Tropicals & Tender Perennials: "Sinbad", "Lady Brown" and "Emerald Glow", 1 by hcmcdole

hcmcdole wrote:
No secrets. I haven't had Emerald Glow so can't offer any advice on it. Mildew is the biggest problem among mallet begonias (Sinbad, Pink Minx, Benigo, Lynda Dawn, Maurice Amey, Don Miller, and others) come cool weather. Lynda Dawn died before fall even came two years ago due to mildew.

Milstop doesn't kill mildew spores entirely but it does keep it in check with weekly or every two weeks. I've noticed it on other cane begonias too such as Lucerna and Lois Burks. All large polka dot cane begonias seem susceptible too. Spray the stems as well as the leaves. Remove any leaf that shows mildew so it won't have a breeding ground. If I had brighter lights for uncut canes I feel confident that the mildew problem would be a lot less. Next year I will probably cut all my canes low so they can all go under lights instead of standing on the floor next to shelves with lights.

It all depends on where you keep it for winter. In a warm house with bright light you are probably good but a cool place like a basement is a friend to mildew. My SInbad seems to be healtlhy but almost devoid of leaves since I removed every one of them early on so the new ones are small and few but the canes are plump and healthy.

Here is Sinbad in mid October (two weeks before bringing indoors). Not a happy plant.
I had Lady Brown two years ago and it was quite a performer in summer but lost it in winter. I probably didn't water it enough to keep it going. It did not seem to be affected by mildew like Sinbad.