Begonia rajah
Rajah Begonia
Typical UK price
£19
Limited data
Price by size
- Sold, 90 days
- 1
- Middle half
- -
- Last sold
- 22 Aug 2026
- On record
- 3
Cutting/cormEstimate
7cm1 sold
12cmEstimate
MatureEstimate
- Sale
- Typical
- Middle half
- Estimate
for a 7cm pot
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Recent UK sales
For sale in the UK
By month
| Month | Median | Sold |
|---|---|---|
| Aug 2026 | £19 | 2 |
| May 2026 | £21 | 1 |
US eBay sold listings (not UK prices)
2 sold on ebay.com, 16 Apr 2026 to 26 May 2026, median US$34. These are not UK sales and are not in the UK price.
Begonia Rajah 2.5 Inch Pot Florida Rare
US$43 · 26 May 2026RARE LIVE PLANT Begonia Rajah- Potted
US$25 · 16 Apr 2026
Before you buy
- Press the rhizome gently — it should feel firm throughout, with no soft or discoloured patches
- Check leaf axils and the underside of the rhizome for mealybugs, which hide in the crevices between growth points
- Given the leaf size, inspect the whole blade for scorch marks or bleached patches from excess light
- Confirm the rhizome sits on top of the substrate rather than buried, which is how it should be growing in a healthy pot
About Begonia rajah
'Rajah' is Malay for king, and Begonia rajah earns the name mostly through scale: large, strongly bullate leaves in metallic olive-bronze to dark green, marked with light green venation and banding, rich red to burgundy underneath. Described by Ridley from the humid lowland rainforest understory of Peninsular Malaysia, it grows in deep shade on the forest floor, rooted in moist humus and leaf litter over rocky substrate with minimal light. A stout, creeping rhizome anchors the plant firmly as new leaves emerge in succession — it shares its forest-floor habitat with the equally sought-after pavonina.
Native range
Peninsular Malaysia (humid lowland rainforest understory)
Classification
- Genus
- Begonia
- Family
- Begoniaceae
- Type
- Wild
- Growth habit
- Rhizomatous, stout creeping
Morphology
- Leaf shape
- Large, broadly ovateEgg-shaped leaves, with the wider end near the base., strongly bullate
- Leaf length
- 15-30 cm
- Leaf width
- 12-25 cm
- Petiole colour
- Stout, reddish-brown
- Venation
- Light green venation and banding on metallic blade
- Texture
- Strongly bullate, metallic sheen, rich red to burgundy undersides
- Variegation
- None; metallic olive-bronze to dark green surface with contrasting venation banding
- Growth habit
- Stout creeping rhizome, forest-floor specialist
Begonia rajah care
- Substrate
- A very free-draining mix — 50% perlite, 30% potting compost, 20% orchid bark — is essential; the stout rhizome sits at the surface and rots quickly in anything that stays wet.
- Watering
- Let the top half of the substrate dry before watering again, and water at the base rather than over the rhizome itself. Rhizome rot, not underwatering, is what actually kills most of these in cultivation.
- Humidity
- Very high, 85-95%, in low, indirect light matching its forest-floor origin. Given its larger size, a big humid cabinet or greenhouse suits it better than a small terrarium.
- Feeding
- Feed at quarter strength every 2-3 weeks through the growing season. These are slower, more deliberate growers than cane begonias and don't need or want heavy feeding.
- Repotting
- Repot every 12-18 months into a shallow, wide pot that matches the rhizome's spreading habit — never a deep pot, and never bury the rhizome itself.
Common problems
Rhizome rot
Cause: Substrate that stays wet, or a rhizome partially buried in compost
Fix: Cut back to firm, healthy tissue, let the wound callus, and keep the rhizome fully exposed at the surface going forward
Slow establishment
Cause: A naturally deliberate grower, especially soon after repotting or division
Fix: Be patient and keep conditions stable — rajah tends to sit for a while before putting out visible new growth
Bleached or scorched patches
Cause: Light too bright or too direct for a low-light forest-floor species
Fix: Move to lower, more filtered light
Gear for this plant
- Natural Rooting Powder, 3 x 75gRooting hormone powder for stem and leaf cuttings.
- Precision Bonsai Pruning Scissors, 200mmFine-bladed snips for clean node cuts when taking a cutting.
- Full-Spectrum LED Grow Light Panel144-LED panel with IR and UV for supplementing light in low-light rooms.
- Humidity Dome, Heavy-Duty Germination KitVented propagation dome for holding humidity around fresh cuttings.
How to propagate Begonia rajah
- Methods
- Leaf cutting, Stem cutting, Rhizome division. Step-by-step guide
- Difficulty
- Easy. Forgiving of missed waterings, average home humidity, and imperfect light. A solid pick for beginners or low-fuss collections.
- Time to establish
- 3-5 months
- True from cuttings
- Yes. Cuttings keep the cultivar's character.
- Notes
- Divide the rhizome into sections with at least one growth point, or root leaf-with-petiole cuttings flat on moist substrate; plantlets form at the base of the petiole within a few weeks in consistently warm, humid conditions.