I was even lucky enough to get a couple of Iron Cross going from leaf cutting.
I can't believe it!!
Wow, George, I am so impressed! When you say you "stuck them in potting soil" did you mean you actually buried one side in soil or laid the 2" square on top of the soil or ......? If I ever find Escargot again I want to make sure I start some babies just in case. LOL
Here is a really good site for a method similar to what I did. The one thing I remember reading (once upon a time) is the leaf does remember which way is up. If you bury the portion that would have been toward the stem, it is just like burying the stem. http://www.rhs.org.uk/Learning/publications/pubs/garden0501/cuttings.asp
Thanks. :^}
NoH20,
Just wanted to add that I have lots of rex begonias. Sometimes that look dead but they have just dormant. Keep watering when dry and in a couple of months, new leaves emerge and in a short time your plant will be beautiful again. This is not always the case, but in my case it is about 70% of the time. I have found that they also like self watering pots. I have planted some of my rex begonias in them and they never looked so good!
Kathy
Thanks for the tip about the self watering pots for the rex begonias. I'll have to try that to.
:) Donna
Kathy, what is a self-watering pot?
In the beginning of June I bought 4 different rex begonias in the houseplant dept. of Home Depot. They were in small pots and less than 3 dollars each. I figured I would put them on my porch for the summer and if they didn't survive the winter inside it would be no big deal. They are getting huge and one of them looks like Escargot but I am not sure. It's coloring is not as well defined as your pictures. It is the one on the left. What do you all think? Is it an Escargot wanna be or the real thing?
Here are the other 2 that I got. I think they are all lovely.
They are all four Escargot, and or Natulus Begonias.
You are a great keeper, and they are just beautiful.
sidney
This message was edited Jul 28, 2005 7:28 AM
Thanks, sidney. I can't take any credit for them - they love the heat and humidity outside. The challenge will be to keep them alive inside over the winter. I should probably start a lot of babies from leaf cuttings now so I will have a backstock just in case. LOL
Here are a couple of self watering pots:
Left is a ceramic pot (unglazed) that sits into a 2nd pot (fully glazed). Water is poured in through the small hole just below the lip and is drawn into the inner pot by osmosis. These can be found at Home Depot & Lowes and some garden shops.
On the right is a plastic pot, sitting on a reservoir. There is a wick leading from the water reservoir on the bottom to the soil in the pot above. You add water through a whole in the top of the reservoir. These are called Dandy Pots and are harder to find. This is the cheapest I have found for them http://theforneyfarm.com/id31.html
Both forms come in a variety of colors.
Doesn't that keep all the soil in the pot uniformly moist? Sugarweed lets hers get light and dry between waterings. Toxicodendron does not allow it to dry out between waterings.
Hmmm.....I guess I need to propagate some with leaf cuttings and experiment.
I have some seed starter kits that operate the same way. The bottom tray holds water, then there is an insert with wicking fabric and another insert that holds soil sits on that. There is a plastic dome covering for humidity. I have one kit that has large openings - 2" x 2" each. That might be a good way to start leaf cuttings and keep them going over the winter.