Question
I bought a plant at our local grocery store and no one, including me, seems to know what it is.  The leaves are larger for example than most philadenrum.  They are thick and heart shaped.  I need to know what it is and how to take care of it - light, water, etc.  I really like its looks.

I will send a picture or two to your email address above.

Answer
Rosemarie,

Your plant is commonly known as a Beefsteak begonia (Begonia erythrophylla).This is an indoor plant. This wonderful, fast-growing plant likes plenty of light, but sometimes loses its rich, dark, lustrous green if in direct, southern light. The leaves are red on the backside and have a starburst-shaped vein pattern. They are translucent, letting the sun reveal their beauty. Late spring/summer flowers rise well above the foliage, persist for quite sometime, and are lovely, fragile-looking, orientalish-looking. They "snow" on the floor when spent. Blooming also occurs in late December-January. Beafsteaks are easy to propagate by taking cuttings of the stem and pushing them into the soil. Water thoroughly and let soil dry before next watering. Does not like over-watering.

The beef steak begonia is an example of a rhizomatous begonia.  It has a heavy, succulent stem that grows just above the soil surface and sends out adventitious roots.  These begonias send flower stalks of many small flowers well above the foliage.  Many different leaf color patterns occur, the leaves have various shapes, leaf margins range from entire to deeply lobed and many have hairy leaves.

If you have more questions write again. Good luck.

Darlene