A few months ago I bought two nice Rex type begonias. They did OK through the summer, but seemed to dry out very quickly. We were away for 10 days in November and I forgot to ask the house-sitter to water them. When I returned they were wilted and had some crispy leaves. I watered them and the smaller-leafed one has mostly revived. The large-leafed one which I think is Begonia 'Escargot' looks terrible. Its leaves are mostly shriveled, though the stems are still firm and juicy and a few leaves still have green centers. Can it be revived? Do rex begonias have a tuber like 'Nonstop' begonias, which can be let to go dormant and then restarted? If so how long should I wait before watering/repotting? Should I be growing it in a terrarium to give it more humidity? Would it do well under a fluorescent light? What temperature range do they like? My house has forced air heating and no sunny window ledge (not that Vancouver has much sun at this time of year). I do have a shelf which could hold a small terrarium and or lamp with timer or I could grow it near a skylight. I really like the look of rex begonias, but have never had much success with them. should I give up or try again?
I grow a few rexes at home and in my office. They don't like to dry out too much for sure, but I have had them come back from what you describe. They seem to like consistent moist, but not wet soil. They need some bright light to do well, morning or evening sun seems fine, but not hot direct mid-day sun. They do not have a tuber and do not go dormant. They are fairly easy to propagate from leaf cuttings and I do put the cuttings under cover, but don't let moisture settle on the leaves. Sometimes they get a wilt and that seems to always be the end of the plant--they do not seem to recover from that. The drying damage makes this wilt more likely so be careful about watering now. Better to water from below and not get things too wet.
Eric, Thanks for the advice. I'll move it upstairs near the skylight, water it sparingly from below and see what happens.
