A cheap thrill

I am so easy to make happy. I was in a nursery and walked by this begonia. I looked at it and thought Begonia bolivensis but it was so purple!

The first time I saw the orange flowered B. bolivensis at an arboretum, I had to have it. I found those fat fleshy stems coming out of the soil like a fountain and those so many orange flowers so enticing.

And here I found a big purple pot that I did not even know existed. The nurseryman had no clue what it was. No tag. When I got home with it of course, I googled B. boliviensis and found B. Bellfire! Grown from a seedling of B. bolivensis in a fancy breeding program that produced B. Bonfire which was released in 2005.

Has anyone else found this one? I assume they will get much more plentiful from the PR released on it. Very floriferous and self cleaning. Supposed to make a more upright pot full of thick stems and a multitude flowers from spring to frost.

Looks much better in person. Can take full sun which just lights this one up.

The stems are reddish and the small stems on new growth is bright red. The backs of the leaves are a rich purple that the sun loves to shine thru.

The flowers are smaller than Bonfire and a more salmon color.

I have a big pot of B. Bonfire in full flower so I was thinking I may cross pollinate them. I had a personal tutorial from the great begonia man Brad Thompson a year or 2 ago when visiting his greenhouse. Think I remember? LOL. I am not sure I have found a male and female flower yet, they all look the same. I hope they are not sterile.

A purple leafed one with bright orange flowers would be so great.

This message was edited Aug 20, 2008 4:22 PM

Kell,

I'm waiting for the yellow leaf one with blue flowers.

Enjoy your new plants. I think mine were a passing fancy (I have not seen any this year but last year there seemed to be hundreds at a lot of stores in the area).

My deceased Bonfire on the left and boliviensis on the right.

LOL Butch, fancy meeting you here after chatting all day. LOL.

So are you dissing my great find??? You had Bellfire too or just Bonfire? Here Bonfire is not even that easily found though I have a big one from last year. I thought I had tossed it too when it died back in winter. And then this summer I moved pots around on my front porch and there it was all regrown with no water for months. It is an easy one!!!

Did you see Mike's Bonfire last year at the show? Just gorgeous. I am so partial to orange.

You might just get your blue flowers. The website said many more to come from this breeding program.

I was at Griffins' Greenhouse Expo in Mass. last week and got to see the new Proven Winners selections. They are introducing 2 new series of begonia bolivensis - Mandalay and Bellagio. The grower offered to let me take some plants home, but then someone raised a concern about a virus, so they were snatched out of my greedy little hands. Here's a link with pictures:
http://www.pwfourstar.com/plants/index.cfm?doSearch=1&searchGenus=Begonia
They form tubers - I wonder if there is a source for those? I'll ask at Griffins on Friday - I need to make a promix run.

Oh too cool! More Begonia bolivensis cultivars. I so need the 2 Belagios and Mandalay™ Mandarin. I so have a collectors mentality. Thanks dbsmith2 for the info. How mean of them to snatch them back from you!!

I think all the B. bolivensis ones will form a tuber though it is not like the tubers on tuberose begonias. I need to cut back my new Bellfire and start them soon so they have time to form a tuber before winter.

So now I am wondering how many new kinds are already out there for sale. Butch just might get his blue flowered one sooner than later. LOL!

Hey Butch, your Bonfire looks so much nicer than your species one. Did you leave them out and murder them. Too bad you just didn't toss them some where warmer. They would have come back in spring.

Kell,

Yeah I murdered them with too much kindness - watering probably. Easy come, easy go.

I've heard about the new hybrids coming out from the grower in PA on the Yahoo group. Time will tell if they are indeed Proven Winners or not (at least in my backyard).