| Immediately Upon Arrival of your Rex Begonia Liners
- Water
- Plant liners at the same level or 1/8th inch below the soil.
- Provide DEEP SHADE and WARMTH for 2 weeks.
Failure to do these things, may kill your plants.
Rex Begonia roots are delicate, brown in color, with tan tips. Use care when transplanting.
Ideal Planting Conditions for Rex Begonias
For the first two weeks, you must provide a mild warm environment (65-75F nights), much like those of a humid fern house. Light levels must be low, e.g. 900 ft candles, so low that you cannot see a shadow under your hand as you pass it over a bench top. High humidity, e.g. 70%, is ideal during establishment. Use care not to wet the leaves, however, as that encourages Botrytis and bacterial disease development. After the roots are well established in your potting mix, you may move the plants to a drier brighter production house for finishing alongside with perennials, for example.
If you plant Rex Begonia plugs too high, salts will accumulate in the plug and will burn the roots. This happens because the plugs act as 'water wicks' when planted too high, drawing water out of the soil, and concentrating the salts as the water evaporates from the plugs. At the other extreme, planting the plugs too low will rot the rhizome. Plant the plugs at the same level as the potting soil, or ideally 1/8th below.
Ideal Growing Conditions for Rex Begonias
For finished plants in 4" or 6" pots:
- Moisture: Even, never dry.
- Fertilizer: 150-180 ppm N constant feed.
- Salinity: Never exceed an EC of 2.4. An EC of 1.5 is ideal.
- Light: 1200 to 1500 foot candles.
- Night Temperatures: 65F+ Nights.
- Day Temperatures: 70-95F. If daytime temperatures exceed 80F, reduce light to 1500 ft candles.
- Insect Pests: None.
- Diseases: Botrytis, foliage leaf spot, Xanthamonas Bacterial Leaf Spot. Apply a preventative spray of any metallic fungicide every two weeks to avoid these problems.
Finishing Times for Rex Begonias
Pot Size |
Plugs (50 cell) |
Weeks to finish |
4 |
1 |
8 |
5 1/2 |
1 |
12 |
6 |
1 |
16 |
6 |
2 |
12 |
8 |
3 |
12 |
Questions, Comments.
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