How to Propagate Angel Wing Begonia Like a Pro

Angel wing begonias offer striking hues and patterns that can add texture and color to any houseplant collection. Their long, shimmery, asymmetrical leaves resemble their namesake and are often dotted with polka dots, streaks, or veins of white or silver against rich green or deep purple.

Like other types of begonias, these attractive flowering plants are quite simple to propagate via stem tip cuttings.

Here’s how to propagate your angel wing begonia to grow beautiful new plants.

How to Propagate Angel Wing Begonia in Soil

Before you begin, gather your supplies: a mature angel wing begonia, sterilized scissors or pruners, small plant pots with drainage, well-drained potting mix, and optional rooting hormone. You can use regular potting mix or add a few handfuls of additional perlite for additional drainage.

1. Choose a healthy stem that has not previously flowered to take as your cutting. Cut 3 to 4 inches from the tip of the stem just below a node, ensuring that the cutting has at least a couple of leaves. Remove any leaves from the lower half of the stem.
2. Fill a plant pot with potting mix and water it well to moisten. Use your finger to poke a hole a few inches into the soil surface.
3. Dip the cut end of the cutting in rooting hormone powder and shake off any excess.
4. Plant the cutting in the hole, ensuring that the leafless nodes on the lower portion of the stem are below the soil line. Pat the soil gently around the stem to hold the cutting in place.
5. Put the cutting in a warm place that gets plenty of bright, indirect light, such as on an east-facing windowsill. Keep the soil evenly moist but not soggy.
6. After a few weeks, give the cutting a gentle tug—you’ll feel resistance if it has rooted. Another sign of rooting is new vegetative growth. Once the cutting has rooted, you can repot if desired and care for it as usual.

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How to Propagate Angel Wing Begonia in Water

You’ll need a healthy, mature angel wing begonia, a small glass or jar, and sterilized pruners.

1. Identify a healthy stem that has not bloomed in the past. Make a diagonal cut just below a node, 3 to 4 inches from the tip of the stem. Remove the leaves from the lower portion of the cutting.
2. Place the cutting in the glass or jar and add just enough water so that the leaf nodes on the lower half of the stem are submerged.
3. Keep the cutting in a warm spot with bright, indirect light. Change out the water if it gets cloudy. Add water as needed to keep the lower nodes submerged.
4. After two weeks or so, you’ll see tiny white roots begin to grow from the nodes below the water line. When the roots are at least an inch long, the cutting is ready to pot up and care for as usual.

When to Propagate

The best time to propagate an angel wing begonia is typically in the spring, when the plant is putting out new growth.

However, you can propagate these begonias any time of year, though the process may take longer in fall or winter. When pruning back leggy or overgrown canes, take the opportunity to save tip cuttings and propagate them into new plants.

Propagation Tips

• It’s important to propagate canes on your angel wing begonia that haven’t previously flowered, because those nodes won’t grow roots.
• These begonias are hybrids, meaning they won’t grow true from seeds, so propagation is the best way to ensure you’re getting a specimen that resembles its parent plant.
• You’ll have the best chance of success with a stem tip cutting, but it’s also possible to propagate angel wing begonias from lower segments of stem or even from portions of leaves.
• Proper pruning will give you plenty of opportunities to propagate angel wing begonias. it’s a good idea to pinch back the top-growing stem once plants reach six inches in height. In the second season of growth, cut canes down to about six inches high in the spring and again in the fall to keep plants looking full and bushy.
• Angel wing begonias can also be propagated by division. This is a good option for mature specimens that have outgrown their pots. When you first see new growth in late winter or early spring, pull or cut the root ball into sections, ensuring that each section has foliage with an intact root system attached. Repot each clump with fresh soil and water the divisions well.