Last fall I bought a hardy begonia that is just now starting to wake up from dormancy. ;o) Ahhh, spring fever. The seller calls it Begonia Grandis. She also sent me seeds to start which will be fun. I'd like to grow this outside in the garden but even in the shade it might be too hot in the summer at 112-115 so I will put it in a big pot so I can bring it indoors. Advice is always greatly appreciated
Red Bluff. According to the label - 60 to 90 degrees. I can tell this one will get huge. It's growing in a bitty 6 inch pot and can't wait to be released into a bigger one. I can't wait to see how big it will get. Does anyone grow this in a garden?
I just got this one and I think it may have the potential to get pretty big. No name, but I have a fondness for the all-green ones. It is growing on a huge scarred rhizome. It has some ragged leaves from its travels which I may remove for aesthetic purposes but I'll recycle and try to root them.
Does anyone have one that looks like this one? (notice I'm not asking for a "name" this time, but it would help so I know what to expect and where to put it.)
I was told that this is the B Nelumbifolia and that it has a tendency to grow very large. Does anyone have any experience with this begonia.
Hey Cindy,
The last one does look like nelumbiifolia. I think there are 2 or 3 types. The ones I saw in Miami (Fairchild Tropical Gardens) get quite large and seem to creep over (or up) walls if planted there. Inside the conservatory there, they had one that must have had leaves over 2 foot across.
They seem easy to root by leaf (water root or other means). I rooted my last one in pea gravel - how easy can that be?
I had ordered one from Yucca Do a few years ago and while it multiplied very well, it never got large and died the same winter. So I bought one in Miami almost 2 years ago and have had it ever since.
I also have two Red Bluffs, one from Mike Flaherty's place which looks nothing like the other one I got from either Kartuz or Ades&Gish (this one looks like Freddie to me).
Some other large leaf ones are Caribbean King and Caribbean Queen. One I have my eye on for BIG leaves is Paul Hernandez. So far it is doing fine but nothing HUGE yet.
Anyway here is a repeat of my nelumbiifolia from Xmas.
I thought I would show you what C. King and Queen can look like (don't leave these out during frosts though - it severely set them back).
Here is C. Queen in an 18 inch pot. This is in Oct 2005 and I bought it in Miami Apr the same year in a gallon pot. It is a small plant now due to the first winter (left it outside too long) and leaving it in the garage for two winters. It is back to the size of the gallon pot now so I have hope for it once again.
Hi Butch. Your Christmas Nelumbiifolia is a beautiful picture. I just got Photoshop and can't wait to try it.
Thanks so much for the information. So you think my Red Bluff is actually a Freddie?
C. King (same time period - same problems).
I don't know what the true Red Bluff looks like. Maybe Jooles knows.
Here is another mis-named big one. I bought it as crassicaulis (which it isn't) but I like it anyway. It was nearly 8 foot across before the same frost that got C. King and Queen cut it back significantly. I just call it "The Sprawler".
Your King and Queen are beautiful. Sprawler is amazing, great name. I now have three Freddie's and a dozen Beefsteaks. I should just start naming my own.
All my plants are enjoying our spring-like weather. By the end of May, everything will be crowded into my sunroom because it just gets too hot here in the summer. Sometimes the sunroom gets too hot. No more big ones for me (maybe).
We are still getting morning frosts and will continue until mid April. Then we are in a total outdoor watering ban so even if I move them outdoors for summer I will have to collect rain water, AC condensate, etc. just to water. I may just move out some of the big ones for summer and keep all the small and medium ones inside this year - what a pain!
According to the news there are over 80,000 people in the landscape business in the Atlanta area and the industry has lost 10's of millions of dollars since the fall. It is a bleak outlook. The good news is owners can fill their pools. I wonder if I put a large kiddie pool in the back, if I could fill it every month or so.
Ten beefsteaks is quite a bit. I like to keep at least two (okay 3 or 4) for insurance and peace of mind (even if it does mean more work and less space for new begonias).
This is a cane variety which I believe has the potential to get pretty large. This plant is growing in a six inch pot and begging to be repotted. I love the texture of the leaves - dark green, shiny and bumpy.
This is a close-up of the leaves. Does anyone have or seen this variety before?
It might be 'Wabbit Twacks' (I think that's the spelling) a Brad Thompson hybrid with crinkly leaves like that.
I've heard of that one but didn't remember what it looked like. Thanks begoniacrazii. I appreciate the information.
cindy
this one is pretty big.
this one is pretty big too. i think this is b. pallida
this is carribean king. please excuse my big paws in the pictures but i thought i would try to the picture a little perspective of how big the leaves are.
candela, they are all beautiful. See now, mine are big, yours are huge. Do you have them growing in garden beds? I've been told I can put mine outdoors as long as they are well shaded but I'm not so sure as it sometimes gets as hot as 110 and over even in the shade in my area. Do you know what the plant in the first picture is?
cindy,
i think the first one is b. pomponeii (spelling?). all of mine are in the ground and have quite a bit of shade under a mango tree. i am not sure of the heat because it doesn't get as hot as that in miami.
Here is a photo of my friends' plant of 'Wabbit Twacks'
That is a beautiful plant and confirms your id of my plant. Could you submit that picture to the Plant Files. I couldn't find any information much less a picture of it when I tried to research it this morning.
Thank you begoniacrazii.
candela, they are beautiful! do you know any mail order companies that might offer these.
