Begonia, Tuberous Begonia, Bolivian Begonia 'Bellfire'

In 1990 during an plant expedition into Argentina from New Zealand, seeds from Begonia boliviensis were gathered. From this seed, the be...Read Morest plants grown were the basis of a breeding program which produced different forms of Begonia boliviensis .

The first of this series was released in 2005 named Begonia Bonfire, a orange flowered plant similar to Begonia Boliviensis but more compact and free flowering. Ideal for hanging baskets in that the stems hang down nicely.

The second in this series which had a limited release in 2007 with a larger one in 2008, is Begonia Bellfire which is distinctively different in that it has plum colored leaves with more salmon colored flowers. It too is compact and flowers from spring to first frost when they die down till spring unless in warmer zones where there is no frost. Bellfire has a more bushy upright growth than Bonfire.

These are also great houseplants though they will survive a variety of outside conditions in zone 9 to 11. They can take full sun to partial shade. They will withstand hot temps to 100 degrees and periods of little water or lots of rainfall if in a well draining medium. They develop a corm which holds water to supply the plant during drought.

Both of these cultivars are low maintenance and fast growers if fertlized. They also will self clean their spent blossoms and quickly replace them with new flowers. Truly unique and outstanding tuberous begonias.