Propagating Begonia Rex

Have you ever wondered if it’s possible to try propagating you Begonia rex (painted-leaf begonia)? Well, if you have a lush and healthy plant that can spare a leaf or two, try these two interesting ways where the veins of a single leaf can soon result in new rooted plantlets.

For propagating begonia rex you need

• A clean seedling tray
• A disinfected cutting tool like a sharp penknife or craft knife
• A soilless rooting medium of palm peat and vermiculite or perlite
• A clear plastic bag
• Some paper clips

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1. Make your soilless medium by mixing palm peat (which has been saturated with water in a bucket) with an equal amount of vermiculite or perlite. Then fill up the tray with this medium, which should be moist.
2. Remove a young healthy leaf and trim off the leaf stem.

TIP: You can also cut a few squares about the size of a postage stamp from a healthy leaf. Each square should include a strong piece of vein.

3. With the underside facing you, use your knife to make incisions across the strongest veins of the leaf. They need to be at least 1cm apart.
4. Press the leaf (or squares) onto the rooting medium, cut side down.
5. Secure it with paper clips bent to resemble hair pins.
6. Place the tray in a clear plastic bag in a light place, but out of direct sunlight. Inflate the bag so that it does not touch the leaves, punch a few small holes in it and seal it.
7. As soon as clumps of plantlets develop from the cut veins, carefully lift and separate them, retaining a little of the medium around the roots of each one. Pot them up into small pots filled with potting soil.