Hello,

Below, I have attached a before picture and some afters.

I bought a begonia plant from a store. It had some brown leaves. I picked them off. I asked the plant person what he thought. He said, he just didn't pick off the leaves and that it was fine.

Brought it home. Looked great. Kept it away from window, since it said it did not like direct light. It was in a bright room, maybe five feet away from window as a center piece.

Now the plant has fallen from it's height. There seem to be two main stems or plants. One branch of one stem is mushy and about to break off. All the branches are slowly coming off one stem. Is this normal?

The leaves have brown spots. And some are entirely brown leaves.

Next, there is a baby stem growing that looks healthy at the base of the plant???

Is this diseased or dying or is this normal for a begonia? I have it indoors and because it has rosettes, I would really like to keep this begonia in the long-term. I wanted to see if I could keep it for a few years. I live in M.A. and it is about to get cold here, but, again, the plant is indoors.

Do these begonias just die in zone 6, even indoors? Can I keep a begonia in the long-term?

Should I pick the plant to it's bare bones and keep the small baby stem with tiny leaf and see what happens?

By the way, some stems are breaking off naturally. The green branches seems to be saturated and bloated.

Thanks, I just really love these rosettes. They really make my day, because they are so pretty. I heard begonias could be kept for many years, but I don't know if that information is valid.

What do you think?













Update, one stem has a white fungus looking thing on it. I think I'll throw it out. Thanks anyway.

Love those little rose-like blooms!! It looks like one of the fussy ones that usually die very fast at most people's houses.
Rieger Begonia (Begonia x hiemalis)

I have the same story in my past with this kind of Begonia. I can't tell you how to keep it alive, but treating it like so many other Begonias killed it. I have many other kinds of Begonias that are easy care plants. I can't speak about keeping any of them inside all year, but when outside in the shade for summer, and inside for winter, most of them are pretty easy going. I wouldn't equate your experience with this kind of Begonia with all Begonias.

A discussion about houseplant Begonias in houseplant forum:
The thread "Show your Begonias" in Houseplants forum

How are you watering it?

I grow this type, and Non-Stops.
For me, I grow all my Begonias in a airy soil mix. Your soil looks very dense, and wet.
It has taken me some tinkering to really figure begonias out... 2 to 3 years...
I'm surprised how little water these plants like / need.

I have 2 examples...
Last year was the first time I decided to grow some Rieger Begonia.
I had it growing in a 14" coconut lined hanging basket outside. I decided to try to overwinter this plant inside. I would keep it in an unheated garage, temps in the low 50's, under a grow light.
I took some cuttings to keep inside the house in case the garage was too cold and it died. I also took cuttings of New guinea impatiens I had growing to try inside the house as well to place back outside come spring.
I had rooted all the cutting and placed them in small pots, 3", inside the house. I originally had around 12 New guinea impatiens cuttings and 5 Rieger Begonia cuttings.
We went on vacation for a week over Thanksgiving. When we returned, the soil was getting very dry in all the pots inside the house. I lost over half the New guinea impatiens, the Rieger Begonia looked great.
I also had another time or 2 that I left the soil dry out a little too much... for the New guinea impatiens and lost a few more plants. Begonias...tough as nails didn't lose a 1.
Lesson learned, for 1 use larger pots next year for the cuttings. The soil wont dry as fast and the plants will most likely be larger and better condition come spring time to replant. New guinea impatiens like more water then begonias.
Oh and the begonia in the 14" planter, even with occasionally letting the soil become bone dry in the garage, doing very well outside now.


I have 10" pots with Non-Stop begonias on the north side of the house. I started out giving them some water every 1 to 2 weeks. Over time the plants started to not flower as much and not look so good by summertime.
Following year, same plants watered every 2 to 3 weeks. Plants eventually started to not look as good over time, but maybe closer to fall.
Last year, I'm easily over 4 weeks between watering these plants and they look great till they get hit with a freeze or two. Then it's time to bring them inside the house and pull the tubers till next year.

Steve, what kind of Begonias are you referring to by "non stop?"

Non-Stop tuberous begonias are very commonly sold in my area.

From the web:
Non-stop begonias are a seeded double-flowered type of tuberous begonia (Begonia x tuberhybrida). This means that they are started from seed, grow and flower in just one season. They will develop a tuber that can be lifted in fall and overwintered indoors.

https://www.melindamyers.com/a....

Very cool! Thank you very much for the interesting link. I'm glad I don't see those for sale around here. They are so pretty, I'd have to try again but I think the heat here is too much for that kind of Begonia.

"Tuberous begonias will suffer at any temperature consistently above 86 degrees, whether indoors or out. They thrive on good circulation. Don't overcrowd, as spacing is crucial to prevent stagnant air. Avoiding stagnant air helps reduce fungal diseases of botrytis and powdery mildew. Consider shelter from wind and rain with a shade house, greenhouse or lathe house."
https://www.begonias.org/growi...

It's way above 86° every day here for months.