Hi I got many of these begonias unlabelled at local garden centers. I 've been trying to ID them using Dave's files, the ABS pages and other website. I could use some of your expect opinion in confirming the ID of the following begonias.
#1 I believe this one is Cowardly Lion. It had a beautiful spray of white flower earlier in May and is very vigorous growing. Then I read a description of Northern LIghts which also seems to turn darker color when sun exposed. So which one is it?
Here's #2. I think it's Chantilly Lace. Right?
#3. This looks like Madame Queen. What do you think?
#4 The leaves are huge ( 10 in). Would it be Midnight Magic or Madness?
#5. I am pretty sure it's B. Bunchii. Right?
#6. I really think it's Chocolate Cream. The leaves are pretty large maybe 4-6 in long.
#7 I have no idea of the identity but it looks cool.
#8. Are you challenged yet? I don't have a clue on the following few. #8 is very vigourous with large 6 in leaves. PLease ignore the flowers behind it; they belong to an angelwing.
#9 This one has also large leaves which have a beautiful metallic sheen on them.
#10. THe varieties with lots of dots are harder to ID. They all look so similar to me.
#11 What about this one? I just noticed that it started sending out some coral blooms.
#12 And this one?
#13. Lucky 13. Could it be Blue Wing?
I don't know what they are, but I sure do like them. I got one that kind of looks like #6, it was just labeled Rex.
#14 looks like #12 but #14's edge is much darker.
truongr - Did you ever find out what your #1 begonia was? I have been searching for one that I lost this year and it looks like yours. Was it the Cowardly Lion or Northern Lights?
I just loved mine and had it several years. I would put it out on the patio in the summer and wintered it in the garage. Of course it would die down, but always came up each year when I set it out.
This year I had a ton of plants that I re-potted. I grabbed a pot, dumped it and planted one of my "repots" in it. A week later I was looking for my beautiful begonia to set out for the summer-guess what? I had accidently grabbed the begonia pot, dumped it and put a new plant in it. I have been sick ever since. When I had bought this particular begonia several years ago it was not labeled, like yours, now I am on an agenda to find one like it.
Thus the question....Did you ever get an ID on it??
A late answer to your question daylily_laly, I found a properly labeled Cowardly Lion at glasshouseworks and the plants are indistinguishable.
I plan on getting Northern lights later so I will tell you if they are different but I am pretty sure I have cowardly lion.
I think you are correct on #1, #2 maybe, and #5 definitely looks like 'Bunchii'
#3 may be 'Muddy Waters (Madame Queen is more glossy if I remember right); and #4 probably 'Mrs. Ludwig'
I think #9 is 'Pink Diamonds' and #13 'Peace'
I have seen #10 listed as 'Namur' and 'Ukigumo'
'Chocolate Cream' is very similar to 'Super Curl' and 'China Curl' - probably all the same thing.
#14 may be 'Thor'. The other rexes are fairly common but I don't have a name for them. #12 has the colors of 'Merry Xmas' but I don't think this is.
#8 is one I picked up this summer (again). I think it is 'Silver Curl' although it is similar to 'Comtesse Louise Erdody'
Thanks! I think I have learned to just order my begonias from reliable sources if I am to collect more.
This is a segue but do you know when the 2010 American Society of begonia meeting will take place and where?
It sounds like the ABS convention will be in San Francisco next year and probably in September which is a bummer for temperate growers (no time to grow them on before winter which is a real downer). No firm dates set that I've seen.
Where did you order your begonias from? Sometimes you get surprises which can be bad or good. But if you are buying them either locally or on the road, buy first and worry about names later because if you wait and then go back - they may be bought by someone else who cares more about beauty than a name.
The begonias above were purchased in local nurseries. I have since ordered from Rob's Violet Barn, Logees and have visited Glasshouseworks twice. I am trying Kartuz and PHOE now. It's crazy for me to get begonias this time of the year but I just got a new greenhouse and am very excited!
How is GHW in person? I've had to wait for 3 months the last two times I ordered from them so they are at the bottom of the totem pole for me. PHOE is great to visit in person. Kartuz was a lot smaller than I would've ever thought. Rob's, Logee's, and Kartuz have had speedy deliveries for the last few orders I made. Try Taylor's too - it was quite quick for me.
Anyway this is how it all starts - the greenhouse. I hope you got a large one because what everyone says about them being too small to begin with was correct for me too. Mine filled in less than 3 years to where I was using the garage again and the shed (which was a big mistake).
GHW is not very big nor very organized. I wonder if they do it on purpose so people cannot steal their prized plants. They have one public greenhouse and a series of other GH reserved for their orders. The operation is not professional like taylor greenhouse but they are very nice people once you get to know them. It seems like they grow things to order hence the long time.
I filled tray full of mostly canes begonias and some rexes in a visit in may when most of their plants were still inside. Ken is the mastermind behind the operation. He can name any plants in the unlabeled greenhouse and he will pick some special ones from the non public GH for you ( I got caravan that way). My second visit was in October when they have moved everything inside the GH. Once again I missed the opportunity to get a big selection of begonias. I need to return in the summer when everything is out. The drive to Stewart OH is well worth it however as you follow the Hocking River as it meanders in the valley.
I got a small :( 5x7 indoor GH to keep the humidity up as I have moved my begonias all indoor. The ultimate plan is to get a 21x 15 ft outdoor one in a few yrs.
Oops I forgot the obligatory pictures of GHW. This is the outdoor public area.
There is a series in cool interconnected gardens in between the non public GH that you can walk through.
Very cute barn in a very cute little country town.
I thought about stopping at GHW when we went to Cleveland a few years ago but we were pushed for time and it was really out of the way. Then I thought about running up there when I visit my sister in Lexington, KY but it never seems convenient.
