What size pot is it in? I would move it down to a very small pot if the plant is extremely small (say an 8 oz cup).

Put drainage holes in the cup if that is what you elect to use. Knock off or hose off most or all of the old soil (if it is old soil) and add fresh premium soil or a mix of premium soil and perlite to the new pot and place begonia at the same level it came out of.

Water well and drain the pot (tip the pot several times to drain most of the water), put a clear cover on (if you used a cup, then a larger cup ~ 16 oz works well as a lid) if you grow it indoors or place it outside in a filtered semi-shady area until it starts getting cold with or without a lid. This should help rejuvenate it.

The other method is to stick it in a terrarium under lights. If there is a lot of condensation, vent the vessel for a day. If it appears dry, water sparingly. Watch for fungus and remove promptly. It should perk up in no time.

Here are a couple of begonias I kept going in winter by using lettuce containers as an example. They looked pretty poor before I moved them into these temporary winter homes. Again put in drainage holes.

{{gwi:437450}}

Thanks so much for the information. The pot is 6" and the plant is quite small, so I'll repot. Just a few more quick questions -

1. Can I use vermiculite in place of perlite (as I already have a bag of vermiculite)?
2. What percentage of perlite/vermiculite should I mix in with the soil?

Thanks again.

You can use vermiculite although I've heard it will compact eventually whereas perlite won't. I quit using vermiculite over 20 years ago but I hear it is good for starting seed and small plants.

The percentage of perlite to soil varies. What you want is a fast draining soil - one that won't stay soggy. If you have a soil that stays wet for several days after watering then you either have too large a pot for the plant or have a poor soil structure (too much peat?).

Perlite or something similar that helps drain away excess water will greatly help your plant. That being said, you can go from 100% perlite (great for cuttings) to 10% or so. I've seen some people use a lot of perlite (about 50%) to provide lots of aeration and at one time I did too. This year I have potted up hundreds of pots (new and old plants) with just premium potting mix and have been very pleased with the results so far (winter may be another matter). A lot of quality soil-less mixes already have some perlite added.

Clay pots will also help wick away excess water but will require more attention since they can dry out a lot quicker than plastic pots.

{{gwi:437451}}

{{gwi:437453}}

{{gwi:437455}}

{{gwi:437457}}

{{gwi:437459}}

{{gwi:437461}}

Thanks so much for the assistance - if I bring it around, I'll definitely post some pictures. All of your plants look spectacular, and thanks as well for sharing those pictures. Third pic down, bottom - are those China Curl? If I can get this one plant back to looking half as good as any of yours, I'll be very happy.

I believe it is China Curl (or Super Curl). I think they are actually the same thing.