Tropicals & Tender Perennials: Bonfire begonia pic, 0 by hcmcdole

hcmcdole wrote:
Gagirl,

Those look different than your other picture. The first picture looks GIANT in a small pot and very erect branching. Photos can be very deceiving.

Last year I bought four at $1 apiece at the Barn Nursery in Chattanooga. Then a friend of mine gave me two he propagated with the tuber halfway out of the potting mix. This year I got a nice one at the same nursery in Chattanooga for $7 but have seen big baskets for $20. They grow so fast and are so common anymore that I may treat them like Dragon Wings and some other begonias that are a bear to get through winter (think Sinbad).

According to a commercial grower, no one is supposed to propagate this plant due to a patent on it. You can grow any seed from it but no vegetative propagation is permitted. This is aimed more at the large growers selling it but....

This is B. boliviensis where B. 'Bonfire' came from. I got this at Lowe's a few years back but I overwatered it and lost it. It seems to rot easily if kept too wet.



This message was edited Jul 2, 2010 3:11 PM