Today I walked through my neighborhood in SE Portland and finally took a stroll through Starflower, an adorable house plant and flower shop off Hawthorne. It’s an adorable small shop with a great variety of large and small house plants, succulents, and fresh-cut flowers.

In my waltz around the shop, my eye caught on a teeeeny tiny begonia and I instantly fell in love. This little $6 starter is a Begonia Rhizomatuous, or a Tiger Kitten. ***swoon*** I absolutely love the blood red and green patterns in her leaves.

Just look at it! In my current stock of plants, I have an Angel Wing Begonia, which belongs to the Cane variety… but that’s where my expertise in begonias ends. My Angel Wing likes some afternoon sun, grows really quickly, and doesn’t mind drying out a little between waters. When I was handed the care card for the Tiger Kitten, I was surprised to see she likes almost the opposite.

Tiger Kitten Care Guide

Lighting

The Tiger Kitten absolutely does not like direct sunlight. Where some Begonia varieties like a little dappled sunlight, the Tiger Kitten likes low-medium indirect all the time.

Watering

Turns out, she is a thirsty girl. This specific variety of Begonia likes to stay in rather moist soil but also doesn’t like her leaves to be wet, so it’s important to water her from down low or to bottom-water. If big droplets of water sit on her leaves she’s prone to fungus… so be careful.

Humidity

Though the Tiger Kitten doesn’t like big water droplets on her leaves, she does like a more humid environment. Light misting or spritzing is encouraged, but again, not so much that water is chronically on the leaves.

Well, there ya have it! I am so excited to get her repotted and settled into my home. Do you have any begonia varieties in your house?