I just LOVE that cross! White is special to me, so pure and clean, but then again, yellow is good too! Shoot, I love them ALL!!!! All of them are beautiful! Sounds like you grew yourself a winner :o)
What I wouldnt do to take a 'woof' of that one right now, simply beautiful!
Julie
Making room...
Gretchen.....what a treat to see your greenhouse and all the plants in their beauty. It is so neat and orderly and I bet with your organizational skills you will have not trouble getting the remainder in. Tonight we are going to take the grandkids to see Christmas lights. There are areas around here like you talked about . . where neighborhoods hire people to come in and decorate elaborately.
When our children were growing up, we decorated everything outside and would spend days doing it. Suprisingly, it did not increase our electric bill too much. I have so many wonderful memories doing this with the kids and as they got older and were in high school, many of their friends use to come over and help. I can still recall the boys climbing the tall pine trees and giant oak trees to put lights up high. Oh how special memories are!!!
Oh Frannie -- it sounds beautiful! Do you have any pictures to share with us? I'd love to see them! I know you and your grandchildren will have a fun time! DH, Lanny (our Silky Terrier) and I do it quite a few times during the season. And if its warm enough, we put the top down on the Miata and sip our hot cocoa as we tool around the neighborhood. Such fun! Thank you for your kind words! I hope you have a wonderful time tonight!!!
Beautiful pictures! Looks like all your plants are nice + cozy and tucked in for the winter.
Thank you Shirley -- I hope so :)
Gretchen,
I see you have an "Angel Wing Begonia" in your Greenhouse! Not too many people here have them. There are so many Begonias out there in the Greenhouses, but NOT the ole "Cane Begonias"! WHY????
I have had them for more years than I can remember. I don't even know where I got my first one! I bring them in the house every winter and they just, kind of, survive in a semi-dormant state. They drop a lot of leaves, and in the past, I have had some problems with fungus mold on the stems and leaves. If I spray them with a Fungicide, it stops, but the damage is done. This year--so far so good! I usually have 2 pots going. The "momma" and the "Progeny".
Come early summer, I usually take end cuttings of the Momma-Begonia and root them in water. Then I start a new pot. The Momma Plant--I usualy cut it back and it re-grows during the season to a lush, new plant. Every few years I repot it in fresh potting soil, throwing out any roots that are too old.
And so it goes--year after year! I have tried a couple of times to save the whole plant, but it gets too "woody" and not so fresh and succulent.
I live in zone 7a. Nothing can stay outside for the winter! However, I DO like to keep this Begonia going---on and on---and on!
Gitagal
What a neat story, Gitagal! Thank you for sharing!!!
After reading an article about them in "Southern Living" some time back, I had wanted one...and then these were given to me as cuttings by a couple of classmates in my Master Gardener class last Winter. I have five and I absolutely love them. I would love some more varieties, but not until I have room to house them all LOL -- brugs have to come first! I did notice that when the days started to shorten this fall, they started dropping a few leaves here and there, but other than that, they've stayed pretty decent looking. If the tall ones get any taller though, I don't know where I'll put them! And, I don't know why they're no longer popular. I think they have the most gorgeous foliage...Thank you for your great tips!!! Gretchen
Larry -- welcome to the brug forum!
Its definitely not something I would recommend to anyone else... Thankfully, I haven't had a problem, and I do try to be careful Also, nothing on top drains direct "onto" a light fixture. The bigger pots on top are all around the edges of the bench. I had this set-up for three months last winter and no problems... Hopefully it'll be okay this year too :)
christmascactus
Dec 12, 2004
Gretchen,thank you for brightening my day with your pictures of your beautiful plants :) I love the red color of your christmascactus-it looks like christmas.
Thank you so much Colie -- they bring me much pleasure this time of year! And, I meant to say earlier that its good to see you here!
Gretchen,
There's no need for you to put up with the tallness of these begonias! You can cut the tops off (about 10"-12") , stip off the last set of leaves, and put them in a glass/vase of water. They root very easily!
