I expect it ’s urgently unfashionable to say so , but I do love a nice Begonia . They are sluttish on the eye , diverse and sometimes spectacular , but usually easy to grow , appreciating a little snatch of shade . So I was instantly get to Dibleys ’ magnificent display of Begonias and Coleus at last week ’s Hampton Court Flower Show . The variance in folio people of colour , shape and texture was quite staggering . Who needs bloom when farewell look this good ? One ca n’t serve but marvel that nature ’s ingenuity combine with old age of hybridisation has resulted in such an astonishing spectrum of varieties , all grow here to perfection .
At home in London , we often grow plain old hempen - rootedBegonia semperflorensas summer bedding . They appreciate the cooler , damper , shadier term we can offer , but will succumb to mildew if they get too wry or if the aura circulation around the plants is not good .. Our favorite combinations are white flowers with orchard apple tree green leaves and red flowers with inscrutable bronze leafage . By the seaboard , a lovely specimen ofBegonia“Benichoma ” spends the summertime outside and the wintertime in our balmy bathroom . The flower are nothing to speak of , but the pinkish and silver vein foliage attend good all twelvemonth round .
This pales into insignificance compare to the Rex typeBegonia“Merry Christmas ” , picture below . The puckered leaves are fringe with Bolshevik and concentrate on a spidery dark splodge . Nature at its most esthetic , although insidious it is not .
For curiosityBegonia“Rocheart ” ( below ) and “ Escargot ” were sodding show show-stopper , drawing mickle of attention from the crowds . Both have strange , cuticle - alike centres to their leaves but can collapse slenderly under their own weight if not support .
But for me the “ must have ” plant was stillBegonia luxurians . completely tropical , but still minimise , this is a industrial plant that I ’d love to essay out . Those multi - fingered leave and red-faced stems conjure up the opinion of a shadowy rain forest floor and would institute a touch modality of the exotic to any planting scheme . Of naturally these sore Brazilian plants need to be overwintered indoors . As they can grow to 8 - 10 feet you ’d need a enough sizing glasshouse or conservatory to accomodate them . This mintage was propose by Madrona Nursery in Kent … .. I feel a sojourn could be on the cards !
Share this with others:
Like this:
Categories : Container horticulture , Musings , Plants
post by The Frustrated Gardener
