Hi all:

This guy took a while to get going for me. It put out new leaves here and there, in spring and summer but It was winter before it started the nice prolific growth, but I fear I should have pruned it first. Any thoughts?








If you click on the pics they get bigger and are better pics than I thought. Such a dark day here.
I really would like to see blooms but am a little worried It needs a harder prune. Please advise. I am just at a loss to know what to do.

Thank you for the help guys.

Laurie B

It looks gorgeous! I don't know that anything needs to be done unless it's outgrowing the space available.

Wow, Laurie, she is gorgeous! I wouldn't have the heart to prune her I admit!

Beautiful Anglwing Begonia, Laurie! Has it flowered for you?

I would definitely prune it back as much as you can stand. You will get lots of healthy new growth just below the pruning cut on any stem that you prune, so there is no reason to fear pruning. I see some of the new top growth is starting to get relatively elongated and spindly because of the reduced indoor light. That is why pruning now is a good time to do it.

Not only does pruning keep the plant full and compact, it is also a way to keep it from outgrowing its space. I don't know if that is a problem for you, but bigger is not always better. When I get a plant to the point that it really looks gorgeous, I prune and pinch to keep it that way rather than letting it get ever bigger. But that is a matter or personal taste.

The various responses show that different people have different goals for various plants. Pruning Begonias is wonderful if one wants a smaller plant &/or more Begonias. Without knowing your goal for this plant, it's hard to advise how to get there.

Whatever you decide, please keep us updated.

I knew there would be a variety of preferences, hence my dragging my feet. I want all of the above. And I agree with all of you.

Will: I agree, she is looking due for some cuts to keep her good shape.

I was given this plant as a couple of cuttings. Every time the friend I got her from came by, she would see the cuttings alive, but not thriving. In its first year, we argued about where she would sit, what she ate, if she showed too much leg, etc. She has been a difficult child So now that she is happy, yes I would like flowers, but if pruning makes her healthier, I will prune.

Considerations keeping me confused:

1. Does this bloom primarily in late winter? Does seasonal expectations apply to this house plant?
2. Will pruning it now prevent blooming this year. (2018)?
3. Is there a bad time to root cuttings for this plant?
4. How hard would I want to prune her?

I will be pruning it sooner or later, and will have freebies. I would not mail this particular cutting while it's so cold, but the upside of that is you will get rooted plants.

Thank you, this a lot of questions. I appreciate the help.

Laurie B

It has been quite a long time since I last grew Angelwings. My recollection is that there are a number of factors that may affect flowering. Those include keeping it potbound, lots of sunlight, regular fertilizing with high phosphorous fertilizer and shorter days and drier soil in the fall. That said, I would not make a fetish out of any of these because it will probably flower whenever it is ready.

Allegedly, it tends to bloom in late winter or early spring, but I'm not sure that is true for potted hybrids.

I'm not sure if pruning will discourage blooms this year. Certainly, it will if you have reason to believe it is on the verge of flowering.

Cuttings will root at any time of year.

How much you prune is really an aesthetic question that depends on how you want it to look.

One option is to just prune back some of the tallest stems and leave the others alone. More substantial pruning can be done in the spring or any other time.

I have one sort of like this (Corallina or similar) also another big cane begonia with more jagged, more silvery leaves (Sophie Cecile?). I have never put big effort into getting bloom but seems like they bloomed spring or summer and really not while inside for winter. I tend to prune the tallest stems to control overall size that way.

Thank you @sallyg. I do believe this is a Corallina. Sounds like the care this plant will be getting too.

Thank you Will. I think the light pruning will be the choice I go with. This time of year growing is slow, and the plant has outgrown fitting in my best light locations. I don't want to look at a plant that looks like it got a haircut at the nervous hospital all winter long. Thank you for the tips.

lauriebasler said:Thank you Will. I think the light pruning will be the choice I go with. This time of year growing is slow, and the plant has outgrown fitting in my best light locations. I don't want to look at a plant that looks like it got a haircut at the nervous hospital all winter long. Thank you for the tips.

Laurie, that was so funny! I could just picture this.

Be not afraid! That is a gorgeous Angelwing! Would't you love to have more? I have passed along babies and grand babies of the mother Anglewing here. I trim 2x year to keep it bushy. My Angelwing are outdoors in the summer and come indoors in the winter. It blooms all the time. I feed it bloom food a lot. It's a hungry bugger! And since I trimmed in the fall, it is as wide as it is tall. No worries here, it will grow tall. I stick the babies next to the momma plant and it just keeps getting fuller and fuller and FULLER. Otherwise, it just gets taller. Here is a pic of new growth coming from a recent trim.

Here's an example of previous trims. It grew after the first trim, then I cut it again and now see the new growth again. You can't stop it! Next fall I'll probably be trimming it. Or sooner.

Pictures to come tomorrow. It looks um,,,, different. One cut lead to another and another and I may have butchered it.

I have done that before - to plants... and my hair! ;)

What's the Begonia doing now?

It needs pruning again. I will post before and afters again. I think I am going to really take it down short this time. Cutting root so much better from this plant in spring/summer so I won't be afraid of losing it. Have you cut yours back to 6 inch stalks or shorter before Tif?

LOL! That's awesome! And yes, I'm constantly trimming Begonias, often to the soil line if I want a bigger cutting. The most fun part to me is when the cut stems take root & send up a bigger new stem. Woody stems don't seem to take root as reliably for me, but most of them do.

have you guys seen this? (probably) Brad's Begonia propagation, where the underground nodes will send up new stems.
http://www.begonias.org/greenh...
I hadn't known that so, just in case you would like to see this...