When I read the thread about propagating trees from leaves,
I had to
LOL. Then Alfred Falk mentioned that only certain plants
can be
propagated from leaf, and it reminded me of my Rex Begonias.

I adore them, and have tried to propagate them twice. I
researched them
on rex sites and read about a method where you slashed the
veins on the
leaf, and laid it on soil. It said to weigh it down with a
pebble. I
tried that with several leaves, in a terrarium, in indirect
light. Nada.
All the leaves shrivelled up and died. Then I read another
article, by
Martha Stewart this time, about how she and her grandma used
to
propagate dozens of rex begonias in the early spring for
planting in the
garden. So I was inspired to try again.

I took two juicy, perfect, youngish leaves, laid them on
moistened soil,
pegged with down with floral pins, slashed their roots, put
a drop of
liquid rooting compound on each cut and covered the tops of
the china
pots with stretch wrap.

Martha described another method, where you cut the leaf into
triangular
bits, each with a portion of vein, dipped it in rooting
compound and
inserted the dipped vein end into the ground. I split
another leaf three
ways and covered the pots with stretch wrap. These cuttings
died within
a few weeks.

The leaves that were pegged down, looked good, but nothing
was happening
.... and nothing happened for over 2 months. I gave up on
them when the
vegetable seed starts, and the garden beds, needed my
attention. I
shoved the plastic covered begonia pots aside to deal with
later ... and
promptly forgot about them for the entire season.

At the end of September, I decided to collect all the soil
in pots from
failed plants, and repottings, scattered hither and yon for
recycling
outside. I pulled the plastic off the first of the two
begonia leaf
attempts, and there was a dry leaf and bone dry soil. I
dumped it. I
popped the plastic off the second pot expecting to see the
same thing
.... but instead there were two little plants, close
together. I totally
freaked. They hadn't been watered in 5 months! The soil in
their pot was
very dry, but not quite as dry as the other pot, but the
little plants
looked pretty juicy. I have no idea at what point in those
5 months
they'd started to grow, or how they managed to survive
without water.
Perhaps the plastic had deteriorated enough in that time to
allow air in
and out. But still, I'm amazed that they could grow under
those
conditions.

I find Rex Begonias to be fussy plants, and prone to
'wearing out' in a
few years. They're hard to come by, so that's why I'm keen
on
propagating them. Maybe the next time I attempt propagation,
I'll prep
them, cover them in plastic, and then just ignore them for
half a year.


Flora