Begonia Leaf Cuttings Update

Now I recently did a post on propagating begonias from vein cuttings, but I didn't mention that I also started one the more common way.  I figured it would be interesting to see how the two progressed. Both are from the same plant and were started at the same time.  Although the plants from vein cuttings start out much smaller, you get more of them and they seem to grow faster.  There are at least seven separate little begonia plants in the photo below.  Even more are developing at the farther edges of the leaf.

 When placing just a stem with leaf in the soil you receive a single, larger plant.  The first leaf to come out will grow to mature size within a few days.  The leaf on the right is the original cutting.  There are three more just starting to push out of the soil.  It's very interesting to compare the leaves produced by both.  The juvenile leaves in the photo above look like a completely different cultivar than those below.

After comparing the two methods I'd have to say leaf vein cutting is the option for me.  The process is much more interesting to watch and with a little patience you get dozens of adorable tiny plants!