I got these yesterday and only one has a tag saying it is 'Savannah Pink Parfait'....never owned a rex begonia....will they be fine under gro lights in the house?
I also am just learning to use this camera....my cousin said to always take them outside and use natural light???????????
This is the tagged one.
Here is another without a tag....the instructions say on all of them just to feed them once a month with straight nitrogen??????????? does that make sense to you pros?
Here is another unidentified one...
Gorgeous! I used to grow them but hadn't in years. They are lovely plants & some have gorgeous flowers. GL with yours!
~*~ Suenell
and the last new one
I haven't the slightest clue what to do with them....one is starting to bloom......until someone answers I am going to go ahead and put them under gro lights.....they spent the night in the car (it wasn't cold last night)
Betty, here's a link from the ABS http://www.begonias.org/greenhouse/bArticle.asp?ArticleID=29
Also, you can find it in the sticky link.
I think in a nutshell, don't overwater (the soil most commercial nurseries use is high in peat and retains too much water), keep the humidity level high, and fertilize during the active growing season.
Here's another good link http://www.bradsbegoniaworld.com/rex.htm
I knew that you, begoniacrazii, would come to my rescue.....thanks and I will start studying about them....they are in a good place with gro-lights and a plastic tent over the 6 ft. tall plant stand......thanks ever so much again....
gail
Gail,
Rexes are a challenge to begin with until you learn their habits. I've lost so many over the last few years but the colors are too alluring to stay away from. They really do so well in summer and fall but then winter can be cruel. Like Laurie said, most of the ones you buy are in a high-peat based medium and it's very easy to overwater them. Shallow clay pots with liberal amounts of Perlite really help me from overwatering. Rexes that have been grown outdoors generally drop most if not all their leaves after being moved back indoors plus they will probably get a bad case of mildew. Spray slightly affected leaves and cut off the worst leaves for mildew.
Humidity seems to be a key requirement of rexes (and some other rhizos for that matter, even some canes benefit). Do not keep the soil saturated. Moistened soil is preferrable. Use a humidity cover for best results. I have started feeding mine recently since most are putting out new leaves with 1/2 to 1/3 recommended dosage from Miracle Gro and even adding a few drops of Superthrive (thought I'd give this a try). The advice I got from a couple who grow beautiful begonias on Superthrive is "she swears by it and he swears at it".
Check out Booman Floral and Plants for Kids for Great American Cities (GAC). Your picture of 'Savannah Pink Parfait' doesn't look right but maybe the leaves haven't had the right amount of light or are still young. Lyndon Lyon has some pretty pictures of other rexes as well. Hoefnagels has some pictures but the names may be different than what we have in the USA.
http://www.boomanfloral.com/lp_products.htm
http://plantsforkids.stores.yahoo.net/
http://www.lyndonlyon.com/CP%20Gallery%20Rex%20Begonias.html
http://www.kwekerijhoefnagels.nl/assortment.html
thanks for all the help.....I do appreciate it!!!!
Just Gorgeous Bettygail : )
Nancy
I just got lucky at a regular nursery in CC....I rarely see rex begonias here in Corpus Christi...couldn't pass them up!!!
May need a nap...............down in the garden all morning and spring is here.....yea!!!!
Gail,
You sure got some beauties!! I just love rexes.
Sharon
now we will see how long i can keep them alive!!!! So far I am having beginner's luck with all my AV's thanks to everyone's help....I will show you how big everyone is ....just like this one......I grabbed one to take a pic.....
You sure did get some pretty ones, BettyGail. I love Rexes, they just don't love me. I've lost my fair share of them over the past year. I won't give up, though. As Butch said, the colors are just too alluring to do that. I'll get it one day.
Oh, I've had the one in your third picture. It was sold under the name 'Black Betty', but I found that was a made-up name. I think there is an old thread here from me with it's picture in it. I tried two times with this particular one and I just couldn't pull it off. I skip right over it when I see it in the nurseries now. Woe is me........(big sigh)
GH
Commercial growers' potting mix contains far too much peat and so retains too much water.
What's more is that peat decomposes rather quickly so that it retains even more water.
To prevent this from killing my next Rex I will cut the whole plant into rhizome-with-leaves cuttings and let them root in my own potting mix, which is much airier, retains less water and decomposes much slower (and contains no peat at all - save the mires!)
"Straight nigtrogen" sounds strange to me, indeed. It would result in a big plant at best and in a dead one at worst.
The fertilizer I use is neither for green plants nor for flowers but something in between.
I will go take another picture of where I have put them under the gro lights with lots of ventilation as I zip up for a few hours, then unzip the tent for a while.....they look good so far, but then it has only been two days!!!!!!
I don't have enough confidence yet to take them apart like you are talking about.....I promise they have grown in two days under the light and the soil is not wet......probably water a little tomorrow????????????
Betty,
I think the one on the right may be 'Fireworks' but only time will tell. Mine looks very similar to yours with the new leaves coming on but that isn't the classic look for 'Fireworks'. The other one on the left I have seen labeled as 'Hemsleyana' but that name is also used for U404 on some web sites. Will the real 'Hemsleyana' please stand up?
Here is my mother's 'Hemsleyana' (for the lack of a real name) from last summer. I bought it for her about 3 years ago at a Wal-Mart.
Yep, that is mine (like your mom's)
I only WISH that I could buy mine at Walmart. These came from an upscale nursery and they were each about 15.00 apiece, but then i don't know what they cost never having had one!! It is going to be a trip watching these grow....who knows??? I may eventually get good like that lady from Switzerland that cuts up the rhizomes....I barely know what a rhizome is (LOL)
A rhizome is the fleshy stem that grows along the ground hence the name - rhizomatous. Rexes are rhizomatous but the rhizomes can be above the ground as well. Another class is upright jointed rhizome and there are some real beauties in this category. Check out Kartuz - Brad Thompson's upright jointed rhizomatous. I picked up about 6 of these beauties so far plus I have the old favorites 'Benitochiba', 'Deco Twirl', 'Little Brother Montgomery', and 'Connie Boswell'.
http://www.kartuz.com/c/1BEG7/Brad+Thompson+Upright+Jointed+Rhizomatous+Begonias.html
You can slice a piece off as long as it has a few nodes (2 or more? I'd go for an inch or more) and start it in a fast draining medium or even water root it. Rhizomes are as easy as canes. Another way to start a new one is by leaf cuttings and there are plenty of examples on this forum. Some begonias are too difficult to start by leaves (Madame Queen is one of those) so propagating by rhizomes is the easier way to get a new plant.
On a side note, I just picked up a 4 inch rex at Wal-Mart yesterday for $2.47. I just wish they had more.
thanks for the link......you know I 'hate' you for picking up one at Wally World for 2.47 LOL
Get it when you can. Not pretty, but at that price why not. Here it is:
Here is 'Fireworks' with one big leaf out but this is not the classic look for it.
This is what 'Fireworks' should look like later on.
