Nancy what do you mean by atrophied, rotted, dried up? Try cutting it at a node above the problem area, dip in No#1 rooting hormone plant in damp potting mix in a closed plastic container and put in a sunny window, if the leaves are fairly large you can cut 1/3 to 1/2 of the leaves off.

Either dig the tuber and inspect it for rot or at least look at the top of the tuber, see if there are more growth buds coming, if there are more coming take a paring knife and nick out the spot where you removed the cutting, digging out any rot you might see and dust the top of the tuber with garden sulfur.

Then there's those darn weevils, they can do a lot of damage, I dose my begonias with beneficial nematodes one they're up and growing.

If your cutting takes keep it growing as long as possible because it won't start forming a tuber until late in the season.

Annette

I am suspicious the tuber has rot...when the stem went weak. Hope the cutting takes. You can also do leaf cuttings with begonias. Anything with begonias is a very slow process though.

:)

Thanks guys. I'll have a look in the am. Would you root the slip in water or soil? Annette, the stem is healthy and fat, but right at the corm it shriveled. OK, I could have said shriveled. lol.

Nancy.

When I do begonia cuttings I use a damp peat based potting medium.

Annette