So I got my first begonia ( and first house plant) at a farmers market a few days ago and I’m a little lost on how to care for it.
From what I’ve read, I’m supposed to water it every couple days in the summer and every two weeks in winter. I’ve also been told I can check when it needs to be watered by sticking my finger in until the first knuckle. Every time I test it though, the soil seems to be getting wetter despite that I haven’t watered it (it’s been raining lately, does that have anything to do with it?) I don’t really know why it’s going that though.
The instructions that came with the plant said bright, indirect sun which I think I’ve been doing, but the plant seems to be getting a little wilted. It might be the temperature in the room ( it’s been about 26-28 degrees the past few days) but I don’t really know.
About two days ago I noticed fuzzy white stuff growing around the joints(?) of the stems. I figured out that it was mealybugs and earlier today I used diluted isopropyl alcohol to remove them. I haven’t noticed anything off with the plant and the bugs reacted exactly as described so I think it at least helped. But any advice/ knowledge about that would be great.
During the bug treatment I moved it around a little bit and now it’s leaning a lot, I’m not sure if it’s because I damaged the roots or if it’s leaning because of uneven sun distribution/ poor care.
A couple leaves and the few flowers it had also fell off recently, and I’m not sure if that’s concerning or not.
TL:DR I got a spotted angel wing begonia and don’t know what I’m doing. Any advice/ care instructions you can offer would be great.
by Kitsifer