I just counted up the number of pots I potted up in the last week and it was 90 (yikes) and I still have many, many more to go. I still have at least 30 more outdoors and I don't know how many indoors. Combine that with the 130 or more bigger pots and it is reaching critical mass.
How's everyone else doing?
Here is a bowl of canes recently potted up.
Cora Miller has a long way to go but the colors are promising.
Art Hodes finally filled out but didn't get tall this year.
Plum Gorgeous leaf and some new leaves coming up. It is planted with a unknown rex, some small cane begonia (almost lost it).
Just when things start looking good, it's time to start thinking about winter.
Great shots Butch! thanks. Your Art Hodes sure looks good!
Our temps have been in the high 40's at night. I spent a some time yesterday bringing in all the hoya and philos. I'll start on the other tropicals soon and then lastly the begonias. (boo hoo! you're right, just when it starts looking good!)
What? Too many begonias? No such thing!!
I just started collecting this year and of course most are still quite small but I have almost 60 named ones and maybe a half dozen unknowns with 10 more eBay cuttings coming in soon.
Scary.
Laurie, we are getting into the mid 50's at night now. I think this year I will start bringing in plants mid-October so I won't have to do them all in a day or two at the end of October. Wouldn't it be nice to have this weather through the whole winter?
Sue, you have got the bug too! Any attempts to resist adding another begonia are futile now. In another year or two, you will be wondering how did I get into this mess. It could be worse I guess, drugs or gambling addictions. Is there a begonia anonymous yet?
Falling pine needles are penetrating a lot of the begonia leaves now. Thank goodness no big limbs have fallen.
Here is 'Joe Hayden' with a pine needle through a leaf. This is minor compared to some of the thinner leaved varieties such as 'Sinbad' - it is really tattered looking.
Ahhh, poor thing, better send it on over here for safe keeping, no pine trees in this yard, just falling oranges. ☺
Yours look great, Butch. Ihave too many to count.
So you potted your leaf starts up? I have many in 2 to 3 inch pots that really need to move up to the next size. Dare I do it now so late in the season? I hate to cause root rot over winter.
I have noticed some of my rex are dying back and I have mildew on a few of my mallet canes already. Oh winter is coming.
You guys are killing me!! I only have about 15. Looks like I have a LOT of catching up to do.
Sharon
Sue,
I got 'Joe Hayden' from PHOE last year and it is a grower. I think it is in a 12 inch bulb pot (clay). The spread is probably over two foot.
Kell,
I really haven't started many this year so most were starts from last year and have done pretty good. Most are in 4 to 6 inch pots now. If you can get more growth out of them, I would move them up but they should be okay in smaller pots too (just seems to be more watering in smaller pots which has good/bad points like anything in life).
Any new starts are in the basement under humidity domes or sitting in water. Several have new leaflets and most have at least some roots. I will move them up in a few more weeks and hope they do well through the winter.
My rexes are in their glory now but the mallets are starting to fade. It's spraying time.
Full view of 'Joe Hayden'.
Butch, an impressive Joe Hayden.
Jackie
Thanks, Jackie. I wish all begonias grew as easy as this one.
Here is another favorite black one. I think it is 'Black Velvet' but not sure. I got it at my next to the last Southeast Flower show 4 years ago. The last time I went (3 years ago) was my last where I bought 'Thurstonii'. I swore I wouldn't go back after that one (which I haven't) but instead went to Miami the last two years. I may go back to the Southeast show this coming year if I enter any begonias in the show (that would be the only way).
This message was edited Sep 21, 2006 8:55 AM
Black Velvet is a nice begonia too. I can't go to any of the shows
because of my pets and plants. My sister lives
30 miles No of Dallas. Next time it's in Dallas, I'm going to bribe her
to buy me some goodies from the plant sale tables.
She can be bought for the right price. LOL
Jackie
Ohh la la, very nice looking Black you have there!
Can I jump in here for possible ID help? Never quite trust Ebay sellers to label things correctly.
