Begonia bipinnatifida pics

[joneill809]

I just picked up a pair of [really] small specimens of Begonia bipinnatifida. Had my eye on them for a while and they finally were available. Wondering if anyone else out there has had success with them.

I have them cleaned up and in a grow out terrarium. They seem fragile - one specimen was fairly busted up in transit. I'm hoping a few months in a grow out vivarium will do them some good. Here's a shot of the first specimen - no flash with broken stems in two places
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Here's the second, with flash. This one is in slightly better shape.
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Anyone keeping them?

[Philsuma]

Jim, I have seen this species recently but cannot remember where. Is it safe to say that this species can be considered 'uncommon' in the hobby ?

[joneill809]

Yeah I think this is fairly uncommon. I ran into it on BJ and I was on a notify list for about a year before it was available. I did check other sites periodically but it was unavailable. I saw one person who posted cuttings available on DD 2 years back, but that was about it.

What intrigued me was the the fine leaves, two tone color and occasional flower:


My two are a long way from looking like that, but I thought that would be a neat centerpiece for a new viv project Just gathering interesting plants and saving up some clippings for now....I'll post back as they start to take hold in their grow out terrarium. Mostly curious if anyone else has had success with a specimen in a viv...

[Philsuma]

wait a min...I HAVE the species in my drip-wall tank !

PM Craig - Cbreon and ask him about it.

[joneill809]

:lol: I figured someone would have one! I'll reach out to Craig. What's your experience been? Fast grower? Holds up well? Does it ever flower in the viv or did I fall for good marketing pictures?

[cbreon]

Phil, there are some rare plants in both your tanks, but this is not one of them. The only begonia you have is b. glabra, I have tracked down the names to just about everything in both those tanks with the exception of some of the different selaginella's. There is a selaginella that looks similar to this plant, it is the one with the red underside to the leaves.

[Philsuma]

I thought for sure it was in there....on the left side.

[cbreon]

It may have been at one point, but not since I have had them. That being said, I remember the other tank having some other stuff too, when I saw it at your place several years ago. But I think they've both went through some different caretakers since then...

[goods]

If the stem is broken, you should be able to remove the broken portion, place it on the substrate, and it should root. Begonias are fairly easy to propagate from cuttings (even leaf cuttings), so you could wind up with 3 or 4 plants instead of two broken ones

[lueVelvet]

I can see why someone would think it was Selaginella erythropus! At first glance it can be rather deceiving. It's a beautiful Begonia and one I certainly need to add to our collection.

Cheers!

Luis

[Philsuma]

Phil, there are some rare plants in both your tanks, but this is not one of them. The only begonia you have is b. glabra, I have tracked down the names to just about everything in both those tanks with the exception of some of the different selaginella's. There is a selaginella that looks similar to this plant, it is the one with the red underside to the leaves.

Todd Sipley was the only other person to have those tanks. I don't think he totally removed any species or that anything totally died. I could be wrong, but hope not.

I remember that species BECAUSE it looked so much like salagenella.

[therizman1]

It can be extremely finicky in my experience. I actually had it go to seed in one of my tanks though, so will have A LOT to offer sooner than later. It is very picky about water on its leaves, and temperature. Even having propagated it, it was pretty fussy about conditions and when I took it to shows, would have to keep it in a sealed container. I never even tried shipping it, was hard enough getting it to and from shows without killing it. My suggestion would be to propagate some right now... my best luck has been just taking a cutting and putting it right in straight sphagnum, keep it moist, but not too wet, medium to high light, and very humid. Once it gets established, it does well, but getting it established can be a huge pain and I have had more failures than successes with it thus far.

[joneill809]

I can see why someone would think it was Selaginella erythropus! At first glance it can be rather deceiving. It's a beautiful Begonia and one I certainly need to add to our collection.

Agreed! That's partly why I picked it up - I have multiple specimens of S erythropus and they are a favorite.

It can be extremely finicky in my experience. I actually had it go to seed in one of my tanks though, so will have A LOT to offer sooner than later. It is very picky about water on its leaves, and temperature. Even having propagated it, it was pretty fussy about conditions and when I took it to shows, would have to keep it in a sealed container. I never even tried shipping it, was hard enough getting it to and from shows without killing it. My suggestion would be to propagate some right now... my best luck has been just taking a cutting and putting it right in straight sphagnum, keep it moist, but not too wet, medium to high light, and very humid. Once it gets established, it does well, but getting it established can be a huge pain and I have had more failures than successes with it thus far.

Thanks for the advice! I am struggling with these two a bit. I split the broken one - it had two main stems, one of which was snapped. I removed that piece and another leaf that had bent. It looks like both main stems are melting away now, but the leaf seems to be hanging in there...for now. The second is not looking great. I have them in a QT terrarium (glass lid) that I mist daily - it's under an LED light bar, so I'd say high light. Substrate is mostly sphagnum, but there is a thin layer of ABG. I may go ahead and try propagating the second just to increase my chances.

[goods]

If it's starting to melt, I would hold off on misting daily. I would try to give it the highest humidity possible but don't allow the leaves and stem to get actually wet. The moisture in the sealed tank should be good enough to encourage root formation without constant watering.

[joneill809]

Thanks for the tip! I'll keep an eye on the humidity and avoid misting them directly.

[Philsuma]

Yep...I'm pretty sure Todd S. in McSherrystown ,near Gettysburg PA has this species. I think he got it from a tank that I loaned him.

If anyone can contact Todd and verify this, I'd appreciate it.

[goods]

Yes, Todd has this species. I traded for a piece of his the other day. It was a very nice-sized, healthy cutting. No idea where he originally obtained it though...

[Philsuma]

Feel free to drop my name to him and ask. He watched a couple tanks of mine that had some uncommon to rare plantings and we agreed on sharing some plants. I just want to make sure that the hobby has access to this.

[joneill809]

Neither of my two made it. I think I will take a break on begonias for a while and focus on spike mosses where I have more success

Edit: eventually I will revisit this plant though. It is beautiful.

[Gnarly]

I have a cutting of this plant I got at a meeting back in December. It seemed a bit iffy at first, with the delicate leaves melting off where it touched the glass or where water sat on it.
It was told to keep it in fairly moist soil, and high light and after a bit of time it's just recently taken off. It definitely needs a chance to dry out between misting.
I haven't had it flower for me yet.
I will try to propagate some clippings soon, as its getting too tall for the tank.

Mine seems a bit more red than some of the specimens posted, maybe just a difference in light?