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Begonia, Richardsiana help

Posted by hopefulauthor z5IL (My Page) on
Tue, Mar 23, 10 at 19:46

I purchased a baby, 4-5", Richardsina 8-9 yrs ago..as soon as roots filled its 2" pot 'it was shipped in,' I potted in a bonsai container. It grew like a weed, and flowered from spring well into fall yearly.
It's pruned a couple times a year, mainly to keep from growing every-which-way, given away many cuttings, 'since I prefer not to discard healthy growth.'

I don't know if I pruned too early, but after its haircut, it stopped growing, totally! Instead of new growth, leaves are dropping. It's evergreen not decidious.

Could I have killed it by pruning too early? Or is it something entirely different? It gets fertilizer and Superthrive during growing season.. Since it's on the ledge of a kitchen window, I hose foliage once or twice a week, without wetting soil. Any ideas? Thanks, Toni


Follow-Up Postings:

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RE: Begonia, Richardsiana help

Hydrate the soil. Maintain dampness. Sounds to me like you are short on water about seven days a week. Sounds to me like your plant needed all the pruned off just to catch and hold on to the minimal watering you were giving it.


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RE: Begonia, Richardsiana help

Doc, you misunderstood..lol. I meant I hosed 'foliage' once or twice a wk..I water 'soil' when it's barely dry, like I've been doing the last 8-9 yrs..Soil is watered every 3 days or so, depending on whether it's moist or dry. Plus, the pot is sitting on pebbles with a little water, but not so roots sit in water or sucked up via drainage holes..

In the meantime, the top leaves look lifeless..The main trunk is firm, so I doubt the plant is dead..new stems are growing from the side, but I normally remove side-growth, so the plant looks tree-shaped.

I'm running out of ideas..Maybe it needs fresh soil? I'm at a loss..thanks, Toni


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