Does anyone know what this begonia might be? I have had it for a while and is unlike any I have ever grown such as Rex, etc. The leaves are about 5 1/2" long and about 2 1/2" wide. Very glossy green with raised ridges in ruby rose. I absolutely love this plant, but would very much like to know more about it. Any ideas?
It's b. brevirimosa (or b. brefirimosa 'Edinburgh') or b. 'Exotica' (I can never tell them all apart)
If I recall correctly it's a New Guinea species.
you can view them at the ABS astro site here http://absastro.tripod.com/skey/subkey27_28.htm
Great begonia, hates the dry west coast! You're a lucky duck to be able to grow it. It's died on me 4 times. I'll try it one more time and see if I can keep it growing in my terrarium.
We had a discussion about this earlier too - here's the link
http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/594002/
Joolz is a master begonia-head, so if she's killed it that many times, I really should just give up on it LOL. And she's in a great growing area for begonias!
Sigh..
Begoniacrazii....I can't thank you enough!!! I know I would have never found it without your help.
It looks exactly like B. Brevimosa. The site you referred me to says it is an Asian species. Well, you have made my day. I'm thrilled!
Now I'm nervous because everyone says it's hard to grow. I really haven't paid that much attention to it and treat it just like any others I grow. Guess I've been lucky so far. I really do love this one. Thanks again!
Don't be nervous. It's likely just a humidity issue. It's got very tender leaves and they crisp right away in our 10-20% humidity. I think you all are much more humid out there. We're very medeterranian here and it's just too dry. Others do quite well with it.
I saw it at PHOE doing great!
I think Butch still grows it too.
Yes, 10 -20% humidity is very low and ours is usually much higher especially in the summer when it can be extreme.
I have never seen this variety offered anywhere in my life until one day, I was at a local nursery and saw one of those large fancy expensive mixed hanging baskets that had this begonia in it. I spotted it and liked it right away. I hated to pay all that money for the basket but did so just to get this begonia. I have never seen another one since.
So glad I know what it is now thanks to you.
Without knowing how difficult this begonia is to keep alive, I purchased it this spring and it is growing away. Think I'll just keep quiet about what I know so it will continue to do well. Lol. Continued good luck to you - it's a beauty.
Tussee
oh you gals in humid-land have all the luck! (trying not to be green with envy!)
Tussee...may I ask where you found yours? In my area, I have never seen it anywhere besides the one time like I said. Maybe it is easily available in other areas.
Now how to propagate it. From cuttings I would imagine. A leaf wouldn't work would it?
Begoniacrazii...you should try again :0)
I will! I will!! I'm headed to Kartuz in a week so I'll pick one out and try again (maybe two)
I think for propagating it you must have a stem. It's a shrub type and though I have had a leaf root, the general consensus is that it will never (or take forever and a day) produce a plant. I was told the same thing for b. gehrtii, but Kell got one to root and make babies. So never say never. LOL.
I would suggest trying a perlite/vermiculite blend and keeping it constantly moist, not soggy and see what results you get. You might also want to put a lid (dome or whatever you can to make a terrarium environment)
A cheap way to do that is to use a litre soda bottle and cut it in half. Poke holes in the bottom so it can drain, then plant up your cuttings and put the top back on.
This one is different but you can see what I mean. After I cut the bottom off, I cut a small 1/4 wedge shape out so it slips over easier. I can take some more photos if you like.
I don't drink sodas very often but have just changed my mind! That is a neat idea. Perfect for your Kohleria I take it. Looks like you have lots of healthy happy plants and Yes, if you are lucky enough to go to Kartuz, get a couple more for sure as I don't think begonias come any prettier than these.
When my plant gets a little larger, I will take cuttings and root as you suggest. Great tips!
so funny because I dont like soda either. I bought root beer for my son just so I could have the pop bottle! LOL.
Can't say the pop-bottle terrarium is my idea, got it here on daves. And it does work! I put that kohleria 'Jester' cutting in that little pot months ago and it rooted, made a pot full of rhizomes and is still in there. It's just about to poke out through the top too and has new buds! I've harvested numerous little rhizomes from it and traded them out.
So it's happy, I just leave it alone in there. I keep most of my gessies in my terrarium or clear vinyl covered indoor greenhouse. Not many of my chirita as they dont mind the low humidity.
my terrarium begonias sure appreciate the covered domes and other jars they're kept in. Come November we'll get a bit higher humidity when our rain returns. But until then...
My plant came from Logee's. I just checked and it is listed as available.
Tussee
Thanks Begoniacrazii and Tussee!!! I ordered 2 more brevimosas for back up. So glad to be getting them just in case anything happens to the one I have.
Just starting to collect chiritas. Have two...latifolia dwarf and stardust. Have a couple more on their way.
Have one Kohleria...Peridots Kitlope. Like it very much.
Here is exotica or brevirimosa at PHOE back in early March. I had both at one time but lost them in the winter (lack of humidity or too tender for the chilly greenhouse). The only thing I could see different between them was the stem color - one was green and the other one was red.
The plant I still have in a terrarium is serratipetala.
