This is a favorite place on the web for indentification of
Rex begonia:
http://www.lyndonlyon.com/CP%20Gallery%20Rex%20Begonias.html
I haven't bought from them yet, but I love to look and wish. I only have
two now and would love to grow more.
Louise
rexes, anyone?
Louise,
That is one of the few places I haven't bought from (yet).
I went back to Ace today and couldn't resist. Here are two more big ones.
One is Silver Dollar.
The other big one I think is Simple Simon.
Also picked up another Venetian Red.
And another Red Robin.
They are beautiful Butch. Do you mine me asking how much? Ace hardware still hasn't got them here.
:o(
Patti
Lasagna is served. That is a lasagna tray holding these young plants.
The plants are from two summers ago (2004) and are finally coming into their own. They all came from leaf cuttings.
Deco Deviltry, Cowardly Lion, several Fireworks (don't look like the mature Fireworks), Thor, some unknown rex, and Erythrophylla.
This message was edited Feb 10, 2006 10:30 PM
Patti,
The small pots are 2.99 each and the big ones are 12.99. They are still on sale at 20% off as well. Not all Ace's carry the same thing. Does yours have a greenhouse?
Look at this one I picked up a couple of months ago at the same place. I'm pretty sure it is River Nile.
Butch
I picked this Pink Diamonds there about 3 years ago but killed it with too much water in the winter. Luckily I picked up some more of the same plant this summer but not as big as this one.
Back then they were $10.
No my Ace doesn't have a greenhouse. The prices are awesome.
Here is some kind of heracleifolia, an extra large Mikado, and U357 I picked up this summer from them. The Mikado was 12 and the other two were 7. The year before they were each two dollars cheaper.
Yes, the prices are awesome and the quality is excellent. My only complaint is they don't come in fast enough.
Here is Connie Boswell from a couple of years ago from the same place ($5).
Very pretty also.
Butch, you're tormenting me! These are absolutely beautiful! How far do you suppose Lexington is from your Ace Hardware? We travel to Georgia every fall for a seminar, maybe I should try to find this place next year?
I think everyone that reads this thread is going to be hitting every Ace Hardware
store there is in a 50 mile radius!!! Heck maybe a 100 miles!!!! Me INCLUDED.
Just trying to figure out what time they open on Saturdays!!!!!!! (LOL)
RCN48,
If you are ever in the Atlanta area then it might be worthwhile to check this store out. It is about 20 miles west of downtown. It's hit or miss (a lot of times it's a big miss, but I try to stop by every 2 weeks or so just in case they got a new shipment).
TexasBlueBonnet,
I wish more stores would get these wonderful deals. I also wish I knew who the wholesaler is (I betcha it's Harmony growers/nursery/foliage or whatever the last part is). Anyway if more people knew about these kinds of places and shopped there and left comments to the owners, maybe shipments would come in on a regular basis instead of a very erratic schedule.
In summer I make a good size loop once a week or every two weeks to hit my favorite stores (that includes the big 3, Ace, plus 2 or 3 small nurseries) in a 25 mile loop. I wish I had more time to make an even bigger loop (like to Miami).
Butch
2nd last is wonderful and looking like two different vines.
Kaleem
Butch, we actually dropped by Harmony Farms in the Apopka area last fall and spoke with one of the owners, Robin. Very nice lady who would have given us a tour but she was heading out for a meeting and it was, after all, "after hours" - they closed at 4:30 and we showed up at the last minute just before 5:00 - we had a little bit of difficulty finding them in a driving rainstorm. She said they grow about 150 Begonias but only sell to brokers, no direct sales :(. We have located one of the brokers in Florida, however, you're can't specify which Begonias you want, they only sell them as an "assortment" and minimum order is 100 :(.
We may possibly be attending a meeting in Atlanta next August and if we do, I'll be writing you for directions to that Ace!
gumlla,
Are you talking about the ones in the tree? Never thought about them looking like vines but the heracleifolia does have some long petioles.
rcn48,
That is a bummer about arriving just a tad late. I'd love to see Harmony Farms or pictures of it.
That has happened to me a few times where you finally find the place but when you pull in they are closing up. Did that the first time at Rock CIty in Chattanooga (did make it there several years later) and Piccadilly Farms in Bishop, GA (noted for their hellebores and hostas).
HI Butch,
Is the Ace hardware near Columbus GA?
Patti
Patti,
Columbus is about an hour and a half to two hours Southwest of Atlanta (close to the Alabama line). This Ace hardware is about 20 miles due west of Atlanta. If you go to Columbus, you need to go to Callaway Gardens (especially in the spring). You won't be disappointed.
Butch
Butch,
My best friend lives in Columbus I will let her know.
Thanks,
Patti
Butch, we actually travel to Georgia every October for the open house at CANR - Center for Applied Research where Michael Dirr conducts most of his breeding experiments. We usually try to stay away from the Atlanta area (as well as Athens during a football weekend!), but there is a nursery in the western part of the state, I believe it's Lazy K?? that sells azaleas we've been wanting to check out for a few years.