As for the Mama plants, you can discard the long stem in the middle (or root it) and the remaining stems will branch out somewhat and give you a fuller plant. They tend to branch out from the base of the original stem, not so much from where you cut it. Believe me! These Begonias are indestructable!!! Also, this way you will double your plants.
The name "Cane Begonias" speak of how woody the older stems/roots can become. Almost like Bamboo. In my experience, the plants made from cuttings are much more bushy and vibrant in the following year. They also don't lose as many leaves when you bring them indoors for the winter. However, I have also found that they do not bloom so well if it is their first year (from cuttings the year brfore) than when they are at least 2 years old. Also, they need to be outside to really bloom well.
I have several Beefsteak Begonias. They are beautiful and grow so large and impressive! Do you have any of those? You can root them from just one leaf. In about 2 years, they will spill over a 6" pot!
Here's a picture of my biggest one. This is about 4 years old and there are about 3 plants in this pot. Gita
Kinda cool being tall! No wonder that lady on Halloween, tricker treating with her kids looked up at my lit up sunroom and said "Honey! Look at those Begonias"!!!!! I thought she was crazy or very misinformed. I've never seen them the size of trees. Perhaps she had. She was actually looking at my Brugs, and that's why I laughed so hard - the flowers do not look the same, but perhaps from a distance and without your glasses...........
Thanks so much, Gitagal. I'll definitely do that. I know how easy they root as these were cuttings given to me last winter. And they did very well on my porch all summer. The only begonias I have are these Angel Wings and a couple of common garden variety so I can have a little color inside for Christmas. I've been too busy to scrub my Christmas Cactus pots so I could bring them in. That's terrible... Anyway, your Beefsteak is lovely. Is it a Rex?
Karrie -- I think the word "begonia" is an all inclusive word for "plant" to some of the old timers. I hear people call all kinds of things "begonias" LOL!
Gretchen,
NO! It is NOT a Rex! It is called "Beafsteak Begonia" because the bottom of the leaves is the color of raw meat. Another name for them is "Kidney Begonia". Other than that, I do not have any more info, on it. Check the Database, if you want to!
I LOVE Rex Begonias!!!! In my many years working in retail Garden Centers, I have seen the many beautiful versions it comes in, however, the couple I have tried to grow, have been very finnicky. I LOVE the "Iron Cross" Rex begonia! How impressive it is!!!!! Maybe I should give all this another try...............HHHMMMMM..................Gita
Gita -- thank you again! I'll have to keep my eyes open for them!
Kaufman, I have that begonia,It was planted in the front yard when I purchased my house. It was small and not to good looking...but I have a hard time throwing plants away.....so I dug it up and planted it some where out of the way...two years later I dug it up again it was still nothing to write home about..It has been two years since I put it in it's last home as an edge plant near my brugs..all I can say about it now is WOW. It has become a beautiful edging plant for a dry river bed we installed.It is between 6-8 feet in lenght and 2-3 feet wide now this is not one plant it has become several over the years but I'm really glad we didn't throw it away..Later today I'll try to get a picture of it...as it stays out side all year and does great..I have to wait for my husband to get the pic..I can't walk to well outside. Didn't mean to steal your thread...but it makes a wonderful under plant for brugs. cinnabor
Cinnabor -- thank you for jumping in! As Delecie said earlier on another thread today, this and all threads belong to all of us here at Dave's :) Please post an image -- I'd love to see your begonia! Gretchen
Kaufmann,
Thanks for all the great pics...... I have an Angel Wing Begonia (Sophia) - didn't know what it was until I saw your pic ........ I'm so glad you took the time to post all your pics...... Your GH looks wonderful and everyone in it looks happy......
Kaufmann, here is a pic of the begonia. Happy holiday....cinnabor..
This message was edited Dec 21, 2004 1:05 PM
Thanks VS! And, Cinnabor, thanks for the pic -- looks very happy and healthy!
Today:
Such a neat and well organized GH. When will it start looking normal ? .............. LOL
Whatcha got under the lights , hmmmm ?
Hi Scooterbug. It has to stay that way so I can get in to water and then back out. Under the lights are an assortment of cuttings and 180 seedlings. The light makes them look yellow... I hope you have a very nice Christmas!