Right when I said I wouldn't get anymore begonias, I found these on sale...no name tags but I believe this first one is B. soli-mutatai, right? How could I resist! Look at the leaves. The trouble is, how do I keep this one looking good? I tried this one before, I think. It needs a humidity tray? Who knows the best way to keep this one happy?
The second one is a rex - and I swore off these too. They are too hard to keep past two winters for me - and I'm not a fan of the purpley red and some of the silver colors (she says ducking the rotten tomatoes). But this one got to me. Does anybody recognize it?
The first one does indeed look like solimutata and the second one looks like 'Black Beauty' but hard to tell.
I find solimutata does best with high humidity. (check the other current thread about this species).
Rexes can be pretty choosy but after you kill a bunch you will learn what works and what doesn't. Best bet is to start some new plants with healthy leaves for a bit of insurance.
Thank you for that. It seems there are more than one Black Beauty. This does look like the one on Rob's Violets site. Plantfiles have greener versions of a very similar leaf so I'm not sure yet. This is the greenest leaf on this plant so far. All the rest are as dark as the one above. Maybe there is one more with greener veining like this one.
As for the B soli-mutatai, sorry for the double thread. I'll look for it. I would like to find a bowl big enough for it but then, I don't think I would have a table big enough to show it off. I love going to Home Goods to find beautiful glass for cheap money but it isn't easy finding a wide one.
A few more begonias on sale. These were only $2.50 each. Again they were not labeled.
There's this one...
And this one...
And this guy...
Here's a leaf shot of that last one.
Then I picked up all three of these in hopes of making a big pot in the summer. I am hoping it has white flowers.
Of course, only in my dreams will it look like this one at Wave Hill without a greenhouse.
Great find!!
Loretta
I got similar ones ( not on sale) at a nursery. They were unlabeled too. I have just resigned to enjoy their beauty rather than get annoyed at not knowing their names. The last one that you took a larger pic looks a little like Lalomie perhaps was bred from it.
I keep my Soli Mutata in an aquarium with the lid cracked. It does quite well. In the summer it enjoys our St Louis humidity outdoors.
Looks like you found some great bargains. I have a feeling most of the rexes are from Harmony Foliage - great growers. Our local Ace Hardware (when it was in business) would get fabulous begonias at great prices every once in a while and I was there to grab as many as I could. Little did I know that most if not all were coming from Harmony Foliage. They also supplied most of the plants at the convention for '09.
Here is B. turrialbae that I picked up from them two years ago. It responds greatly to a humidity lid and looks better indoors than outdoors (one of the rare exceptions).
If your soli-mutatai isn't getting enough water or humidity it will respond with browning leaves. Having said that, I read that this begonia is also known as the "instant suntan plant." It seems the leaves will "tan" in the sun, but the effect is reversible. I've never observed this, but it came from a reliable source, so I don't doubt it. This plant can really spread out if it's happy, so be sure to get a big aquarium. It will fill a 10 gallon aquarium pretty quickly. It will also get pretty sprays of white flowers. Mine started flowering at the end of the summer and has been going since then. It is one of my favorite species begonias.
I have my soli- mutata plant under lights on my plant stand. I mist it daily and haven't lost one leaf in the month I have had it. The suntanning is a reality. The last time I had this one I kept it in my green house where it got a lot of sun and the leaves were noticebly lighter.
Ahh! I am sorry I took so long to get back here. hcmcdole - that is such a beautiful species. You really have a beautiful collection.
truongr, you are right about enjoying it whether or not we have a name but I think the second one I posted - the dark one - might be Her Majesty. I found it on the Lyndon Lyon website.
Here is B. soli-mutatai. You are all right about the suntan and you can see some dry patches.
Not too bad though. I did buy a glass bowl but it didn't fit so I put it on a pebble tray. So most of the time it is sitting in wet. Will it rot or take it?
I was able to pick one more up before the sale was over. Now they are back to regular price. I really didn't need another one with this color scheme but, oh well, glad I did.
This one was not on sale and overpriced at $10 but I decided to save it. It was a unique find for this area. The guy said it was in the greenhouse for a long time. I believe it. The center is actually woody. There was a very tan B. soli-mutatai there.
Those look very nice Loretta. B. solimutata can handle more moisture than some (at least mine seems to love it). I would keep the water level in the bowl down so it isn't sitting in water. Time will tell how it likes its new home.
The begonia in the 3rd frame (04:43 PM timestamp) has a great looking markings. Do you have a name for it?
The $10 one might turn out to be a best buy. It's hard to tell at times if you don't know a particular begonia but if you wait then someone else will probably snatch it up.
Thanks for the information. Last year, I had B. listada and it looked great until one day it had no roots attached and dropped dead. I had bad luck with Iron Cross and Fireflush too. I'm not expecting more from this one but maybe with the pebble tray I'll have better luck.
I don't have a name for 4:43 or even a guess yet. This was one of three and of course I took the one with the best markings. The other two had more sporadic markings making me think of Last Laugh which hasn't grown on me.