If we make it back to Harmony Farms next year, I will definitely be taking pictures and will share them. They have a very small operation - basically just two women and if I remember correctly, just one really long greenhouse!
rcn48,
What do you do at CANR? Do they sell plants at this time? I've been to the UGA botanical gardens only one time. I should plan another trip up there one day soon.
I don't blame you for avoiding Atlanta if you can avoid it or almost any University town during football weekends. Last fall the Atlanta Botanical Gardens had Chihuly artworks throughout the gardens and conservatory. We did go to that and it was spectacular.
I haven't heard of Lazy K. Have you seen any of the new Encore azaleas? They've come a long way with that line in the last few years.
I'm sure everyone would love to hear and see more about Harmony Farms. I've heard through the grapevine that it is quite spectacular but can't find anything else about it. If you go, take lots of pictures (do they let you take pictures?) and let us see them.
Butch
Butch, can't tell you much more about Harmony Farms than I already have. I thought we had a listing of the begonias they grow, but can't seem to locate it right now. If I find it, I'll post it for reference.
You can find out more information about CANR here http://www.canr.org/index.html. We met the director, Donna Heaton, at a JC Raulston Arboretum seminar a couple of years ago and she told us about their open house which was being held the next week. We hadn't planned on another trip that fall, but decided to head south and find out what it was all about. Glad we did! Michael Dirr was one of the people presenting information about all the new Hydrangeas and Buddleias they had been working with. We came away with three of his "experiments" :) We also got a glimpse of the breeding programs for all the new Abelias and Crape Myrtles. This year the new 'Blushing Bride' hydrangea was a big hit at their open house as well as a couple others which should be hitting the market in the next couple of years. They have also been doing alot of breeding with Viburnums and Donna had offered us some of their test plants. We traveled with our trailer in tow this year and brought back a dozen huge 5 gallon Viburnums that were scheduled for the compost pile! They don't offer any plants for sale unfortunately, but some people are fortunate enough to walk away with a few "gifts" :)
Lazy K's is a nursery we found when trying to locate native Azaleas. http://www.lazyknursery.com/
It's been really hard to find growers of these beauties over the past couple of years, but it seems they're becoming more popular and hopefully will be easier to find in the garden centers soon. Unfortunately, his nursery is too far west for us to visit during our short stay in Georgia, but it's still a possibility for the future.
Butch,
There is some serious begonia envy going on here!!! Your plants are gorgeous. My "I gotta have" list just grew :-)
Sharon
Now that I know what I have is a Begonia - I'm addictied!!! Wow...what beautiful colors. Can't believe I've never owned one before given my like for colors!!! Our Walmart just got a shipment in of whatever type this one is. 4 in pots for under $2.00 - couldn't pass it up even though I hadn't a clue what I was buying...LOL Any helpful hints for a Begonia newbie?
What luck to find such a beauty at Wal-mart at that price.
Shirley
Stownes,
The beauty of begonias ia the foliage, don't you think? Blooms are a bonus (unless you are into tuberous types - then they are the star). Be careful though - you might get addicted.
Chantell,
Wow, that is great to get such a beauty for less than $2. That looks like 'Casey Corwin'. Biggest advice I can give you is give it light (though they can do well in dim locations too), humidity, let it dry some between watering. I move mine outdoors from spring to fall where they usually thrive. When you pot up, I'd recommend a loose mixture (lots of perlite) and a shallow clay pot for quicker drainage.
RCN,
Sounds like you made out by going to CANR. Was Allen Armitage there as well? I read his articles in Fine Gardening. I may have to look into this program.
I picked up a few native azaleas at our last place, but now I will have to start over again. They can get to be quite large (mine were over 6 foot tall in about 6 to 8 years), and have a very nice fragrance compared to the Asian varieties. They make a nice compliment to flowering cherries (Kwanzan in my case).
If you get down to Callaway Gardens when azaleas are blooming, you will see acres of them throughout the woods. They also sell plants there plus many vendors outside the gardens sell them as well.
Butch
Butch,
Thank you! I was going to do a search tonight so I knew what to do with it. Certainly will move it to the deck when the weather warms as humid is what VA is all about - grrr! LOL
Chantell
Chantell, Butch's advise is spot on. I think the trick is don't over water. (trust me, I'm the queen of overwater)
Mine do best when I let them dry a bit, I also add a bit of orchid bark to the soil blend Butch describes above. But I'm also in a different growing environment. CA is dry and hot in the summer. No rain after May.
Yours is a beauty! Beware, they are addicting!!
Butch I need your help..I bought 6 new begonias and 3 of them are loosing all their leaves,they got crispy around the edges and the leaves fall off..What am I doing wrong?The others are really looking healthy and all are in my bay window..Should I fertilize them?Any suggestions as what to do??
Loretta..
