Traveling on the east end of Long Island last month I came across this sale on "annuals". I wanted to cry right then and there. The photo was taken in full blazing sun so the colors are washed out but the plants were beautiful. We were flying so I couldn't take any and it wasn't even convenient to send them home at the time or I would have bought a dozen. So frustrating to have to pass up a bargain and they had hundreds of these begonias.
Aw, what a shame. Next time take your truck. Oh well, easy come, easy go.
Sigh, there really were a few nice ones mixed in that bunch. Why can't we find 6" pots of begonias in the south for that price? In Charleston they charge $3.99 for a rex in a 2" pot.
Sometimes southern nurseries do have affordable begonia, just have to keep looking.
Here is a big begonia I got from a small nursery located on Signal, Mountain (Chattanooga) for $15. A bigger one was $20 but I was afraid it would take up half of my truck bed and I had two ladies with me who bought tree ferns at the same nursery and we had another nursery to visit before heading back home.
Yes, there are bargains in some places - just not the Lowcountry it seems.
My son used to live on Signal Mountain and I have been to the wonderful nurseries in that area. You got a good buy.
I thought it was a good buy. Here is one of the other plants compared to this one - it was $20.
We used to go across Signal Mountain when we went to our hometown in TN but after they completed the 111 to 27 connection, it was quicker (though longer) without all those curves on S.M. S.M. is beautiful but if I had to travel up and down it each day (if I worked in Chattanooga) I think I would move down closer to the job.
They had a good sized Richmondensis there as well but I didn't even look at the price knowing it was too big to pack in the truck. Speaking of I just picked up a 8 inch pot of Richmondensis at our local nursery for $3 - last one and it must be season close out.
That's the advantage of living where there are seasons, we just grow on and on here.
There were two roads, that I knew of, that went up SM, one was called the "W" and you can imagine how that one wound around. I would not be comfortable driving there on a regular basis but it sure is a beautiful spot.
I've gone up S.M. two ways - the main road (127?) and the back road (comes out behind the fire station). The back road is a true "HAIRPIN" with two hairpin turns. I was in my "little" Datsun pickup and wondered why the folks in front were waiting for the outside lane to clear before they went. I tried to take the turn on the inside - couldn't make it so I had to back up to make the stupid turn. From then on I waited if I was on the inside turn for any oncoming traffic to clear before I took the turn. Might be fun in a very small car.
Be glad you aren't in FL then if you think your summer goes on and on. Went to Aruba a few years ago and one of the tours we went on, the guide said there were four seasons there - "summer, summer, summer, and summer". The thing I found hard to believe was the interior was like Phoenix - very dry and fit for cactus. We get twice the rain in Atlanta they get on a tropical island 17 miles away from Venezuela (home of many tropical forests).
LOL, that is the road known as the "W".
Ah, didn't know that. I see on Google Maps it is W Road. I wonder what it might stand for - wicked? It has been a very long time since I've gone up that road - would hate to try it in my F150 if I had problems with a tiny Datsun (before they became Nissan).
Lois Burks and a pink/yellow streptocarpus I got at S.M. Nursery. The other big leaf beside it is Judy Cook (a daughter plant I grew from a leaf from the mother) which I got at PHOE in Miami a few years ago. Judy Cook (the mother plant) in deeper shade than the daughter.
I was told the W refers to the hairpin turns, they make a big W but Wicked is an appropriate name too. My son had a nice home on Signal but it is a lot easier to get to his new home in Asheville. No hairpin turns.
I couldn't remember how those turns were but looking at the maps I could see the W there. I think there should be a warning sign before any newbie gets on that road.
Ah, we love Asheville too. Haven't been there in years but maybe it is time to go back again. I'm sure you enjoy it when you visit your son.
Yes, he's the one who inherited my garden loving genes so we visit nurseries.
Meant to say your Lois Burks and Judy Cook are looking good. I picked up some young NOIDs in Asheville a few weeks ago, I'll have to post photos as they grow and see if you can ID them.
I thought one of my daughters might get the gardening gene but I guess kids got in the way. I think the youngest one may get back into it since her son is now in kindergarten. I spent many hours over at her place this summer cleaning up the weeds that were allowed to grow for the past 6 years including poison ivy in several places. UGH!
Yeah, post some photos when you can. I might be able to ID one or two.
Hi Alice! What are those so PINK hanging plants in the back of your 2nd photo in your first post? They look so intriguing!
Good eyes Kell, leave it to you to find something PINK. I really don't know what they could have been. Wax begonias maybe??? I was with family and could not devote as much time as I would have liked. Besides, I was crying too hard for having to pass up 2.99 plants. LOL
This nursery is in Pirl's neighborhood, I'll dmail her and see if she has any idea.
LOL Alice! Do wax begonias hang down so much? I have seen some wax begonias in recent years that are just incredible! A business planting here that I pass frequently has the best huge clump of them I have ever seen. They must be 3 feet tall but seem very erect. Always a mass of color. Were you visiting Pirl and her incredible garden?
It is always miserable when you visit a nursery far from home and see something you want! A few years ago we were spending a week on the beach and I found a huge Agave Joe Hoak that was beautifully variegated. It was huge, and perfect and only $125. I had never seen one that size. Usually small ones go for a lot. Well no way would my husband be thrilled with such a purchase so I bought it and told them I would return the next week to pick it up. So the next week in sneak mode I traveled all the way back by myself and they loaded it into my station wagon, just barely fit. Well I got it home just before Tom arrived and I just could not get it out by myself into a wagon. I got caught red handed. LOL And poor guy struggled to get it in the back yard. It had lethal spines too, so awkward to move.