And really, $10 isn't overpriced for a begonia around here, if you don't grab it when you see it, chances are you might not see it again. I think that one will recover outside this summer.
You are right about $10 not being overpriced - of course we would like them for about $5 but you pay for what the market will bear (if you went mail order you have to add in shipping and you usually get a much smaller plant).
I bought 'Hee-Haw' at Miami's annual sale and show in an extra large pot for around $8 five years ago. Sometimes it looks like it is on its last breath and then it takes off and starts growing again.
Loretta, where did you say you got those plants? I'll be in Wyckoff this weekend ;>) Really, they are all gorgeous. The one in front of the lace curtain looks like 'Marmaduke.' It's one of Martha Stewart's favorites. I think the price of all 'Marmaduke' specimens went up 20% as soon as she featured one in the magazine.
Hi Wandygirl,
I got the begonias at Strawberry Blossoms, 1364 State Hwy No 23, Wayne, NJ. That is about 1/2 hour from Wyckoff. The sale price is long over. I now pay $12.99 for begonias in 6" pots. They don't carry a lot of begonias. They get a few in at a time. Recently I added Escargot, which they still had two when I was there last...
And I added this one. I don't know the name. There was one left of that.
They don't have Marmaduke or the one that I purchased above. They have a few more rexes and had at least one rhizo type. No small sizes but they get shipments every week. I always go to see what comes in. I was in this week and they had a couple of gloxinias that were interesting.
Hey guys. I noticed that my Venitian Red leaf now has roots. Everyone else still looks good but no roots.
i have been reading a lot on begonias,but i guess not enough.i purchased miami storm and lost it.(hopefully will come back)then i ordered iron cross and curly fireflush(just got them)but it looks like fireflush is going to kick the bucket.but it has the look of new leaves comin up.going to keep fingers crossed.well wish me luck.just planted(in hanging basket)a red begonia i found at menards.going to try my luck there as well.my angel wing,lacoochee,charm,teardrops,strawberry,special angel,and my little rex are doing fine in my east window.so i must be doing something right.lol
I think, at least for me, Curly FireFlush is one of the most tempermental begonias I own. My Curly Fireflush wants LOTS of humidity, I have mine domed for the winter where it has kept just 1 leaf.
Curly Fireflush was a tough one for me too besides the fact that it came with a bad case of mealies.
thank you for the great tip.i ordered these from peppers greenhouse and they arrived in excellant condition with the exception of this one.it looked alright but i think the trip was to taxing for it as the next day the leaves started drying out,and i placedit in the bathroom on a try of pebbles,and i go in every so often and turn on the hot water.but if that doesn't not improve it then i will dome it.again thank you for the wonderful tiphope it doesn't catch a cold.lol
keep it warm-- forgot to mention that part-- and humid-- if it does lose its leaves-- it may well come back. A lot of mine are totally nekkid right now. Our winter wa so nasty I just couldn't keep the GH warm enough to keep them happy. Next year it will have its OWN heater instead of blowing heat from the house into it (I was cold too, and worked 24/7 trying to keep the fire burning!)
Lil, Put your begonias in a plastic bag or a plastic (or glass) container until they perk up and start growing again. Be careful on watering (too much will cause rot). Once they start growing you can start acclimating them to normal house air by venting more and more until they are accustomed to the "drier" air.
BTW, you list strawberry, lilspirit1941. You may know this already but Strawberry Begonia is Saxifraga stolonifera, not a begonia. It is also a hardy plant for me in Z6 that spreads well.
I find Iron Cross is also temperamental and you might want to watch the humidity on that one too.
Both Fireflush and Iron Cross need to be in a humidity chamber like an aquarium. Fireflush will come back if you have the right amount of humidity! A bag will work.
Loretta is correct on the strawberry begonia unless you have B. 'Strawberry Cream'.
I have my Fireflush out of a humidity dome this year. Yeah, it doesn't look all that great but the rhizomes are plump and the new leaves show promise. I put my Curly Fireflush in a tank though. I have a few others in tanks as well - rajah, variegata, Maid Marion, Pink Diamonds, serratipetala, and a few others. A tank is always good for a nursery and propagation as well.
This is B. 'Andrea Prado' at Harmony a couple of days ago. I'd like to see it at the stores soon.
thank all of you for the tips,well i cut the leaves off fireflush this morning as they were almost dried up and yes it went into a plastic bag,also little keepsake was doing fine yesterday and this morning the leaves were so limp,and it to is in a bag all under lite.will also keep close eye on the others.if i lose these i will just stick to the cane types.also i tried prop
a peperomia and i see they have a little root.just trying different plants and seeing if i can do it .it is fun.if i could i would root a rock.lol
oh gosh that plant is so beautiful,i hope i can grow ones as pretty.thank you for showing it.
How are you getting into Harmony? Is there a location besides Florida? With retail sales?
Don't you have enough plants DB? Lol! I especially like the blooms on Andrea.
