An attractive variant of Begonia nigritarum

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Begonia nigritarum, as presently understood, is a widespread and very variable species endemic to the Philippines. Some are rather plain green, with obscure blotches, and others have very dark leaves that seem to allow the plants to blend with the dark substrates they live in. Some plants are compact, and there are those with creeping rhizomes. All forms, or at least those I have personally seen, have a velvety feel on their leaf surfaces.

Below is a variant of Begonia nigritarum with a great deal of attractive silvery patterning broken up by the very dark green veining and margins. New leaves are tinged reddish. It's one of those creeping types with stems beset with silvery white trichomes (we can call those 'hairs', but plants really do not have hairs). I found this variation strongly averse to bright lighting, unlike the darker leaved forms, and the leaf margins immediately turn brown in such conditions.

I used to have just one pot of this variation, but the mom plant has responded so well under my care that I currently have four, just to accommodate all of them. For the medium, I use 1:1 pumice stones and leaf litter and then augmented with 8 pellets of 14-14-14 Osmocote (no, Osmocote isn't paying me to advertise their products, but I wouldn't mind if they do 😊).


Comments

  1. Andrea13 June 2018 at 17:17

    I smiled at the perfectly counted 8 pellets! What if i use 9-10 or maybe just 5, hahaha.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Jardinerong Sunog17 June 2018 at 16:21

      I'm really bad with numbers but had to stick to a fixed quantity or I might overdo it. I fertilize regularly so the time-release ferts have to be kept to a minimum or there's a risk of burning the leaf edges from all the combined nutrition. But yes, you can eiher add or lessen the quantity- the key word is 'moderation' 😉

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