A few new Begonias

We visited a nursery today that we hardly ever go to. I think that's about to change. I found two gallon size Begonias for $5 each! :o)

Here's Begonia 'Black Coffee'

And this is Begonia 'River Nile'. I so hope I can grow these well! LOL

And these are a couple of Walmart finds. They're labeled Rex Begonia.

I got the one on the left a week or two ago and not only is it still alive, it's not even declining! Yay! I must be learning something! LOL

The one on the right I got today. I don't know if you can see it very well, but in the green band around the edges of the leaves, there are spots, or polka dots. I think it's lovely!

And to think, till a few weeks ago, I avoided Begonias because I thought I couldn't grow them. Now I'm getting all I can! Yet another obsession I don't need... ;o)

A girl after my own heart! YEA! Glad you found some bargains! And nice ones at that!

Well, I have a great enabler, you know! ;o) I'm thrilled to pieces with them!

Sounds like you happened on to some great buys. I noticed 'Bonfire' (small pot) and 'Sinbad' (gallon size) at a local nursery yesterday for $5. They are becoming more mainstream all the time (slowly but surely).

Your first picture looks more like 'Black Velvet' than 'Black Coffee' which is a common problem among sellers. Here is an old picture of 'Black Coffee' from bonsai to a fair sized plant.

I finally grabbed a 'Bonfire' at a garden center on Friday. Had to drive to a baseball game for my son, about two hours away, and figured I'd hit a nursery or two while waiting for the game to start. I also found a nice hanging basket of some kind of solananthera hybrid with wavy edges.

I looked at 'Black Velvet' and the leaf shape does match mine better. What's proper etiquette on changing the cultivar name of one of your plants? LOL

There's really no need to drive so far and not stop at a minimum of one nursery, Lali! LOL Glad you found a goodie!

Yay, Laurie. Bonfire/boliviensis is a great addition. I cannot believe how much growth it has put on in a few weeks. You will love it. (Watch out for the begonia police though).

RainGazer, not sure what you mean by proper etiquette to change the cultivar name. Are you talking about the seller? There are so many mistakes on the web and by growers (HD sells a lot of rexes as serratipetala for example), that I don't know why the hybridizers even bother naming them. Some ID's are unmistakeable but others are so similar to other named varieities that it is hard to tell the difference even for judges. I bought a few begonias at last year's convention that weren't labeled and even one of the judges wasn't sure exactly what they were.

Here are some black begonias. Going in a clockwise direction, 'Joe Hayden' is on the top, 'Black Velvet' on the right, 'Mo Reese', and 'Bashful Bandit'. 'Black Coffee' is in the center.

I should have bought two of them (one for back-up) in case I lose mine, since I dont want the begonia police after me for trying to propagate it.
(for those confused by this, there has been heated discussion about this topic on another web forum, as this is a patented select seedling and propagation is illegal)

REALLY love all those black leaves, Especially Bashful Bandit. I think I had this once.

Nice Begonia's RainGazer.
Butch, love your collection of black leaved Begonia's.They all look great.

Jackie

Very nice raingazer...

Love the black foliage ones alot!


MsC

hcmcdole, what I meant by my "proper etiquette" question was, in keeping a list of the plants I have, as well as labeling this one, should I refer to it as 'Black Coffee' as it is tagged, 'Black Velvet' which it looks to actually be (and you said is a common mistake among sellers), or is it doomed to be a NoID begonia forever? LOL

Love the picture of those black begonias! I'm thinking I need to get more of these... LOL

Thanks, MsC! :o)

Can I propagate these two begonias? I didn't know there were begonia police ;o) but certainly don't want them after me! :o)

There seems to be no "proper etiquette" on labeling plants except among societies, enthusiasts, and growers (sometimes commercial growers seem to be part of the problem). Once you buy a plant or receive a plant you are free to call it whatever you want. I think that is how some get mislabeled in the first place. Someone thinks it is "apples" when in fact it was "oranges" but gives it to friends and family with the wrong name "apples" and so it goes until no one is sure what it should be or once was. One begonia guru says to enjoy any begonia you have in your possession but without an ID (does that mean a proper ID?), do not pass it on either through trades or selling so that it will pass into oblivion when it dies. Lots of begonias look very similar (so similar that even the experts may disagree on the true ID).

What is really bad are plants being sold on eBay, nurseries, big box stores, and catalog companies where some are mislabeled or misspelled. It is hard to correct these sellers so you just live with it. A prime example are the numerous rex begonias going through the big stores (HD is a notable one) where each one is labeled rex serratipetala. A buyer thinks they are buying a genuine serratipetala (a desired species cane/shrub from Asia) when in fact they are getting a more common rex hybrid.

You can propagate any begonia for your own use according to the chat going on in another online begonia group. Do not sell or give away any begonia (or plant) that is patented though. This is akin to illegal downloading of music. The one in hot debate now is 'Bonfire' since it is patented and whether you should even propagate it for your own use. Same goes for 'Escargot'. The owner gets royalties from the growers just like a musician gets royalties for each song downloaded.