I mis-spoke.
I just went out and measured and it's 35" tall. My how the children do grow so fast. LOL
Yes, he is in the ground.
See him smile?
Too many begonias
And also his baby picture 6/3/05
Ahh, ain't he cute? Love the big Ti plant.
That's Dr. Brown and the "littlieer", cream stripped one is Miss Andrea.
I wish I could grow cordylines in the ground year round. I've planted a few but then I have to dig them up. The one thing I will experiment with this year is phormiums. I just bought 3 new ones from Lowes and need to get them in the ground soon. I have a red one that is in the original pot for the last 4 years and is winter hardy in our area.
Great to see all the begonias people have posted here and other threads. I can say that the Begonia forum has one of the most enthusiastic groups of growers on DG.
I just wanted to post my Begonia 'Sophia'. I got this one as a 6 inch sized plant and put her in a whiskey barrel with other begonias. She tripled in size outside and now I have moved her back into a pot to bring back inside. Up here in Massachusetts we had temperatures in the 30's if you can believe it last night!
Sue
Edit: typos
This message was edited Sep 22, 2006 12:03 PM
Sue,
You should visit the coleus forum if you want a bunch of loonies. We have a ball there.
In the 30s????? I can't imagine...it's way too early for that nonsense...
Hap
Well I know I have been enjoying this forum and sometimes go back to the beginning to scan the images and comments as my collection, knowledge and tastes change.
I also have been working hard on my Journal adding all kinds of plants and images and the begonia one is coming together nicely.
http://davesgarden.com/journal/j/vbc/Calif_Sue/42615/name2/
That's a lot of work, Calif....it is mighty nice, though. When you get done, could you do mine?
Hap
Sue,
Great looking 'Sophia' there. It is my second oldest cane - around 25 years.
Are 30's typical for you this time of year? I remember being in the Boston area years ago in November and was it ever cold and the days were really short (dark at 5 PM). I can't imagine what it's like in Jan and Feb.
We are in the mid 50's at night but two nights ago we dipped into the high 40's. I'm sitting in my shorts, tee shirt, bare-footed, and the ceiling fan is running but it won't be much longer I can do this.
It is probably our chief lament - bringing all the plants back indoors. Those lucky people who can grow outdoors year round have it made (me thinks).
hcmcdole,
Hi. I noticed in pic #1 (all the way up top) that you had a bunch of different cuttings in one pot. Are you going to leave that that way for the winter? That would be so much easier than haveing a bunch of little pots everywhere. Do you just stick them in the dirt or do you do anything special? Thanks Dawn
Happy_1 - I agree it is too early! You guys are lucky...
hcmcdole - I am inland near the New Hampshire border so I get frost earlier than Boston or Cape Cod. So usually by 2nd week of October a killing frost has happened. Sometimes we luck out and have 'Indian Summer' until into November so if you can get by the first frost by covering your plants you can get a little more life out of your planted annuals. So your description of Boston in November sounds correct that is why a lot of retired people go South for the winter or are online looking at plants and catalogs all winter!
So question for you: If I take a cutting from the top of Sophia will it root readily using a rooting hormone? I haven't had much luck trying to start new plants using just a leaf and wondered if taking a bigger cutting might work?
Thanks
Sue
After living for 43 years in Rochester, NY and watching all my babies die about October, I consider myself now living in Paradise with everyone out playing all year around.
Hap
Dawn,
That is 15 cuttings I received off eBay. I rooted them all in water for about a week or two and then stuck them in a bowl (15 inch plastic you can get from HD for about 4 dollars or more). I use MiracleGro soil now since I can get the large bags at Sam's. Another thing I've noticed is you can use Nature's Helper (ground up pine bark and maybe some sand) and begonias root easily in it but I will warn you - it is a lot "dirtier" than good potting soil but it's also a lot cheaper. If you are growing outdoors I'd use it instead of good potting soil.
The one thing to observe about a community pot is to grow the same size plants in it. I've learned that sometimes you put a lot of things together because they are small and think it would work out really nice, but you could have some brutes in the mix that will eventually take over the whole pot.
So I would put small canes together, large canes together, etc. if you want to economize. You will note on the 'Sinbad' pot, I actually have 3 other canes and a trailer in the same pot. Sinbad is a brute but the others fared well last summer (they were 'Torch', 'Maribel Pink Shades', richmondensis, and 'Chocolate'). Torch is the only one that came back along with Sinbad.
Sue,
For Sophia or any other cane, you will have to take a stem cutting (include at least a couple of nodes). They will not propagate by leaf cutting. You can cut the top out and easily water root it in a week or two. Remove all the leaves except the top two and blooms. If the leaves are extra large then you can trim them as well. When roots start forming you can stick it in a good potting mix and go from there.
You can actually cut the whole plant down to a few inches above soil level and the stubs should put on new growth (leave a node or two) and also new shoots should come up from the ground. The longer stems may be cut into shorter sections as long as you have a couple of nodes or more and either water root them or simply stick it in some moist growing medium. You do not need rooting hormone for this.
Butch
Here is a community pot from a few years ago. Everything looks good after a couple of weeks.
After a few more weeks, one begonia is starting to really grow. I should've changed things out at this time but I waited.
Now it's too late, All the little ones are crowded out and too weak to save.
Thanks Butch. I just want to make sure I understand you. I plan on taking some cuttings of my dragon wing and water root some and root some in pots. Once the ones in water have rooted, can I put them in the same pot or should pot them individually. The cutting I'll start in potting soil, can I just put a bunch together and then separate before they get too large?