Speaking of PINK, last week I bought the best PINK begonia on eBay. I am in love.
Hey Kell,
If those were wax begonias then more than likely they were planted in one of those plastic flower pouches that allows several plants to be planted in it.
https://www.agriculturesolutions.com/products/gardening-tools/gardening-accessories/al-s-mini-hanging-flower-pouch-6-slits-pack-of-10-detail
http://www.meadowridgeinc.com/index.cfm/fuseaction/plants.main/typeID/135/index.htm
http://www.meadowridgeinc.com/index.cfm/fuseaction/plants.main/typeID/136/index.htm
Forgot to say, you got a beautiful begonia there - is it Symbegonia?
This message was edited Sep 12, 2014 12:09 PM
Hi Butch. Yes, a Symbegonia. Exactly what is a Symbegonia? It is U012.
I hope I do not kill it, it is so pretty. The stems are bright red. I have another supposed "rare" terrarium begonia that I have had for about 2 years. Sadly I forget the name. It has tiny spotted leaves. It is so easy. I water it maybe once every 3 months. I love that it is happy in a less than premium space in my house. I do have a feeling that this one is going to be a bit more difficult.
Kell, your Symbegonia, whatever that is, is amazing. I would have had to have that one too.
Butch, I bet you are right about the flower pouches, the shape looks a lot like those bags.
Hey Kelly, that is correct Symbegonia was U012. Did you know when a name is given for a unidentified begonia that the U number is retired? Kind of neat in a way. U434 aka Guatemalan begonia was named a few years ago to barsalouxiae. What a mouthful! A name is easier to remember than a U number though.
I had Symbegonia a few years ago and you are right - it can be finicky. Post a photo of your other dainty terrarium begonia - maybe we can ID it. I just bought another Dainty Spray Sport recently from Logee's. Need to see if it needs water since I last checked on it a week ago.
ardesia, without a close up photo of those pink hanging flowers, it is just a guess on my part. I bet you wished you could go back tomorrow with a big old truck (if the begonias are still there) and ID those hanging plants too.
Just heard from Pirl, they are wax begonias and they must be in those hanging pouches.
Is the "x" silent in that Guatemalan begonia? Barsa-louie?
I've been adding the X when I say it. I have no clue really. Bar sa lukes e a is the way I pronounce it and can't remember if I heard some other guru (in FL) pronounce it that way. It certainly is a temperamental one to get through the winter. I think this is my first time I got one through the winter and is now thriving under the tall trees.
Thanks Alice! They sure make a nice PINK show!
Well Butch, I had not looked at my "dainty" terrarium begonia for awhile. LOL. I literally only water one maybe once every 3 or so months. I think last time I gave it a drop full of cactus fertilizer. I see today the results. It has gone nuts. I need to cut it back and make a new terrarium with multiple plants. This one has only 1 stalk and it goes up to the top where it grew thick around the top where the glass top fits in the base. I see all the way up it is rooting on the glass sides.
Shoot, I had a few more photos of my mess. Very healthy but so tangled now.
Seeing how wet it is, I am thinking I should leave the top off for a few days and dry it out. That would probably stop all those roots. I was actually going to water it today. I am amazed at how long it stays so wet. All my other terrariums, though only watered about every 3 months too, are not so wet inside. But they are in the sun practically all day under huge skylights and this one is in lots of shade in my living room.
This message was edited Sep 13, 2014 4:23 PM
Ah, good old amphioxus. Mine was doing wonderful and then I ignored it but it also had Peperomia metallica in with it plus another small begonia. It was much too wet/humid and the peperomia was everywhere and then collapsed taking out a branch or two of the amphioxus. I finally cleaned out the entire mess and got it looking halfway decent again.
Here is my amphi back in JAN with the peperomia still looking good and healthy. I thought I had a picture of it after I cleaned it up a few weeks ago but I must've not named it or didn't take the photo.
That is it. THANKS Butch! Yours looks great. I love the leaves. I have to for sure trim mine and replant it. It is in a fancy glass container that is about 2 feet tall. I wish I could find more of them that big. I keep my PINK episcias in them too. Episcias look better in them because they fill it solidly with leaves, all brightly colored. Sadly I left my sand in the yard, open. So now I have to bake it in the oven to sterilize it. I used it recently and the terrarium filled with weeds in about a week. It was gross
Thanks Alice for letting me use your thread! XXX.
:-), your posts are always worth it Kell. I had never seen that begonia; it is a cutie and I am just imagining it in a 2' tall terrarium.
Butch, how about a post on begonias that do well in terrariums?????? I bet others would be interested in that I know I am.
You are always so gracious, Alice! Always a sweetheart!
I have tons of those glass "terrariums" Alice. All sizes and shapes. I get them at Marshalls. They are so much cheaper than if you go to buy one named a terrarium. My favorite ones are on a pedestal. But they are sadly not that big. I keep thinking I am going to collect them from all over my dining room and place them altogether on a side table en masse for effect. But of course I never seem to get it together. They are just so easy after you set them up. You just forget them.
There is a cactus nursery here that sells them too. I think they buy theirs at Marshalls too. Marshalls sells them for $20 and the nursery sells the exact same one for $120.00. LOL
When I lived in downtown Boston there was a Marshall's within walking distance - that was dangerous. Thank goodness they didn't sell plants. LOL
Kell should be able to fill pages full of terrariums. I doubt I will be posting much this week - just got into our resort in Hawaii a few minutes ago and we are wiped out from traveling! Almost 5 AM EDT and we got up at 6 yesterday morning yet it is only 11 PM in Hawaii.
Have a wonderful time, enjoy the incredible plants that grow wild there, and we'll expect a vacation report with lots of pictures when you return. :-)
