Ack! I am at my wit's end. I have ten lovely rex begonias that I had ordered from Logees. They seem to be slowly declining, and I'm not giving them any different care than my other rexes. I have had them long enough to get over that 'adjustment period', but their beautiful leaves still crisp up on the edges. I mist once a day, and they are grouped together to help retain any humidity. sigh....I suppose my only option is to kick out all the baby plants in my table-top greenhouse and move in the rexes. If they're pouting now, I'd hate to see them this winter :•(
Do any of the garaden gurus have a solution for me (and no, I am not sending them to 'visit' any of you , so forget that idea!!!! :•)..... )
Crispy Rexes
Well, I ordered a half dozen miniature geraniums from Logees about 2 years ago and within a month they were essentially dead. I wrote them but never got a response. I think the problem (mine as well as yours) was the change of environment from the warm humid greenhouse to our dryish air conditioned and heated homes. They need to do a better job hardening off their plants prior to shipment so the customer dosen't wind up with "shell shocked" plants that quickly decline once unpacked. I don't think there is anything more you can do than what you already have, the humidity is the key. Sounds like the tabletop greenhouse is your best bet at this point. I would also check for spider mites. My geraniums arrived from Logees with aphids! If they continue to decline, I would contact them and ask for a credit or refund, I'm sure those rexes weren't cheap.
sounds like a problem i am having with my 1 rex begonia that i have...the edge of leaves getting crispy...i have had mine all summer and havent done anything different....i purchased mine from a local green house and it was doin fine until we had a really really hot spell for bout 5 days....i wonder if this why mine is looking 'crispy'?....any suggestions
When I read the title of your post I was thinking,"HHHMMM, this man clearly needs a table top Greenhouse for this problem." but I see you've already gone there! Just a quick FYI for you. Believe it or not, Wallmart (at least in my area) has there table-top greenhouses on sale right now for around $7-$9. They were $30-$47. If you decide to go this route get the more expensive one. The cheaper one, although prettier, is realy just more of a decoration then a useful greenhouse. I have 3 table-tops and my Logee's and plants-etc begonia's live in them! It seems to give them a good growing boost.
Best of begonia luck!
C~
I know this probably isn't the problem, but want to pass this along. Do NOT ever use osmocote fertilizer on them. I lost an entire collection with it, and read somewhere later that was what had done them in.
Dorstenia - There is nothing wrong with Osmocote fertilizer IF it is used properly. Any fertilizer can cause damage if it is overused and overuse is a very common problem. Overapplication of timed release fertilizer pellets is particularly bad because the pellets can not be leached out.
Will,
It was not from over-fertilization. They just gradually died away and later I found a book, one of the original Victory Garden Books for Houseplants I believe, that metioned that you shouldn't use Osmocote on Rex begonias, that it would kill them.
Of course, do what you like with them. I just wanted to warn those who are interested.
Dorstenia,
I appreciate your good intentions. It is the validity of the Victory Garden information that I question. I am unaware of anything in Osmocote that would have an adverse effect on rex begonias. And why would it affect only rexes and not other species?