Nonstop Begonias
One of my favorite annuals is the nonstop begonia. It has been around for a long time. I remember my mom growing them, and how pretty they were. The double blooms look like a rose, and when in full bloom they are loaded with blossoms.
The origin of the begonia was commonly thought to be in Brazil, though some were found in Mexico at an earlier date and the Chinese used them in the 14th century. However, the first person to document the discovery of the begonia was a Franciscan monk, Charles Plumier, who found fibrous begonias in Brazil in 1690. He was on a search for medicinal plants and named the plant after his favorite botanist, Michel Begon, the governor of Haiti. Plumier passed away soon after the discovery and so the documentation of the plant did not go further until the 1800s. In 1821, begonias were found in soil that was sent from Brazil to Berlin Botanical Gardens. Then, in 1856, orchids were shipped from India to England and among the orchids was a strange plant with interesting patterned leaves--a Rex begonia. Later on, different varieties of the plant were found in the Andes Mountains. Richard Pierce documented most of them and found unusual colors like yellow, red and orange.
Nonstop begonias are a type of tuberous begonia (Begonia x tuberhybrida), sturdy bloomers that add a bright spark, even in partial shade or low levels of sunlight. The plant comes in a range of colors, including various shades of red, orange, pink, yellow, apricot, salmon and white. Plant Nonstop begonias in a flower bed, hanging basket or patio container.
You will need to take off the single blooms because if you don't then at the end of the season that is all you will have. When you pick them up here I will show you which are the single blooms. One of my members from Gardeners of North Iowa, told me that it was the female blossom as I was calling it the male. I thought it was great fun to say we are picking on the male, but I was wrong. The single bloom is the female as it is trying to form a seeds so it can survive. So all the energy of the plant is going into that seed and that is when the plants take on the look of being lanky and not producing other blooms just the one so it can survive. Give these plants a thought for an area that is in shade. Till next time, this is Becky Litterer from Becky's Greenhouse, Dougherty, Iowa
The origin of the begonia was commonly thought to be in Brazil, though some were found in Mexico at an earlier date and the Chinese used them in the 14th century. However, the first person to document the discovery of the begonia was a Franciscan monk, Charles Plumier, who found fibrous begonias in Brazil in 1690. He was on a search for medicinal plants and named the plant after his favorite botanist, Michel Begon, the governor of Haiti. Plumier passed away soon after the discovery and so the documentation of the plant did not go further until the 1800s. In 1821, begonias were found in soil that was sent from Brazil to Berlin Botanical Gardens. Then, in 1856, orchids were shipped from India to England and among the orchids was a strange plant with interesting patterned leaves--a Rex begonia. Later on, different varieties of the plant were found in the Andes Mountains. Richard Pierce documented most of them and found unusual colors like yellow, red and orange.
Nonstop begonias are a type of tuberous begonia (Begonia x tuberhybrida), sturdy bloomers that add a bright spark, even in partial shade or low levels of sunlight. The plant comes in a range of colors, including various shades of red, orange, pink, yellow, apricot, salmon and white. Plant Nonstop begonias in a flower bed, hanging basket or patio container.
You will need to take off the single blooms because if you don't then at the end of the season that is all you will have. When you pick them up here I will show you which are the single blooms. One of my members from Gardeners of North Iowa, told me that it was the female blossom as I was calling it the male. I thought it was great fun to say we are picking on the male, but I was wrong. The single bloom is the female as it is trying to form a seeds so it can survive. So all the energy of the plant is going into that seed and that is when the plants take on the look of being lanky and not producing other blooms just the one so it can survive. Give these plants a thought for an area that is in shade. Till next time, this is Becky Litterer from Becky's Greenhouse, Dougherty, Iowa
