliage tend to receive damage when they get watered. 

I had accidentally killed it when I had found this potted begonia knocked down by rat or a cat in the night and the content of the plant had spilled all over - I had replanted it back however this begonia never recovered from the initial shock. Eventually it had started to drop off all the leaves one by one and rotten away.

Looking at it again - it does have similar features like a Cane Begonia "Frosty" only this one appears to have broader leaf features.

PLANT CARE:

I must say that very much earlier I had such a strange phenomena where suddenly the healthy appearing begonias suddenly start rotting by the base and I was unable to identify the actual cause of it. It did took a very long time for me to put find the culprit - throughout my earlier experiences I often found that what works for another gardener seemed like it doesn't work for me and end up having the reverse effect when I see my plant suddenly dying.

I only came to realize that the culprit is actually fertilizer. 

The style of application / the method I had done had completely disarrayed them.

The Factor: Never Mix Match your Fertilizer using different brands and different types in alternative weeks time. These do not respond well in different feeding regime - hence if you find the plant is happy with one type - just stick to that one alone.

I had totally stopped using altogether for a month and just stick to the common NPK Orchid foliar fertilizer - using weak strength weekly and weakly and I had found no burns or rot occuring to any my plants.

I realized now that the big huge lesson is that if I get this part wrong - I will lose the whole plant species rotting away and another in another weeks time. Also -  the plant can appear to be doing just fine within the 2-3 weeks time and you may not notice any difference and suddenly the whole plant rotten away from the base.

At first, I had blamed the wood vinegar and slow release fertilizer (Osmocote) - only now, I realized my error - the mix and match feeding regime seemed to be the culprit. Also they don't fair well when the mix includes in between organic and non-organic types - hence I had just stuck with the NPK Orchid Fertilizer - the powdered form - using a tablespoon for a full bucket of water which I keep it standing overnight and spray over the whole garden the next day.

When I do this on weekly cycle - I find all my plants show good steady growth - however I also note that the strength is quite weak that none of the plants showing any inflorescence or flowers for the NPK Orchid Fertilizer where it was meant for blooms. My main concern was keeping the plants healthy in steady growth and it does achieve that desired purpose.

 

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

Cane Begonia 'Sinbad' - Part 2

INTRODUCTION:

I must say that this particular type of Cane Begonia just love to grow bigger leaves - somehow very similar like an elephant ear type of features - very rarely do I find a hardy one - similar behaviour like a Lucerna - hardy and forgiving. I had written another earlier post concerning the characteristics - however I would like to make some additional notes here for more information.

It had been said that this particular Cane Begonia is a hybrid - a cross between Begonia dipetala and Begonia 'U062' - However the authenticity of this information is yet to be verified. As I had mentioned earlier that there are so many different variations and perhaps even the growing conditions which may create a different appearance as where they have been cultivated - these are very much growing in the hot and wet climatic tropical zone where it may appear differently when cultivate in the temperate regions. 

PLANT CARE:

I must say that this one is quite hardy and when the plant is happy - it does grows big and well managed especially the leaves structure where the appearance can be rather large and showy.

Do note that the stem however need support hence a stick or a pole is necessary to fasten or they can rather fall and snap under their own weight. Another thing to note is not to allow these Cane Begonia to grow too tall as they can reach maturity state where the plant can slowly wither away due to old age and these Canes may not be viable for propagation and you have lost the plant 

Hence I will always say - Do take high priority to propagate them and have spares as these can suddenly die and rot away without any warning. And especially if they do start to rot - it is practically too late to safe anything when the rots set in.

PLANT FEATURE:

Here you can actually see all the detailed information of the foliage structure, pattern and coloration, due note that they can indeed change colors when exposed to more or less light. They do indeed have this snow like features like Begonia "Snow Capped" and a little pink in color with a few varieties of different begonia hybrids put together which I had explained in my earlier post.

The inflorescence however are not showy - much tiny - pendant like in pink, slightly dangling in between nodes and can be easily missed. Hence when some breeds mentioned their cascading showy flowers - I know that that variety may appear like a "Sinbad" but this one however has the flowers similar like a "Burning Bush" inflorescence - the size and feature comparison.

Another detail is intriguing me is that this is identified as an "Angel Wing" Begonia.
Seriously - years ago, you can actually categorise them in such compartmentalized detail but now, when you put a list as "Dragon Wing" / Angel Wing / Devil Wing / Bat Wing

And the actual difference is the spots - said that the Angel wings have white spots and the Dragon Wings doesn't.

