Begonia "Black Jack" is blooming!

Hi everyone! I'm not a huge begonia nut, but I have this growing obsession with cane-like begonias. I picked up a few in March of this year when USF had their yearly Begonia Bash. One was "Black Jack", and when I was watering the other day I noticed it was starting to bloom! Gotta love living in Florida. Plants have a weird schedule here - I never know what they're gonna do! By the way, this begonia has now gotten almost as tall as me - it's nearly five feet tall and is making new ones out the side.

Here's a photo of it a few months ago when it was shorter, but you can get sense of what it looks like.

It's a lovely begonia. Love the dark leaves.

Jackie

That is really a pretty Begonia. I have a couple of cane types, but I never knew any of them got that tall!

Lin

Oh wow love your Begonia ! You have it growing in the ground ? We have some growing in the ground year round that do well .

Yup, I have four of them growing in the ground. I have another one that started blooming today that's called "Monarch". I raked up all the pine leaves in my side yard and used them to mulch under the begonias so maybe it made them happy.

wonderful ! when our plants were growing under the tres but stil got morning sun and the leaves or mulch they were rally happy !

What a great begonia! I only have Rex Begonias that live inside from September thru May, and then get to go outside for the summer. I've always wanted to look into cane type begonias, and wonder if they are happy as houseplants. Last year I lost my 18 yr. old cat, whose name was Black Jack. I would love to find one of these if you think it would be happy in a zone 4a home.

I just love your Black Jack Cane Begonia. I am into the Cane Type of Begonias. Yours is doing well.
Just love it!! Since you are in Florida, your must get very tall and grow fast uh!
I just aquired a few cuttings of different type of Canes! Thanks for sharing the picture.. I have never seen that type before on any of the Cane Begonia web sites .

katrun......do you keep your cane begonias as houseplants? I am really looking into a new obsession. LOL

Thanks everyone! I think you could put begonias in the house, mine are in pretty deep shade. They get some morning sun but they're mostly covered by a huge oak tree. I really love the cane begonias. I go to the USF Botanical Gardens a lot, and they have a whole bunch of them right in front of their main office/plant shop. I just love the clusters of blooms that hang from them.

I'll have to check in the daylight, but I think that I have this one. I have been wondering why no blooms. Not the season, so far that is. Mine is also about 5' and I would love to have blossoms.

Hap

I live in central New Jersey and have several cane type begonias that do very well here in pots. I keep them outside in the Summer under a tree so they won't get sunburned. I also have a few rhizomatus type begonias in pots that do well. At the present time I want to expand my collection of the cane or Angel Wing type begonas. Attached is a photo of my favorite Angel Wing begonia (just after I brought it indoors this Fall) it is a Coralina de Lucerna, one ot the oldest hybrids. My grandmother had one also.

Gombasz
12/30/06

The flowers have really opened now so I thought you all might enjoy an update.

I think I'll have to stake it; it's leaning a bit too much.