| Remove lower leaves and place in moist well draining potting soil (cactus mix, or seed starting mixture). Enclose pot in a plastic bag and put in indirect subdued light for 14-21 days with room temperatures (70-75F). You can try to tuck on it once every so often. if it gives resistance, it has rooted. if it does not give resistance, and comes right out, no roots.. go again. You may get this cutting to flower this year, but the ability of the cutting to form tubers in fall depend on whether any meristem tissue (reproductive tissue) was included. Usually this tissue is found on the tuber itself, or if you take a cutting from the leaf axis, then the bud (typically a small leaf) must be included. Without this bud, or other meristem tissue, tubers wont form. Tuberous begonias are really not tubers. They are modified stems, in fact, the modified stem is the portion ABOVE the roots but BELOW the seed leaves (the hypocyl). If the cutting was taken without a bud, there will not be any meristem tissue for the tuber to form subsequently. Don't worry too much about it right now.. just be aware that even if you manage to root it, and get it to flower, survial for next year depends on how the cutting was made (e.g. if the reproductive meristem tissue was included) If you want to try root one of the sprouts from the other tubers, simply remove the soil covering the tuber by the stem and grap the stem as close to the tuber as possible with your thumb and forefinger. Rock the stem back and forth until it comes off (typically with a small portion of the roots which formed on the tuber). leave the break in the tuber uncovered for the night to callus before covering with soil again. The stem should be left for 30 minutes to callus and then planted as above. If removed from the tuber this low (at tuber level) it usually retains meristem tissue. |