Mid-Atlantic Gardening: September Blooms, 1 by Gitagal

Gitagal wrote:
doc--

These Begonias will root if you even sneeze at them! In water OR in soil!

EVERY year--for about 25+ years--I have been cutting back my Angel-Wing Begonias EVERY Spring, as they lose most of their leaves in the house during the Winter--leaving only these long, cane-like stems with leaves at the top.
That is ALL you really, ever need to propagate this plant. Keep the Mama cut back. Take the tip cuttings. Discard (or root) the in-between stems. Yes! They will root! -And so it goes--on and on and on....

The cuttings get rooted and make amazing new plants to share. They root easily in just soil.
The Mama plant gets re-potted (every 2 years or so) keeping all the viable/good roots and tossing the old/used up ones.
The tip-cuttings get rooted in water (or directly in soil) to carry on.....They will become good-sized plants in just ONE season. Keep them in semi shade or morning sun.

The re-potted Mama plant I have is now almost 3' tall again. It always sits on my N.facing front steps.
I do not have a picture--but will be glad to take one tomorrow. It grows, magnificently, each year, but does not bloom al that much, as only the top/tip growths of the plant will bloom freely.
SO! The tip-cuttings, once rooted, will bloom before the Mama (original plant the cuttings were taken from) will.

It all depends on the weather--the exposure---and the timing.....

Doc--I am confident you can make ANYTHING bloom sooner than anyone else!

Gita

This is a picture from Oct. 2008 of the Mama Begonia and how it can re-grow from a total cut-back in the Spring as I put it outside. It is an amazingly long-lived plant--IF you keep cutting it back--rooting the "babies" to carry on and keeping it inside for the winter. It can, almost, go semi-dormant......Water it sparingly and put up with most of the leaves dropping off--unless you have a Sun Room. Then--I would imagine--it can keep on going......