Dawn,
You can water root all of them together or singly - the same goes for sticking them. If you do water-root them, which is very easy, don't let them go too long or else the roots will intertwine and/or the water will sour. I do not use H2O2 or anything special for this, just plain tap water. You may want to put the cuttings under some kind of humidity dome if you're doing this indoors. That really speeds things up. You should have roots in a week or two at the most.
Here is what I like to do:
1) Stick several cuttings in the same pot for a fuller look. Do give each one their own planting hole though. A stick or pencil is great for a dibble unless you don't mind getting your finger dirty. Firm the soil around the stem.
2) For insurance purposes, try to start more than one pot if you can (a lot of new plants just don't have enough material to start another one or the plant you receive is so poor it should be sent back to the grower immediately). A lot of times you can have two pots or more of the same thing in identical environments and for some reason one of them will just up and die on you. Therefore, two pots (or more) is better although space may dictate otherwise.
As for separating plants that are already in a pot, I'd wait until you get some new growth which indicates good roots. Then pop everything out of the pot and try to tease the plants apart. If they don't pull apart easily then use a knive or pruners to divide the root mass. Then repot in some fresh soil. You should be rewarded if you don't keep them constantly wet and don't overfertilize them.
Good luck,
Butch
Great tips, thanks, makes me excited to start make new plants.
Now, just who is that lovely brute?
Thank you SO much for this. I am looking forward to trying this now. Thanks again!
Dawn
That lovely brute was bought as crassicaulis from GHW about 4 years ago. Obviously it is not. Let's call it the brute or the sprawler or the monster begonia.
Here it is two years ago in late September on a baker's rack on the hot, hot deck. As long as I kept it watered and gave it some protection, it did fine, else it would wilt terribly.
It loses all or most of its leaves in winter, flowers very early, and was severely frostbit last November. I cut all the stems off and started a bunch.
Here is a picture of it on the front porch last year with 'Caribbean Queen' in the back along with a nelumbiifolia which died this past winter, 'Benitochiba', and 'Chantilly Lace' (the small one).
Here it is cut hard after last year's frost and the cuttings in a perlite tray. I just emptied the tray a few days ago but still need to pot up the pups - a few days without water shouldn't hurt, right?
This message was edited Sep 22, 2006 4:22 PM
Well whatever it's called, that is one happy and good looking brute!
Now these images looked familar, I remember coming across your msn album and enjoying your collection while adding names to my 'look for' list. The brute one caught my eye in the foursome image above because I love large leaves and it sure makes a handsome statemnt on the baker's rack!
Hi,
I guess your name is Butch. May I ask you a couple of ?'s....
The first pix is about 6+ foot tall. I have never seen it bloom. It is now squirreling it's way up through a brug and it seems like it is just going to keep going. Will it flower, and if so, when do you think. any idea of what it is????
The second is only about 2' and is just growing fine.
(WHISPER!!!!) I think that I got both of these beauties from DD.....i.e. Dumpster Diving. woops
Thanks, and I am really enjoying this thread. I am into the chit-chat about things....
Hap
My next, another DD RESCUE....
Sue,
Even though I was pretty sure it wasn't what I ordered when it arrived I thought I'd give it a chance. It really grows on you and I thought this was a thick stem since it is probably an inch or more in diameter (I guess I didn't understand thick stems in begonia terminology).
I should update some of those old pictures on my web sites or delete them altogether.
Hap,
That first one looks like one of the Jaros clan. It should bloom but I don't know what time of year. Maybe it's content on just growing (six foot is pretty big!). Sometimes it needs something else - more light, more fertilizer, less water? Then I hear there are some hybrid begonias that never bloom. I've had 'Cracklin Rosie' for a few years and it still hasn't bloomed but I hear it does. I'm trying to remember if I've ever seen 'Looking Glass' bloom.
Send one of those dumpsters up here.
Check out this picture:
http://absastro.tripod.com/hkey/hpicother_az/ChuckJaros.jpg
The second one looks similar to a cucullata or fischeri (or an offspring of one of these).
http://absastro.tripod.com/skey/alphakey.htm
The first one has more pointy leaves. My second one actually looks like a weed.....not too pretty, but it is growing and that gives it an A+ for me. It's a pretty good sun, BTW. We'll see When is blooms. and IT WILL. I just told it!!!!
Here are some flash pictures of some rexes after I moved them yesterday.
#2
#3
If only they stayed this way all year long.
They are beautiful..
That is an immature 'Little Brother Montgomery'. It should look like this one day if I take care of it.
Oh my, what a handsome collection!! Sigh...bet you have wonderful humid conditions in your neck of the woods to keep them happy. Wonderful for plants, not so much for people. But then again, I'm just not accustomed to it.
This message was edited Sep 27, 2006 12:25 PM
It's great this time of year - cool in the morning and warm in the afternoon, cooling again in the evening. Of course the darn mosquitoes are still about so I have to put on some repellent. Better than the yellowjackets that stung me on Friday. At least they are gone now with a can of ultra kill wasp and hornet spray.
Here is a better picture with natural light.
The other side is more rhizos.
Butch,
You have a beautiful collection!
Sharon
Thanks, Sharon. This is the best time of the year for most of them - they've filled out and the colors seem to be more vibrant probably from the cool air. The worst candidates are the thinner leaf canes (mallets) and some rexes due to falling debris ripping the foliage and mildew setting in.
Our local begonia chapter has our annual begonia "dig" tomorrow. Last year I brought home ten for $20 ($2 a piece which goes back into the treasury). I wonder if the couple who host it will have some new surprises this year.
The sky has really been blue lately with white and dark puffy clouds ushering in the cooler air. It makes for good pictures and better spirits.
The begonia "dig" sounds great. I'm looking forward to seeing pictures of your loot :-)
Sharon