I donate plants to the College of the Ozarks greenhouses in Missouri--the Horticulture advisor is a begonia addict--anyway he gave me this monster yesterday. A lot of the collection is noid, the leaves on the right are my B. bunchii. the leaves on this plant are 7-8" across, it is in a 6" pot.
That's a beautiful B. Buchchii. So rich in color too.
It looks similar to Madame Queen except for the color. Maybe it is 'Hurricane' or manicata ('Crispa') or 'La Cresta Vista'. I don't think it is 'Crestabruchii'.
I just checked out PHOE's web site for ruffled begonias that they used to have but it looks like they took those down.
http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/168985/
Hi Hillbilly_Gran, I'm from Missouri. What town is the college of the ozarks located in? I want to go check out this guy's greenhouse.
There is one leaf on it that is crested and quite ruffled-- looks like a head of lettuce. I will check out the species you mentioned-- Thanks!!
College of the Ozarks "Hard Work U" is located just south of Branson Mo in Hollister Mo. For those who have never heard of it, students pay no tuitition but work on campus in the various industries there to earn tuitition and room and board, it is a 4 year college. They have a marvelous "fine dining"restaurant, dairy and lot of other stuff. They have 4 greenhouses that house their various collections, 2 are devoted entirely to orchids and then one for sales. Great place to go for a plant fix in the dead of of winter. Lmk if you are going to visit-- maybe we can meet for lunch!!
Gran, that sounds like such an ideal situation. People nowadays are getting strapped with huge student loans before they even get a chance to live. That is an excellent system, and I am guessing that the funding comes partially from the industries the kids work at. Wow, neat concept! It also teaches a work ethic instead of gimme, gimme, gimme.
I don't know which cultivar it is, but I think it is huge compared to what the average home grower is going to manage :).
http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/showimage/129730/ Here is a bunchii pic.... maybe.
I can't tell, does it have a helix? Or a plantlet? at the center?
It has a helix in the center-- if you look to the right-- the little leaves are my B. bunchii for comparison. The instructor(been swapping plants for a year and don't know his name-- that "oldtimers" I guess) told me that the man he got it from had it in a hanging basket and it was HUGE and gorgeous. I buy a lot of plants there-- they propagate a lot of unusual stuff--spent $50 time before last-- bought a bunch of Epidendrum orchids. Everything is reasonably priced. The funding at that school does come from the student industry-- plus the infrastructure is student labor, under various advisors. Students do all the landscaping, run the laundry services, cook and wait tables at the restaurant, and run the sewage treatment plant. Vocations in the school do not necessarily coincide with a students major either--so their horizons are broader. Students are expected to put in a 40hr work week, attend classes and attend a church service on Sunday. Meals are provided to the students also(prepared by other students). A great place to get an education, only drawback is that because it is private--not all credits will transfer for a higher degree.
