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Although this could very well be a picture of me finding a new treasure at a favorite nursery, it's actually an illustration by David Catrow for a children's book called Plantzilla.

Thursday, July 16, 2015

Begonias for Folliage Follow-Up

On the day after Bloom Day each month, Pam at Digging hosts Foliage Follow Up  to remind us of the importance of foliage in our gardens. Be sure to click over to her blog to find links to FFU posts from other garden bloggers.

I've decided to look at some of my begonias for FFU this month. 

B. 'Gene Daniels' 

You can see the sheen of the leaf surface better with a flash but not so much the red glow when the sun is shining through it like above.  The underside of the leaves is a beautiful red color. 

On to the Rexes.  This has been the summer of our discontent!  They've usually performed brilliantly for me, even returning in the spring from pots left out in very sheltered spots. This one, a "Jurassic" begonia, came with huge leaves in a very root bound pot, got transplanted and placed in a nice dappled shady spot where it decided to loose all of those beautiful leaves, one at a time.  Here it is starting again.

The next two are my fault.  Both beautiful last year, got overwatered in the greenhouse, died back but are now returning from the dead.


Newish plants growing strangely inside the greenhouse. 

Perhaps I should feed them?


Let's move on from the failures, shall we. B.pedatifida looks happy.
As does this species. 

This big-leafed begonia seems very happy.   Opie (opuntia) on the right is waving hello to you. 

A tuberous begonia, grown mostly for it's flowers, also has beautiful leaves. 

Spotty character in the concrete jungle. 

B. 'San Miguel,' with me for three years, didn't make  it outside this summer but doesn't seem to mind.  It just keeps growing into a amorphous mass of hirsute leaves.

The astute reader will notice that these aren't begonias but rather lithops that I'm ever so proud of not killing yet.  Give me time, It's only been a few months.

Pretty in pink a NOID begonia in a mixed pot from a plant sale.  

25 comments:

  1. Begonias just screams exotica doesn't it? Such a pretty group of plants and so easy to get into. Lovely collection!

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    1. They do and surprisingly quite a few are hardy.

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  2. Your Begonias all look great, even the ones you think are growing a bit weird. Mine have done that too, I don't know why. We both got that dead-looking one from Windcliff, mine has lost its two leaves, and is starting a couple of tiny new ones. I hope I don't kill it, but how will I know if I have?

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    1. Thanks. Begonias are interesting people that way. Good point, how would we know if we've killed it?

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  3. I'm enamored with the Jurassic begonia. So vibrant.
    I was lucky to be gifted a couple of tuberous begonias. Both did wonderfully for a while. Then I accidentally knocked off the stem of one... They are quite brittle. It is trying to make a comeback. The remaining one is gloriously happy and in bloom!

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  4. Peter ,many of your begonias are jaw dropping gorgeous. (One of them did make my jaw drop)I need a green house if only I could find room for one. Moving to a larger property may be the answer and then I could buy more plants too it's a win win. I better start looking for property. Glenda

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  5. Oh my, what an impressive collection of Begonias! My mom always has plenty of them around, too. Aside from a few B. semperflorens placed as potted annuals in the past, I haven't been hit by the bug, although you've tempted me to give some of the larger varieties a try, like my mom.

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  6. Many Begonias just don't photograph well I think -- you have to experience them in person. But my own experience tells me that you have some really cool ones, and the Begonia pedatifida is surprising to me -- doesn't look like a begonia to me!

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  7. I used lots of begonias of all types in my former, shady garden but my current garden isn't hospitable to them so I really enjoyed see yours. Those Lithops are impressive too!

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  8. Several people have been doing posts on begonias lately and I find myself smitten. Do you know if there is a variety with those polka dot leaves that has red rather than pink flowers?

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  9. Begonias are hard to photograph well. I have one called 'Old Blue' with that same kind of sheen and I can never capture it satisfactorily. I actually love the leaves of tuberous begonias when they have bright green veins like the ones you pictured. I think they're gorgeous. You've got lots of lovely begonias. Iron Cross is one of my favorites. I should give it another try. Congrats on not killing those lithops! I'd be excited to keep them alive even for only a few months, too!

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  10. You have a LOT of cool begonias!
    Those little stone plants are so intriguing.

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    1. Begonias are fun! The stone plants are cool but need very little water so I'm hoping to get it right and not kill them. You could do a pot of them and not even need an emitter!

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  11. I LOVE that tuberous begonia with the chartreuse veining! Do you know what it's called?

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    1. I don't know which one that is. It has bright red flowers and I got it a few years ago in a group of "nonstop begonias'" at a nursery .

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  12. Your B.pedatifida are different than mine, and gorgeous. Yes, I admit it, I'm jealous and like yours better!

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    1. I think that came from Far Reaches or Cistus at a plant sale this spring. Interesting that it's different from yours.

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  13. The foliage of begonias is always so interesting, intense and wonderfully different. Well done for keeping so many alive (and looking great) they can be very fussy sometimes!

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    1. They can be growing happily for a long time and then just decide not to be happy anymore. Crazy things.

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  14. You have a fantastic collection of Begonias, I seem to be very good at killing them! I had some tuberous ones in a planter last year, forgot to bring them in for the winter and assumed I had lost them....no, up they popped and are now flowering beautifully!

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    1. They are fairly hardy as long as they don't sit in water during the winter. Glad to hear that yours popped back up so nicely.

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  15. Begonias are great plants. Your collection is impressive to those of us who just have one or 2 kinds. If I happen to run across a Rex Begonia or two I might start a collection for which there is no room.

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    1. Oh, there's always space for another begonia or ten. If not in the greenhouse, maybe the people house?

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  16. Wow! What an impressive collection of Begonias. I always kill Begonia Rex stone dead.. Tell me is it over watering they hate or do they have other strange needs that I don' t know about?

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  17. Cool lithops! But I'm really taken with the begonia leaves. They look dramatic and a little dark and dangerous, don't they? Like something Maleficent or Cruella de Ville would make into a stiff-collared cape.

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Thanks so much for taking the time to comment! I love to hear your thoughts.