As for growing from start I think he should put a list up on what he has available at the time and mention how long it would take to start from scratch. My last two orders were 3 months and when I ask about what is taking so long, the excuse was the long winter. I think if Logees, Accents for Home, Taylor's, and Rob's can get an order out in a week or less then that kind of shoots down the weather story. I know that three of these show what they have out of stock on their web sites though which helps them and the buyer.
My GH was 14x18 and I filled it pretty quick. Now I use the basement in our new house (maybe 2000 SF?) and it is filled and I still have a ton of plants to move in. I just need to move to a tropical area with a large lot.
This big boy Challenger is still outdoors plus some other big plants.
It surprises me that you need to move things indoor when you live in Georgia...
Have you ever ordered from Lauray of Salisbury? She has a very long list but then again I don't know what is in stock.
I went to Lauray a couple of years ago and bought some very nice begonias. I heard the place was for sale though. Not very large at all - I was very surprised. I asked my husband to stop there on the way back from Logees today - and he once again explained that they are on opposite sides of Connecticut. And I once again explained that Connecticut looks very small on the map next to NY. Maybe in the spring. All the 2.5" begonias at Logees' open house today were $5. I was very, very bad.
Maybe you have GA confused with FL. We always get down in the low 20's over night for a few weeks, maybe have one snow, and usually get down in the teens a few nights (last year we got down to 10). We usually get above freezing during the day but there are a few days where it stays around freezing through the day too.
I've ordered a couple times from Lauray. Her list is long but the wait is long but no where as long as GHW or Antonelli's or Plant Safari.
How about this beauty from Greg Sytch? 'Island Magic' should be a hit.
Wow! That is pretty amazing. I am in awe of all the pictures you post. I haven't learned to grow begonias that look full and lush like yours. But I have to admit I am a lazy fertilizer. I just put osmocote when I pot and that's it.
Here's a question: if you wanted to get a car full of begonias, would you have more luck going to the convention and driving home or going to Kartuz?
A little of both. When I went to the LA convention we went to Kartuz and Ades&Gish the day of the convention sale. I got plants at both nurseries and the sale. Usually the sale has a lot more choices and is cheaper too but you don't know what they have to offer until they open the doors so buy what you like when you have the chance since you traveled hundreds or thousands of miles.
The convention this year was in West Palm Beach. I paid more at PHOE the morning of the sale than at the sale itself. Most of the plants at the sale were $5 while at PHOE they were running twice that for about the same size.
These are some large plants at Ades&Gish for example.
Your asnwer puts me in a conundrum. I had thought of going either to San diego to visit Kartuz and drive home to Missouri with lots of plants OR go to ABS convention in SF and drive home. Hum...
BTW, I was not aware of Ades and Gish. They are wholesales but they have a special order form for ABS members? Do tell.
Thanks
Ades & Gish is wholesale but due to the convention they opened the greenhouses to the tour groups so if you could carry a show plant home then you coud have it for $20. The caveat was they only accepted cash so I used most of what I had on me there and then we went to Kartuz which accepts plastic. Also the ABS Friday night sales only accept cash or check (what ever that is).
Well if you drive that far why not do both?
One more aside - I hope that the CA convention is earlier in the year and not in the fall. Growing small starts with only a few weeks left of fair weather was not enough for all the plants I brought back from L.A. I lost a bunch due to their small size (not enough food stored up for winter?)
FL and TX had their conventions in spring so I had all summer to grow some big plants which fared a lot better through the winter.
The newest post on the abs site shows the annual meeting august 17-22. I guess there are a couple of months for growth.
Yes, August is better than September but it would still be nice to have 3 extra months too!!
Art Hodes with my sole plant of Benitochiba (I had a big beautiful pot of it for 3 years). Boomer is behind Art Hodes and looks similar but they have enough difference to make them unique. Tiger Stripe fern next to them.
I had Art Hodes last year but lost it over the winter. It's nice to see what Boomer is capable of! I once saw a stance of Art Hodes at the Missouri Botanical Garden. What a sight when they are in bloom! Porr little Benitochiba, a little lost under Art Hodes...
Funny, how I also have two Tiger ferns planted with my begonias.
I went to my local florist wholesale store yesterday to look for 4 in pots and found 10 beautiful cane begonias mislabeled as rex. I don't even know if the cultivar names are correct ( arabian sunset, maple syrup are two named ones). I even got a Richmondensis, quite a beautiful 6 in pot specimen for $9.75. I'll need to post the picture.
If one were to fly to the ABS convention, how difficult is it to pack the plants for shipment on the plane? Cause there's no way I'm driving to California, even for a begonia.
Never heard of maple syrup - sounds interesting. Richmondensis is not the prettiest cane (or shrub) but it makes up for it with its blooms - almost non stop. And it is so easy to prop.
Here is a pan I started last winter. Amazing how easy it is to bloom under lights too.
It is fairly easy to pack for a plane trip. You can either try to be very careful or just cram them in. My first two conventions were nerve wracking - trying to be very careful on packing. My third one was less traumatic - just put them in a trash bag and then pad around them in a duffle bag with dirty laundry or newspaper. If some leaves get damaged then they will grow back (it is almost impossible to not damage leaves anyway) and if one gets decapitated then you have a chance to start a new plant (actually happens less than you would think). You can always get a rolling bin or cooler and pack them in it if you want to. I drove to West Palm Beach so I could bring back bigger plants but going across the country is another matter. You can also pack them in boxes and ship them via USPS, UPS, or FedEx if you want to go that route. At the WPB convention I think they had UPS at the sale so you could have them pack and ship from the hotel.
