Begonia malachosticta NEW

Aroids Australia

12500

Begonia malachosticta is a very exotic looking species from Sabah, Malaysia on the island of Borneo. The leaves are long and slender coming to a point at the apex. It is light green with raised pink spots in patterns on the upper leaf surface. There is a red spot at the point of petiole attachment while the petioles and stems are bright red. It has an upright growth habit and branches freely making a nice bushy plant as it matures. This new species requires extra humidity to grow well and is frequently grown in a terrarium meaning it can lose leaves while in transit, which does not indicate the overall health of the plant. Once its adapts to its new conditions it will produce lots of new growth.

Care Specks:

	These plants love partial shade outdoors or bright indirect light indoors
	Allow it to mostly dry between waterings but not entirely
	Give them well draining soil - adding about 20% to 30% perlite into your standard premium potting mix will do the trick.
	These guys are tropical/sub-tropical so prefer high humidity - dark brown, crisp looking marks on leaf edges are usually caused by low humidity.
	Begonias rarely need trimming except to remove injured branches and old flower clusters.
	Toxic to pets!
	These plants are moderately frost tolerant but begonias are easily killed by hard freezes.