What is This Begonia?
From time to time, our members bring in a plant, or we receive an email with a picture of a begonia plant that needs to be identified. It may have been bought without a tag/label, or the label was long lost, or the plant owner suspects this is not the plant that is labeled. We also receive email from people who have seen a plant somewhere that they took a picture of, but they have no clue what type of begonia it is.
If you have tried a Google photos search, and looked through Our Plant Shows photos, where many plants are labeled, and cannot find your plant, please feel free to email us your photo(s) and give us permission to share your photo(s) on this page, and on our Facebook Group page, so we can share it with our members, to help you find the proper name. Click here to send us an email.
We are including here a few of the head scratchers we have seen recently.
If you have tried a Google photos search, and looked through Our Plant Shows photos, where many plants are labeled, and cannot find your plant, please feel free to email us your photo(s) and give us permission to share your photo(s) on this page, and on our Facebook Group page, so we can share it with our members, to help you find the proper name. Click here to send us an email.
We are including here a few of the head scratchers we have seen recently.
Begonia pulcherrima by Bob Stewart
This plant came from Fort Worth Botanic Garden (Thank You!) labeled as Begonia potamophila. I think that it is actually the plant that Sosef named Begonia pulcherrima.
It has the required large flower, the unusual stigma, the ovary with very narrow wings, leaves that are almost hairless on top, and the petiole inserted close to the edge of the blade.
This plant came from Fort Worth Botanic Garden (Thank You!) labeled as Begonia potamophila. I think that it is actually the plant that Sosef named Begonia pulcherrima.
It has the required large flower, the unusual stigma, the ovary with very narrow wings, leaves that are almost hairless on top, and the petiole inserted close to the edge of the blade.
What Begonia Is This? -Gloria Utzig
We received recently the following photo below, on the left, for help in identifying that begonia. It was seen growing in Miami, FL. After some research, we found online, the plant on the right that matches it.
Our reply:
We do not think the plant you sent a photo of is a begonia plant, as the flowers do not conform to any typical begonia male or female flower structure.
We received recently the following photo below, on the left, for help in identifying that begonia. It was seen growing in Miami, FL. After some research, we found online, the plant on the right that matches it.
Our reply:
We do not think the plant you sent a photo of is a begonia plant, as the flowers do not conform to any typical begonia male or female flower structure.
We think the plant in the photo is of a Farfugium, specifically, Farfugium japonicum var. giganteum 'Marco'. While the leaves have the roundish, asymmetrical, helical look found on many different begonias, the flowers, which tend to be rather inconspicuous (except for tuberous begonias), are very different.
A common name for Farfugium plants are leopard plants, as some have leaves with yellow spots on them. They are very beautiful plants from Japan that grow in zones 7-10.
Here are links to more descriptions of this plant, to verify if that is the leaf size you saw.
Missouri Botanic Garden:
http://www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/PlantFinder/PlantFinderDetails.aspx?kempercode=c532
Plant Delights Nursery at Juniper Level Botanic Garden:
https://www.plantdelights.com/collections/farfugium/products/farfugium-japonicum-var-giganteum-marco
A common name for Farfugium plants are leopard plants, as some have leaves with yellow spots on them. They are very beautiful plants from Japan that grow in zones 7-10.
Here are links to more descriptions of this plant, to verify if that is the leaf size you saw.
Missouri Botanic Garden:
http://www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/PlantFinder/PlantFinderDetails.aspx?kempercode=c532
Plant Delights Nursery at Juniper Level Botanic Garden:
https://www.plantdelights.com/collections/farfugium/products/farfugium-japonicum-var-giganteum-marco
Begonia 'Black Fang' for Sale -Gloria Utzig
We received the following email:
Do you sell black fang begonia?
Our Reply:
Our society holds an annual show and plant sale that takes place over one weekend, and is usually held the third weekend in September at Tower Hill Botanic Garden, in Boylston, MA, but we do not sell plants online. We also sell and trade plants prior to the start of our monthly meetings held the first Saturday of the month, from September to May. See our Calendar for meeting details.
Having said that, I have seen this hybrid begonia on our previous Plant Sale tables.
Members also ask other members for starts or cuttings, etc., of any plants they are looking for, that are rarely available in local stores or online. Our monthly newsletter, The Buxtonian, is a good place to post your ISO (In Search of).
If you are interested in possibly joining our society, please check out our web page on membership on where we meet, etc.
Have you checked out our web page that lists sources of getting begonia plants? Perhaps Taylor Greenhouses or Steve’s Leaves, might have the plant you are looking for. Wherever you get your plants, take care they provide a heat pack if purchasing in winter, though that does not ensure that some exposure to the cold will not kill most plants that time of year depending on where they are coming from/going to.
We received the following email:
Do you sell black fang begonia?
