after being "away" from my begonia growing, and losing many plants, I'm now returning to the hobby, and slavaging the plants which somehow survived.

Anyhow, I have a B. scapigera which has remarkably been living in the baggie it arrived in over a year ago, propped against another plant's pot with natural light, and with only occasional attention when I've noticed it looked awfully dry. Its not thriving, but has survived - what a tough plant! I'd like to give it some TLC, and see what it can really do. But I am finding very little information about it on the web. Images were all of dried collection specimens, no information about current culture of this plant. By its lineage, I've gathered that it's African, probably a yellow-flowered, and I assume it would need a terrarium.

Questions:

How large does it get? (i.e. - should I put it in a 5" bowl, or a 10" bowl?)

How much light? Would it prefer the end of the light stand, under the 2-lamp fixture, or smack dab under the middle of the brighter 3-lamp fixture?

Does it like a little lime in the substrate, and how much organic matter?

How chunky should the substrate be? Very loose cut up pieces of sphagnum, or finer, perhaps mixed w/ some finer soil-less mix?

Thanks for any information you can give me!
-Jane

Welcome back. I think this plant likes more light than less but you will find what works and what doesn't and I have had good luck with it outdoors open to our humid air and indoors under a humidity dome of some type.

Here is my deceased first scapigera that I neglected two years ago when I moved most of my begonias outdoors thinking a cover would keep it moist for weeks (most of the time that works but not in this case). I now have a new one in a big aquarium which is doing okay but probably needs repotting.

And here is the stock plant in an 8 inch hanging pot at a nursery in Orlando I visited earlier this month. You can draw your own conclusions on how big they get and what growing conditions you might need. The nursery uses Fafard potting mix (#2 I think).

What a nicely branched rhizome, though. And that is neat to see how it holds the orange flowers under the foliage. Thanks for such great photos!

So I guess I'll try it in the larger bubble bowl, and eventually keep it in check with some pruning (being terribly optimistic and assuming I'm able to keep it going long enough to GET big, LOL!).

I'd love to try it in an open pot during the summers here - that's really neat to see it in the big hanger. Which nursery is it - I see all sorts of begonias in hanging baskets in the background. Hmmm, time to call those cousins of mine in Orlando...... *wink*.

Thanks VERY much for all the great information - its always interesting to see what others have done.

Happy Growing!
-Jane