Here is a picture of serratipetala on the left and brevirimosa or exotica on the right in Thailand last month.
A collage of serratipetala in late Jan to early Feb this year with volunteer ferns and a few other begonias in an old fish tank.
oh you taunt us with those beauties!!!
I wondered if those would do ok outside in the summer with your humidity. Have you tried it?
Yes, they all would do fine in summer. I got the serratipetala last year from the begonia folks up the road which they had planted in a raised bed. Frost was right around the corner and they would rather someone have them instead of letting Jack Frost have them all. I dug up over 40 plants last year.
As for exotica (Kartuz) and brevirimosa var. Edinburgh (Logees) they did fine through the summer but slowly curled up and died in my old greenhouse when temps got in the 30's or 40's some nights.
Here is my deceased brevirimosa.
And exotica. I think there was some debate on the Yahoo group whether exotica and brevirimosa are actually the same (one being a sub-species of the other or something like that).
Gorgeous pics...hcmcdole! I did have my brevirimosa outside on the covered front porch and only recently brought it in and placed under lights in my living area so I could see it more often. Did fine out there.
If I see that is doesn't like where it is now (in much less humidity), I will put it downstairs in my warm humid plant room where episcias grow like weeds.
I found this article to be interesting.
http://www.begonias.org/begonian/begonianItem.asp?ArticleID=17
Really interesting. He said he took leaf cuttings. See, never say never! LOL! thanks for pointing us to that article.
edited to add this quote from Bill Voss' article above.
Leaves that fall will root quickly.
Wish he would have said in the quote "and produce plantlets" :-) I'm sure that is what he meant and is certainly worth a try. What if? Would be good.
Snowrose, I am so envious of your brevirimosa - I purchased one last summer from Logee's and it suffered over the winter. I can't say that it was the healthiest specimen to begin with, but I did at least try bringing it outside in the spring with the rest of my Begonias with the hope that it would come back. Although some of them that were looking pretty sad rejuvenated, this is one that did not :(
Debbie
Debbie, I will do my very best to keep this one going. So far it looks like the picture of health and is making new growth. Sorry you lost yours. I hope my Logee order will be decent as it should be for the fairly high prices they charge. If they send me nice plants, it will be worth every penny.
I will try to propagate more over time. Remember my DG name and get back to me. With any luck, I will have some I could send you in the Spring.
Snowrose,
Logees usually sends very well grown plants. Yet, a lot of them seem to die over time. Not sure if it is a traumatic change or something in the soil or what. I've lost many over the years from there but have been able to keep some going as well. I will continue to buy from there as long as I cannot find it anywhere else. I wish they had a longer guarantee. Two weeks is not enough at times.
Here is an example:
I ordered B. 'San Miguel' 2 years ago and it grew like gangbusters and I gave away two offsets the first year. I divided it as well so I had two plants. Both succumbed after the first winter. I ordered another last fall and it had the largest leaves ever for a rootball in a 2.5 inch pot. I potted it up in a bigger pot and moved it outdoors. I watered it like any of my other begonias plus it received the same amount of rain. Three weeks later every leaf fell off. 'San Miguel' is more difficult to propagate than most probably due to its succulent nature, but I tried different methods on several leaves. Finally got two to root in an aquarium but after I removed the leaves from the tank after all winter with no new leaflets, they finally died. I ordered one more this past winter and stuck it in with some rootings of other begonias in my aluminum prop'ing trays full of Perlite and it has been doing okay for the last 6 months. Go figure.
My first 'San Miguel' two years ago. What a pity.
Butch, loved your pics of brevirimosa, exotica and serratipetela. I ordered
each of those from Logees at different times and didn't take me long
to kill them. Doubt if I will try again.
For San Miguel. Perhaps use a potting mix with lots of added perlite and/or sand. Keep it tight in the pot. Just speculation on my part.
Jackie
Jackie,
The biggest problem I have (and I hear from others) is getting some of the really picky begonias through winter. The serratipetala in the picture is the second one I've had and it is thriving in my 30 gallon aquarium but the tank is crowded. I have a feeling the other two (exotica and brevirimosa) would do just great in the same kind of environment too.
As for San Miguel and most of my begonias, I use liberal amounts of Perlite and prefer clay pots especially for rhizomatous. The first SM did so great (like I mentioned before) that I gave away at least two offsets about the size you would get from Logees and divided the remaining mother plant into two pots for insurance purposes, but it gradually went downhill through the winter months so much that it probably didn't have enough energy to make it by the time I was finally able to move it outdoors. I don't use sand too much because it is so heavy but I am using it a bit more for rooting new begonias.
A couple in our local begonia chapter just start new plants each year from cuttings instead of bringing the big plants back indoors. I may have to adopt this strategy in the future so I can give them adequate light, warmth, and humidity.
Here is 'Cachuma' back in June.
hcmcdole,
Appreciate all your growing tips and experience both positive and negative. Saw some pretty Rex today and they were labeled for a change. All were Harmony's for 9.99 ea. They were nice but didn't buy any. Either I wasn't in the mood or didn't see one that really jumped out at me.
Butch, Love the Cachuma with it's pebbled leaf surface.
Jackie
