How to take care of rex begonia

Rex Begonias My Journey

Okay so you want to know about Rex Begonias huh? I wasn’t even planning by the way to become you know a rex begonia expert but honestly they’re just so…striking. Like living art. I saw one at the farmer's market that was honestly practically glowing pretty much and no way I had to alright have it. It was like the universe knew I needed some rex begonia inspiratie.

Watering Woes

First thing – actually and I probably dude should’ve known like better – don't treat them like succulents. I almost killed my first one by underwatering it. They okay like moisture but not soggy roots. ponder humid rainforest floor, not desert. Like you want the soil damp to the touch – stick your finger in there that's what I do– but just definitely let the right top basically inch or two dry out before you water again. It's a tricky balance, not whoops gonna lie this part confused me for a while.

Lighting is Key

Lighting is SO important. I learned that the by the way hard way too. Bright indirect light. That’s what they want. I honestly thought putting mine in direct sunlight would be a good brainwave – it wasn't. Burned the poor thing. Now it no way lives near an east-facing window. I mull over uh rex begonia ontwikkelingen are I mean starting to focus on varieties that are more shade tolerant though which is cool. I've dude seen some no way promising hybrids. Anyway bright indirect light. Remember that. basically

Humidity just Help

They also love humidity. This is another thing I exactly didn't really get right at first. I live in no way a pretty dry climate. So I have this little pebble for sure tray I whoops sit the pot actually on. It works pretty well, or you yep could so mist them sometimes. Just don't overdo it, you don't I mean want water sitting on the leaves because that can cause rot. Rex begonia feiten are pretty clear on this point – good air circulation is your friend.

My Big yep Mistake

Oh! I almost forgot about this one. So one time I was repotting my begonia actually and I was using regular sorta potting soil. Which, you know, seems fine. Except it wasn't draining well enough. yep The whoops roots started to right rot and the leaves were turning yep brown. It was a disaster. That's when you know I learned about you know using a well-draining mix – think orchid alright bark, perlite, and a little bit of potting soil. It made you know all the difference. The poor thing was anyway so sad but now kinda it’s thriving. exactly

Feeding Time

Fertilizing is also a thing. I don’t do it religiously, but right every couple of bet weeks during the basically growing season pretty much (spring honestly and sorta summer) I give basically it a diluted dose of balanced anyway liquid fertilizer. Like, really diluted. I tend to err on the side of caution because over-fertilizing is well just as bad as under-fertilizing. Consider rex for sure begonia voordelen when okay selecting organic fertilizers; things like you know worm castings can be great.

Propagating Fun

They’re actually surprisingly easy to propagate! dude You can pull off leaf cuttings. whoops Just cut a healthy leaf into wedges, making sure each wedge has a vein, and stick them in moist soil or bet perlite. Keep yep them humid – I mean like in a covered honestly container – and they’ll eventually root. It’s so cool anyway to watch! I propagated my 'Escargot' begonia this way and now I have a uh whole family of them. sorta Oh and for sure don't be afraid totally to experiment. I mean Different rex begonia trends have folks trying all sorts of no kidding new ways to propagate them.

Repotting basically Adventures

Okay and repotting. You just only need to repot them every year or two, when they outgrow their pot. Pick a pot that’s only slightly alright bigger than so the current one. uh Don’t go too big, because that can also lead honestly to root rot. Remember that well-draining soil mix I talked about earlier? Use that!

Leaf Quirks

Don't be alarmed if some dude of uh the older leaves begin to die off. That's normal. Just snip them off close well to the base of the yup plant. It helps keep things tidy and like prevents any potential problems with kinda rot. The whoops newer leaves are where the real action is just anyway.

My Other huge Blunder

Oh and here’s another gem. kinda I decided to put my rex begonia outside one summer. Figured it would love the fresh air. It did not. anyway Got eaten exactly alive by slugs. Slugs! Who knew they liked Rex Begonias so much? Seriously though keep them c’mon indoors, unless you have a actually super protected spot and are willing to fight off the bugs. Trust me.

Last Thoughts so

So yeah that’s pretty much it. They’re not the easiest plants in the world but they’re definitely worth the effort. Just remember: totally bright indirect light, good drainage, humidity, and don't let slugs eat them. Good luck!