How to Slip Begonias

Begonias are ideal houseplants which bloom beautifully in indirect light and are available in a wide range of flower colors from white to pinks, peaches and reds. In warmer climates, begonias can be kept in pots outdoors or planted in the ground in shady areas, lending an easy-care burst of color to the shade garden. Tuberous begonias as well as fibrous-rooted wax or Christmas begonias can be propagated by "slips"–rooting small cuttings from another healthy plant. Slipping begonias is a great way to increase your number of plants, or to replace overgrown exemplars with stocky young plants.

Difficulty:

Moderately Easy

Instructions

things you’ll need:

• Begonia plant
• Potting medium
• Terra cotta plant saucer, or aluminum pie plate
• Clear plastic sealing food bag, large enough to hold saucer or pie plate
• 4-inch pots
• Plant mister
• Sharp scissors or knife
• Rain water
• Water-soluble houseplant fertilizer

1. Moisten potting medium with rain water until the potting medium is about the texture of a fresh chocolate cake.
2. Fill terra cotta saucer or aluminum pie plate with potting medium. Place saucer or plate in large plastic food bag, arranging it so the plate sits flat with the sealable opening of the bag straight upward above it.
3. Cut slips–the tip sections of stems, about 4 inches long–from begonia plant using sharp scissors or knife. Cut leaves off the bottom 2 inches of the stem.
4. Place cut begonia slip upright in the potting medium. Spray rain water into the plastic bag with plant mister, then seal the bag. Place in indirect light, in a warm location.
5. Open the top of the bag for about a half-hour daily to allow fresh air circulation, then reseal the bag. Spray in additional rain water with the mister if the slip seems to be drying out.
6. Monitor the slip for signs of rooting and growth. After about three weeks, begin leaving the top of the bag open for longer periods of time to transition the rooted cutting from its slip-start to a regular potted growing environment.
7. After two weeks of leaving the bag open for increasing periods of time, remove the saucer or plate from the bag, and water the slip with a diluted solution of soluble houseplant fertilizer. When slipped begonias show signs of new leaf growth, transplant them to individual 4-inch pots filled with potting medium.

Tips & Warnings

• Use rain water; the chlorine and other additives in tap water, if you are on an urban water system, may inhibit root production.