Hi hcmcdole, I am a novice at this. I have only been in the wonderful world of begonia's for about 6 or7 months now and I am crazy about them. I got my first begonia this summer. The man that owns a local nursery gave me a piece of one of his own begonia's. He did not know the name he just said that he thought it to be an eyelash begonia. It looks like the begonia Persian Brocade, but I really do not know, she has wonderfully long hairs on the stems, really long. Anyway, from the moment I laid my eyes on it I have been hooked!!! I have got most of my begonia's from arika on ebay. The funny thing is I thought I would just buy them, put them in a pretty pot, keep them watered, give them a little light and viloa! Boy was I wrong. The first batch I bought was about 5 begonia's. I lost them all! I learned real quick, there is more to this than just putting a beautiful plant in a pretty pot. The first boo boo I was making was repotting them into my decorative pots the moment I got them. I also had to change my soil. I want to grow beautiful begonias soooo bad. It has been slow coming though. This is what I have experienced. The begonia's would come to me beautiful! One by one the leaves would turn yellow and fall off, or the would get crispy around the edges. After I changed soil, I don't think watering is the problem. They are in a room with a large window, no direct sunlight, and the room they are growing in is lighted with flourescent lights. I am not going to give up because once I reach success, I think that will make them even more precious to me. I need clarity on something. I have read by some that when they bring their begonia's in during the winter that for them, most of their leaves fall off and they leave them be for the season. That it is to be expected for them to die back inside. Others say that they have success with thier begonia's thriving inside. That is what I want!! Begonia's that thrive both inside and out. I am hopeful, the begonia's that I lost all the leaves, I saved the rhizome. Now most of them have started putting out beautiful leaves again and for some reason they are not yellowing or turning brown around the edges. I hope that maybe they are now acclimated to my home and will continue to grow and thrive! I know this is long but I really am passionate about growing beautiful begonia's! I will take ANY advice from ANYONE that knows the in's and out's and is more experienced than I. Well the reason I wrote this hcmcble is that I noticed your pic of Lady Helene Jaros. I just wanted to say, I got her about 3 or 4 months ago and she is absolutly gorgeous!!! She is the only one that I got that didn't loose all of her leaves and now she is really turning it on!!! I don't know what I did different, If any but whatever it is I wish my other begonia's would do the same!! I am new to this site so sorry If to long and thanks for reading. Any help and advice to growing beautiful begonia's all year long would be greatly appreciated!!!
Loretta,
A lot of rexes lose their leaves during winter. A common mistake is to give it more water, thinking it needs it. If the soil is damp, then resist the urge to water.
You might put some kind of humidity tent over it to see if this helps. That seems to be one of the biggest problems - humidity.
I recently started feeding my begonias since most are starting to put out new growth. If they aren't growing, then hold back on feeding them.
ibegoniacrazy1,
If you are like me, you probably think that begonias love water and good potting soil like most other houseplants. I use to do that - put them in plastic or ceramic pots with good potting soil, and water them well. If they wilted, I'd give them more water. I was even putting in the water absorbing crystals early on.
What the plants were saying is "Help, I'm drowning". I have killed more than my fair share and still do at times. Anyway I learned from other experts' advice is to hold back on water if the soil is moist. Some advocate testing the moisture with your finger immersed to an inch in the soil. I don't do this because there are too many pots. If it looks dry I water. If it is damp looking I don't water. The only exception to this, is if the soil looks dry and the plant is wilted, I may feel the top of the soil or go down a bit to see if it is damp feeling. If you do err on watering, I'd do it on the dry side. 'Cowardly Lion' is one that seems to prefer being dry while 'Big Mac' likes it wet so there are no general rules.
For rexes and rhizomatous I like clay pots with lots of Perlite amended to a good potting mix. This allows the soil to drain (dry) faster. This means more watering chores but less Death by drowning. I am keeping new plants in their original pots with the plastic liners (for humidity) until I move them outdoors. Then I will move them to clay pots.
If you want them to thrive indoors then the lights have to be close to the plants (although I've seen a rex over at my daughter's house grow very well despite lack of good light). Mine are under shop lights 12 hours a day. Some are touching the lights while others may be a foot or so away.
Humidity is very important. The ones in a terrarium do thrive but this can get expensive if you have a lot of plants. You might consider plastic bags over your pots to see if they respond but it is unattractive. The other thing is humidity trays. I use aluminum serving trays under all of mine and bottom water from time to time. Sand or gravel in the trays would be better but I won't be doing this anytime soon.
A lot of my rexes lost all their leaves but most are putting out new ones now. 'Lady Helene Jaros' still has most of her leaves (some look damaged) but no new growth yet.
You could be right about indoors vs. outdoors. Since I move all mine outside I don't know how they would fare by keeping them inside year round. I'm sure they lose leaves when you move them back inside due to the shock but it may be in their genes as well. For example, most all my rexes defoliate over weeks while canes that receive good light do not. Canes that receive poor light do the same as rexes - they drop all their leaves. Most of my rhizomatous do not defoliate either. So what is the conclusion?
Hcmcdole, Thanks for the advice. I know this is a learning process and I need to try and be more patient. I too will be moving my begonia's outdoors this spring. The only experience that I have had with begonia's is indoors because I got my first begonia, Persian Brocade(the one that made fall in love with begonia's)at the end of this past summer. Anyway, maybe I have been expecting to much out of my begonia's to soon. Oh, and I have noticed that all of my Rhizo's, NO problems. They don't seem to be as fical as my rexes. None of my rhizo's have defoliated either. Thanks again for the good advice. I will try the humidity trays! Thanks, Kristi