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Begonia

Tiger Paws

Size
The leaf pattern is the reason to buy this one. Each leaf is deep red brown with a lime green star spreading out from the middle, edged in fine pale hairs that catch the light from the side. It grows out rather than up, so it fills a wide pot and spills over the rim within a season.
$34.99 NZD
In stock. Order by Sunday, shipped Tuesday - Wednesday
Begonia Tiger Paws has small lopsided leaves, each around 5 to 8cm across, in deep red brown with bright lime green blocks running out from the middle along the veins. The edges are scalloped and fringed with fine pale hairs. The leaves sit on pink red stalks. Thin wiry stems put sprays of small white flowers well above them.

Growth & size

It grows from a creeping rhizome that spreads sideways across the top of the soil, sending up leaves along its length. It stays low, around 20 to 30cm tall and spreading to about 30 to 40cm, with the outer leaves arching over the rim of the pot. Flower stems go another 15 to 20cm above the leaves. It grows fastest over the New Zealand growing season from October to April and slows over winter.

The rhizome sits on top

The thick creeping stem belongs on top of the soil and should not be buried. Water around it rather than over the leaves, which mark if they stay wet.

Toxic to cats and dogs if eaten. Contains soluble calcium oxalates, most of it in the rhizome. Comes in a 17cm plastic nursery pot.