My Monster!

I can't even remember which one this is right now - but wanted to post the picture anyway. This poor thing has been growing in the same pot for 3 years - an ugly white plastic one like the hanging pots they grow all the annuals in - but it sure doesn't seem to mind! Last summer (2005) I pinched it back hard and it recovered nicely by the end of the summer - but this year - OMG! It definitely won't fit in the same spot in the house where it spent the winter last year. To get an idea of the size, the plant is sitting in a stand that's about 3' tall and the clay pot in the upper right hand corner is 8".

Debbie

Very well grown! It looks like 'Magdalene Madsen'. Maybe it's like the old adage of perennials - first year it weeps, second year it creeps, and the third year it LEAPS. Something like that. Anyway, give yourself a pat on the back and think about entering this in some competitions (seriously) - I bet you would win a lot of awards.

Aw heck, if they looked at the soil on this monster, they'd probably disqualify it! It's like one huge rootball where it's sunk away from the sides of that nasty plastic pot - but I'm not going to upset it at this point - seems perfectly happy :) Thanks for the compliment Butch :)

Just put it in a new pot. I wouldn't do anything to the root ball though, just add some new soil around it (it just looks too good to upset the balance if you know what I mean). I don't see how any judge could even see the pot (at least from the picture). Do you rotate the plant so it has even growth on all sides?

Haven't checked lately - but I know it hasn't been rotated in the last month or so - was so pretty the way it was cascading in that direction - when I bring it inside though the light will be at its 'backside' so it should fill out even more. This is one that actually performs okay over the winter in the house!

Butch, just sent you an email for some help :)

This message was edited Oct 5, 2006 5:49 AM

Very pretty Debbie, you should be proud of that one. The one behind it is a nice one also, with the yellow blooms.

oooh, I love that!!! Way to Grow!

Susan

What a fabulous plant!!

Simply understated, it's gorgeous.

Jackie

Looks just great. A happy, happy begonia!

Susan, I love the yellow one too (tuberous) - now if I can just keep it alive for next year! Freezing temps were predicted for tonight so we spent the whole day yesterday bringing in all our Begonias - good thing we did because the freeze came a day early! Once I get the "mess" cleaned up I'll try to post a few pictures of them in their winter home. Grabbed this one quick before bringing them all inside - this is one we've managed to keep alive over 6 years.

and love the foliage on this one - Benitochiba

Beautiful ! Do you also take cuttings to grow a new plant inside just incase ?

Violet - no cuttings from Benitochiba, but we got a few cuttings of some others and keeping our fingers crossed.

Wanted to post this one of the Cissus discolor we picked up at Baker's Acres this summer - it swallowed the terrarium behind it! Unfortunately we had to cut it back some to bring inside - but hopefully will get some of the cuttings to take. If you look closely you can see the wooden 'trellis' that's in the center of the pot - or use the door on the left to see how much it's grown! I have a larger pot I'm going to set the current pot in and then try to wrestle with it and give it a larger support to climb on.

Great looking 'Thurstonii' and cissus discolor! My cissus drops all its leaves in winter but comes back each spring. I've had problems with cuttings of it but then I don't put a lot of attention into it either. This year I let it creep into another pot and hope it has rooted in it (lazy way to propagate).

'Benitochiba' is a great begonia. Mine is finally looking good but I was worried about it earlier this summer. Normally it is full by early June if not earlier. Maybe it's time to repot it. I think the chilly night time temps are bringing out a lot of pink in silver tone rex begonias now.

WOW, lovely plants on this thread. Debbie your Thurstonii and Cissus dis-color are both
grown to perfection.
Butch, Fantastic Benitochiba

Jackie

WOW ! Yes Stunning plants !

Butch, your Beni puts mine to shame! I'm just happy that mine is even alive - killed the one I got from Logees a couple of years ago. As for the Cissus - figure I can't take all the credit for this one - Baker's did the job for me and all I have to do is keep it happy :) Interesting that you lost all the leaves - should I expect the same? Might have to rethink where I'm going to locate it in the house if that's the case - wanted to give it a "special" spot, but if it ends up looking like it's dead by January I might want to hide it! Same thing usually happens to my Clerodendron but it always bounces back.

Had hopes of posting more pictures but my husband "pruned" alot of the larger ones before we brought them inside - fortunately I stopped him before he got every last one of them - but not as many pretty plants to photograph now :( Two that he performed surgery on:

I've had my cissus for 4 years now and it looks like a shrinking violet even under lights compared to the way it grows outdoors. I got mine on one of the Keys (Marathon Key I think at a small nursery which also had large pots of begonias) and it was excellently grown back then. It isn't as spectacular as it once was but i haven't removed it from its original pot either.

Here it is at its glory growing down (and up) a crepe myrtle. Some of the vines grew at least 8 foot to the top of that tree. I have found that it seems to grow better creeping along the ground. I believe it probably picks up more nourishment and moisture this way but I don't have time to save all the snapped off pieces when I bring everything indoors. I'm ruthless when I start bringing plants indoors. I found out that florist's ivy survives our winters because of snapped off pieces left attached to the ground. I even had a spider plant come back several years.

Beautiful Butch! Actually when we saw Cissus growing in a botanical garden in Florida last fall, that's how they treated - as a groundcover - it was stunning! When I was on the kick to make concrete hosta leaves last month, I experimented with a piece of the Cissus vine and made an impression of it in a rectangular plaque. Now the challenging part will be testing artistic skills I may (or may not!) have in trying to reproduce the colors of the leaves - a winter project for sure so I'll be able to take my time and experiment with it. I've been wanting to take pictures of the begonia leaf casting I made but every time I get a chance the light's all wrong - when I do finally get the picture, I'll take one of the plaque as well so you can see a before and after :)

Debbie