This plant has been sold in Asia under the name ‘versicolor red and black’, however, I have not seen any evidence to confirm it as versicolor. It is a newer species to cultivation, whatever it is. It does resemble versicolor in the compact growth habit, but it grows its rhizome in more of a trailing […]
Most rhizomatous species when kept indoors (and kept on a natural photoperiod) tend to bloom over the winter. The species below were mostly grown from leaves this past Fall, so are on a different rhythm than the rest of the plants. Begonia ignita, with its strange orange male flowers. It produces many flowers at once, […]
This past fall I started collecting seeds from some of my Begonias, something that I would not have been able to do without the help of Randy Kerr and Stephanie Willis. So, thank you both, for all your help and patience! I’m awful at following directions, so am especially grateful for the help that I […]
This is a Begonia collected in Jalau, a small town in Sarawak (Borneo). It has been making the rounds in Asia for the past year or two but has not been sold in number in the United States. It is a taller species that is prone to falling over when it reaches a certain height […]
This Begonia was hybridized by Freda Holly, a longtime Begonia keeper and an excellent hybridizer. She has written many articles for the American Begonia Society as well as a book titled ‘Begonia Hybridizing by the Begonia hybridizers.’ This is far and away my favorite hybrid of all time, of any genus of plant. It doesn’t […]
Begonia promethea (syn. beccarii) was originally discovered in 1906 by Henry Ridley, who said that it was “perhaps the most worthy of cultivation among the Bornean species.” More than 100 years since it’s discovery, it was rediscovered by Michael Lo (who posts about his forays on facebook and instagram). Promethea and beccarii are now synonymous, […]
This hybrid is a cross between B. alice-clarkiae X B. imperialis var. brunnea. It was created in 1975 by Rudy Ziesenhenne and named after a former member of the ABS Santa Barbara branch. It has a reputation for being more challenging, but so long as its given high humidity it seems to be an easy […]
This exceptional hybrid is a cross between rajah and goegoensis. It has kept the leaf shape and size of goegoensis but taken some color and leaf structure from rajah. Depending on conditions, the leaves can range from a pinkish-red to deep purple. It is vigorous but prefers terrarium conditions. It can be grown as a […]
This rex type Begonia is a vigorous grower that does well in a terrarium or a windowsill, provided it doesn’t dry out too much. It has beautiful silvery leaves with reddish-purple leaf venation.
This Central American species is easily distinguished by the red leaf spot marking the point where the leaf attaches to the petiole. It is a compactly growing rhizomatous species that grows to 6-8 inches. This species can be grown as a houseplant or a terrarium plant. I have my mother plant in an east-facing window […]
This rhizomatous Begonia can be grown in open air or in a terrarium. Its leaves are highly variegated and resemble pustulata, but with distinctive striping.
This Begonia was introduced by Don Miller in the 90’s from Penang Botanical Garden in Malaysia. It is an easy grower, and makes a stunning terrarium or house plant, although it grows more vigorously in high humidity. The leaf edges have a subtle pink tint to them, and the uppermost part of the stem where […]