A dreich day today - low cloud obscuring our view. A day to catch up indoors with my tour report. 

A couple of weeks ago I cut the tops off the stems of my Begonia hatacoa, the begonia I grew from seed collected in Nepal in 1990, and in the absence of a propagating frame I simply popped them into a glass of water and they all have bunches of roots growing from their cut ends. Not a very professional way of propagating, I know, but after all, I am retired now! Just for fun I put some leaves into water too and they have sprouted roots from their stems. They may not grow into plants as possibly they don't have growing points, but I'll wait and see. I remember at college putting sections of rubber plant stems, compete with axillary bud, into a frame in order to root them. They generally all rooted, but some of the buds failed to grow, so we were left with a rooted, living leaf with no means of ever growing any further! Rather sad really. 

I potted them up today and want to make sure that I don't lose this special plant. If anyone locally would like a plant in due course, let me know. After all, the best way of keeping a plant is to give it away!