Our Reply:
Our society holds an annual show and plant sale that takes place over one weekend, and is usually held the third weekend in September at Tower Hill Botanic Garden, in Boylston, MA, but we do not sell plants online. We also sell and trade plants prior to the start of our monthly meetings held the first Saturday of the month, from September to May. See our Calendar for meeting details.
Having said that, I have seen this hybrid begonia on our previous Plant Sale tables.
Members also ask other members for starts or cuttings, etc., of any plants they are looking for, that are rarely available in local stores or online. Our monthly newsletter, The Buxtonian, is a good place to post your ISO (In Search of).
If you are interested in possibly joining our society, please check out our web page on membership on where we meet, etc.
Have you checked out our web page that lists sources of getting begonia plants? Perhaps Taylor Greenhouses or Steve’s Leaves, might have the plant you are looking for. Wherever you get your plants, take care they provide a heat pack if purchasing in winter, though that does not ensure that some exposure to the cold will not kill most plants that time of year depending on where they are coming from/going to.
What Is This Begonia? - Gloria Utzig
We received three great photos and the following abbreviated description:
What is this begonia's name? She's at least a few years old. She is actually my mother's [plant]. She is currently about 16" x 14" roughly.
We received three great photos and the following abbreviated description:
What is this begonia's name? She's at least a few years old. She is actually my mother's [plant]. She is currently about 16" x 14" roughly.
Our reply:
We are still working on this one:
We think it’s one of the eyelash hybrids (so called because of the eyelash-looking hairs along the edge of the leaves), but don’t know specifically which one it is. Any help from any of you would be greatly appreciated.
We are still working on this one:
We think it’s one of the eyelash hybrids (so called because of the eyelash-looking hairs along the edge of the leaves), but don’t know specifically which one it is. Any help from any of you would be greatly appreciated.
Wax Leaf Red Double Rose Begonia - Gloria Utzig
Email we received:
Years ago-before I moved to California---I had a green wax leaf begonia that had little red flowers that looked like double roses --can you help me find some? Thank you
Our Reply:
We found a couple of plants that are grown and distributed to major retail outlets by Costa Farm in Florida, but not sure if they are the same shape or size you are looking for.
Their website is: http://www.costafarms.com/plants/begonia They sell their plants to Home Depot, Lowe's, etc. Their online customer service is great at replying about their plants.
Here are these two from their website that have rose shaped flowers-- though these seem new and have just recently passed their growing trials:
Email we received:
Years ago-before I moved to California---I had a green wax leaf begonia that had little red flowers that looked like double roses --can you help me find some? Thank you
Our Reply:
We found a couple of plants that are grown and distributed to major retail outlets by Costa Farm in Florida, but not sure if they are the same shape or size you are looking for.
Their website is: http://www.costafarms.com/plants/begonia They sell their plants to Home Depot, Lowe's, etc. Their online customer service is great at replying about their plants.
Here are these two from their website that have rose shaped flowers-- though these seem new and have just recently passed their growing trials:
I had a Rieger begonia two years ago outdoors in Massachusetts all summer that had tiny rose shaped flowers all summer and the plant was no more than 10 inches tall. It had dark red petal edges getting lighter colored towards the center so it enhanced the rose form. Was not able to overwinter it in a basement. There are many of these available in late Spring, early Summer, as they are treated as annuals here in the Northeast.
Eden Brothers in North Carolina has quite a collection of various begonias at: https://www.edenbrothers.com/store/tuberous_begonia_bulbs.html
There is a website that shows the simple wax begonia flowering plants and then the doublets that has the double flowers/rose flowers.
https://plantsam.com/begonia-rex-cultorum-doublet/
I know there was a great big begonia tuber grower in California, but think they have closed their business in 2018--Golden State Bulb Co.
Followup:
We emailed Costa Farms and unfortunately, they said they stopped growing the Doublet Begonias. They however now grow the double Solenia-type begonias but only sell them to retailers in the Southeast.
Dutch Bulbs offers the Switzerland Begonia and also the Non-Stop begonias:
https://www.dutchbulbs.com/product/Begonia_Switzerland_
White Flower Farms seems to be sold out of most of their English Blackmore & Langdon tuberous begonias, or begonias they had that were red, have to order from them in Mid-Winter.
https://www.whiteflowerfarm.com/search/begonia/results/2.html
Sorry for the bad news, perhaps being out in the West Coast, you will have better luck sourcing begonia plants. Last year was the last year for the annual Begonia Festival held at Capitola, California. Perhaps if you send them an email they may be able to tell you where you can still get a hold of the last bulbs from the great Golden State Bulb Growers that just recently closed: http://www.begoniafestival.com/
Another good bet is to try and get in touch with your local Begonia Society Chapter, since they know all of the local, commercial, or private growers among their membership. You can find the one nearest you at: http://begonias.org/branches/branch.htm