This one was shown on the auction to be 'Concord-Chocolate', (seller has it in a current collection again) which it isn't of course as Concord is a cane (I think). Not shown too clearly here is a faint stripe down the center of the leaf. It's a trailer
And this one was marked "Silver Foil".
another shot of it
and I picked this one up the other day in a nursery, a rex perhaps? It's real glistening silver.
and another angle
That first one looks a lot like 'Magdalene Madsen' or a hybrid from listada. The third one is a nice silver rex that I picked up at Wal-Mart several weeks ago and I noticed it is back at Wal-Mart today. Not sure what the name is but it looks similar to 'Fairy' but 'Fairy' can get quite large. Call it 'Mini Fairy'?
'Silver Foil' looks like an apt name for the second one although I never heard of it before. It reminds me of some of the hairy leaf types such as 'November Frost'.
Ahh, listada, thats' the name I was thinking it looked like. I'll check it out and the 'Magdalene Madsen' too.
Well, it may be a small "Fairy' still, hope it does get large, the leaves are very striking.
Guess i can't get too obsessed about names since there are so many made up ones out there, a shame though. I keep coming acroos the Cottage Garden nursery ones with male and female first names.
I have a 'Magdalene Madsen' from an earlier buy but wanted listada so I ordered it from GHW. Guess what they sent - another 'Magdalene Madsen'. Either they don't know what listada looks like or they think the buyer is too stupid to know the difference. At least they did send 'Grey Feather' which looked like what it was suppose to be.
'Concord' is a small leaf shrub with bronzy, waxy leaves.
Here is a picture of 'Sinbad' center stage and 'Chocolate' trailing over the edge from last year. The colors are off due to the camera I had at that time.
'Magdalene Madsen' in the back, 'Grey Feather' in the front, 'Maurice Amey' on the left, and I think 'Benigo' on the right. These were from last year. 'Maurice Amey' is gone, 'Benigo' is quite small, and 'Grey Feather' has about taken over the pot this year. They looked good together last year.
Ok, now your 'Chocolate' looks like my "Concord-Chocolate' above! Let me try another shot of the leaves.
Okay, I went way back in my archives and pulled out another close up of 'Magdalene Madsen'. See if this helps any.
And a close up of 'Chocolate'. One day I am going to go through all my pictures and rename them to something meaningful. Yeah, right.
'Concord' close up.
Hmm, doesn't look too much like concord, the edges are wavier.
Ok, I just took these.
Those hairs are distracting LOL!
and another, although blurry
man, I can't tell! To me your 'Magdalene Madsen' and 'Chocolate' look so simular!
maybe I'll just wait until it matures a bit before trying to ID it.
Okay I went out and took some pictures with a better camera. I'm confident that yours is 'Magdalene Madsen'.
Here is mine.
And 'Chocolate'
Oh yeah, I see it now too, mine has more of the center vein and not all the veins like 'Chocolate'. (which is also now on my wish list!)
Thanks for the extra effort in getting the corrct ID, I appreciate it!
Here are some dark (black) begonias in a group shot.
'Joe Hayden' is in the back, 'Black Velvet' on the right, 'Bashful Bandit' on the left, 'Black Coffee' in the center, and 'Mo Reese' in the front.
I don't know how big 'Sinbad' would get say in Florida, in the ground, and pampered. It gets about two foot tall but it does bush out pretty good in a growing season. It grows quick but it takes a while to get going, then fall sets in, and it starts to go downhill. All my leaves are tattered now from falling pine needles and other debris.
Here is a close up of it from last year.
Hi from Florida,
I have Sinbad and a little over 2 foot is about it. I have it fairly good shade. Last year it got pretty beat up by Hurricane Wilma, but bounced back like a real trooper. I love this one.
Hap
Thanks, Hap for that information. I thought it might get bigger in a tropical area. Do you grow yours in the ground?
Sinbad defintely has its problems (mildew, slow to start in the spring, completely de-nuded in winter, frail leaves are easily punctured and torn from falling debris) but it is such a showstopper when it is in its prime, that you must have it.
Here was my first pot that I ended up giving to my youngest daughter (I thought it was dead and had already bought another pot of it. The first pot finally started sending out new growth from the soil so I'm glad I didn't toss it.).
