Over the winter, my small (in 4" pots still) cane begonias dropped leaves and so now I have bare canes with leaves up top (kind of like the petunias I ended up with at the end of last summer....sigh). What is the best way to handle these so that I can have a nice bushy plant again? I have Sinbad and another pretty sturdy one (name escapes me right now). I am concerned that if I cut them back totally, there won't be any leaves and nothing will grow. I did take a few cuttings of Sinbad, but probably made them too long too (could I just bury them deeply?). Appreciate any advice, thanks!
rejuvenating cane begonias
I just had to do a refresher on this myself...lol
Here's some helpful links to Brad's page... you have to read alot but it is very good info. If you look around his site he has tons of info on propagating/rooting you cuttings too.
http://www.bradsbegoniaworld.com/potting.htm
Good Luck.
Hi i have had (have) the same problem. for me i'm letting the plants get their feet back on the ground before starting to pinch into shape. Mature cans can be cut back kind of hard to get rid of legginess and bring back a fullness of leaves when mature. I did this to a mallet i have a lower growing cane that tends to get leggy. it's about 4-5 weeks later and that girl is really filling out, but it was a mature plant. so the long and short of my comment is:
You can pinch the top leaves off of a baby cane, but i wouldn't do it without it first showing some vigor in its growth.
definitely be careful of overwatering-- leaves falling off sounds like that might be happening.
but hey, i'm a novice begonia grower, but i'm fascinated and the ever-blooming canes are such workhorses in terms of putting out flowers.
Begonias; the Complete Guide by the Thompsons is really invaluable and such a treat to all the picss
I have a huge 'My Special Angel" that I keep under lights in my cellar for the Winter. By Spring, it looks scraggly. I tried cutting the canes back halfway, but the best results that I had were after cutting the majority of the canes. This year I cut them in early Winter, leaving 3-5 inches of cane remaining. This gave it time to re-grow before Spring, when I move the plant back outdoors to a shady location. It looks great this year, & it is ready to begin blooming. The cuttings are now fully rooted & ready to be given away.
Julie
Thanks everyone! I've got some rooted cuttings and am trying to make some more from my other overly-leggy ones. Happy summer to all!
i just bought a beautiful hardy begonia for a great price at lowes--i do not have the name but i think it is a cane--it looks like a japanese maple tree--no flowers but lots of leaves and healthy looking--it is in too small of a pot and needs to be staked but if i put it in a big pot and leave it out in part shade for the rest of the summer can i use it as a house plant in my atrium for the winter? or should i take it to the atrium now if i want it to be a house plant?
You can leave it outside in the shade - Placing it in true light is the kindest thing that you can do for a plant! Sometimes the transition is hard, but it should be fine if you do not drastically change the light conditions. You can also place it in a hanging planter, & allow the plant to trail downward. It all depends on the growth habit, but some look lovely in a hanging pot.
Julie