Titanarum

Begonia Rex. Ah. The trouble that plant has brought me. But not for much longer. I told you weeks ago about the history of my exemplar: kept in a tiny plastic pot for 4 years in a baking hot south facing window sill the magenta red leaves had me entranced. When its owner, a dear friend, decided to emigrate to Bavaria in Germany, I put a bid in for adoption. I won, needless to say. And in my gratitude I gave the plant a new life with fresh soil and room for the roots to grow forth and multiply. And the leaves grew brown and beige and darkly green. So a few weeks back I did the only thing I could think of. I cut it back and crammed the roots into the smallest pot I could find with barely a hint a humus to keep them moist. I watered sparingly and am now waiting for the red leaves to grow. I have already seen enough signs of redness to cheer me up. And to chill me to the bone. You’d think goodness begets goodness. But that is not always the case. It scares me to think what other analogies can be drawn from the example of Begonia Rex.