However I think, the names sort of a giveway in the sense when I suspect vendors do try to come up with fancy names to re-introduce old plants with new names to attract attention of the buyers and when you actually do a side-by-side comparison, you might be surprised that it may appear to be a same plant or with extremely slight variation.

I must say after another couple of years' time. A new hybrid might be introduced with this parentage which can have profound features of colors and size with another stronger breed. Time will only tell when it is introduced in the market - Hopefully it comes with a nice unique name rather often than not it will be sold mysteriously in bulk without any ID and who knows - whatever fancy a name given by a vendor - it might just stick as a "nickname"

These however are doing very well in my garden condition and I had placed few of the cuttings - planted them around my garden and they truly give that lovely colors and add features in my green foliage garden.

 

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Cane Begonia 'Snow Capped'

INTRODUCTION:

It is intriguing to note that the ID / Name is "Capped" due to the visual display of the white coloration and the strong notes at the"tail" very similar like the Cane Begonia 'White Ice - I believe both are very much inter-related.

Again when it comes to the earlier introduction of this particular begonia in the plant market here - it was very much sold at the premium prices. It was listed as a Rare Plant Category - it way to say, it came together somewhat with the Maculata "Wightii" (boat) - if you know what I mean.

These were expensive, difficult to manage under the hot & humid climate which didn't help much especially during the transition - many didn't make it during the initial stress,  either burned or withered due to the heat and weather which somewhat crashed the need to own one due to the fact these are very much belonged to temperate region plants.

Some did manage to acclimatized but with much care and are in circulation but these do not weather to storm as to say, won't do so well like any other hardy Cane Begonia plants that you can put under rain and sun.

CHARACTERISTICS:

As I mentioned earlier with their similarities with Cane Begonia 'White Ice' are their spots - the speckles are very much uniform and well "sprayed" if you can say that 

The unique features are the broader shaped leaves with a white perimeter lining around the foliage. The shape is very similar like a Lucerna - at this point, I must say - I had almost gave up on the comparisons as their features are so interrelated and common that I just enjoy their visual display.

The beauty of this is that these spots can change in their appearance due to the brightness of the light it receives - too shaded then lesser spot and may appear to have a bigger green space in between spots.

And if exposed too much to bright direct hot sun, these leaves can easily get burned and damaged.

Also, unlike Maculata species, these do not have burgundy coloration at the back of the leaves, but a slight red veining in appearance - similar like "Mrs Hashimoto" hybrids. 

One of the other matters with the "White Ice" Collection is their sensitivity. There are few series that have been introduced here few years ago but really didn't make itself popular in the Plant Market due to the short lifespan. Reason being - these are too expensive and sensitive plants - many gardeners are not interested in investing something that doesn't last long - these are not terrarium plants either - least to say, not a small plant that you can put in a bottle.

PLANT CARE:

Due to the fact this falls into the sensitive plant category - the Plant Care is very much like behaves similar like a "Maculata Wightii" Plant Care.

Extremely slow growing plant - so if you make a small mistake of overwatering, underwatering, too much fertilizer, too much light, too less light.. you know what I mean - anything beyond it's expectation - this plant can easily dies.

The key to success is stable conditions - these types doesn't like any changes - it thrives in constant condition of balance humidity, watering, good medium that ensures well and balance drainage and balanced feeding regime that doesn't overwhelm the plant. Once a proper balance is achieved, it would take about a month for the begonia to establish a good rooting system and once that is set - you can notice a nice growth taking place.

Also do take note - that these do not do so well in long-term conditions when it comes to hot & humid tropical conditions - meaning do not wait until the plant had overgrown and show signs of fatigue and high maturity on the Canes and Stem - this will be of a very low chance for the plant to be viable for propagation - always take note to always keep spare plants when it comes to this particular one as they can suddenly succumb to rot without any warning.

Once rot sets in - it is too late to safe anything as nothing may take root as the plant is contaminated.

The other factor, like most begonias don't do so well is shock.

Shock as change of weather conditions, changes in location - as when it is thriving in a particular spot and suddenly it have be changed and relocated, change in watering and even in change of a different fertilizer - all these can be detrimental to the plant - either it may get into shock or die - or if it survives, it can remain dormant without any growth for months - until stabilized - it won't show any sign of new growth.

However all is not lost,

This particular Cane Begonia belongs to my friend and she was able to Care & Cultivate this one with utmost care. In a way to say that though the method can be tedious - it may able to grow and thrive in the hot & humid tropical lowland climate zone here in the South East Asia regions.

 

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Cane Begonia Care & Cultivation information.