can anyone tell me if I need to take tip cuttings only to propagate begonias? I have several I took cuttings farther down the stem and rooted them but they are only growing a single stem straight up, no side laterals are emerging and if I pinch them the plant dies off. any help would be appreciated.
What kind of Begonia? Are you able to add a pic of your cutting? Some are much more predisposed to making multiple branches than others.
it is a dragon wing begonia. I have multiple single stem plants. the tip keeps growing a flower keeps forming but no side buds are forming. they look like trees.
When I pinch them back the whole plant eventually dies. I think it must be where the cutting is taken in order for it to produce auxiliary bud growth?
There is also a flower forming at every leaf as the tip grows. they look great if you have a big bed full of them.
Carolyn I can't help with this, but if you do figu re it out, will you let us know? I presume you have observed the growth on the mother plant to see how far back side stems emerge?
By pinching the tip, I meant literally the newest leaf that is yet unrolled. Ah adjustment so minor that it would be unnoticeable. Good question, Cayuga. Some Begonias are much more predisposed to branching than others. I have some cane-types that almost always do it, per individual, and others that I don't think ever have.
It can take some time. I stuck most of these stems in the ground in April, early May. Some have progressed more quickly than others. The bigger the piece, the more quick and dramatic the results, generally.
Mine still have not changed since I asked about them. still single long stems growing in the flowerbed. very pretty but no branching at all. I was even just looking at them yesterday to see if there was any change. nope. not a bit. but yours looks exactly as mine do... a single straight stem with no lateral shoots to make it fuller or shrubby looking. leaf node, flower node, leaf node, flower node the whole way up the stem. not leaf node, lateral node, flower node. it is skipping the lateral node growth.
Carolyn,, try taking a cutting farther down the stem and cutting the top off. Root them in water with a bit of rooting hormone rather than soil then plant in soil after roots are formed. That will make it produce side shoots rather than a continuation of the original growth. Or you can just root in soil and when active growth begins take scissors and cut the top about six to eight inches above the soil at a joint. I would remove all the leaves if using the first method so growth will be the same. can leave two sets of lower leaves with second method.
Oh I forgot about that part of the question. Removing the tip will force new tips to form, possibly more than 1, depending on the ambient conditions and size of the stem. Just removing the newest leaf that is forming, and the tip of the stem to which it connects is all that is needed, something only "you" would notice, the part in the purple circle, upper left corner. Now would be a perfect time to do this to the pictured vigorous new branch that is just starting to grow. I have put various pics of branched Begonias here over the past few yrs: http://www.gardenstew.com/plantstew/192305
Begonias we lay them flat on compost to create new one. We snip a couple of leaves and make sure the leaf is in contact with the compost. K
What is going on with the Begonias out there? I have so many more of these by now. This gal is definitely the tallest of its' type, B. coccinea. In a 5-gallon bucket with other plants & the bloom is @ eye level. At the bottom = wax Begonias.