bubba, I planted seeds of B. grandis in January to expand my clumps in the yard. I think they crossed with a semp on their own because the plants I have look like a semp with thickened leaves. They are blooming now and I don't know if that's from parentage or because the daylength is shorter for them now that they aren't under the grow lights and triggered flowering.The seed producing plants were close to several types of semps and a Maribel so I don't know exactly what the cross was. Anita

Hey Motezuma, Sorry to hear you have no local stores to pick up some of these begonias. Ace is a big surprise. I found out about this one last year, then they went out of business. Then someone opened it up again earlier this year and begonias come in much slower than the previous owner. The price has also risen from $5 to $7 for a six inch hanging basket and from $10 to $12 for a 10 inch hanging basket. I think it is still a very good deal. Just wish they'd get them in a lot faster. Need my fix, if you know what I mean, seeing how you crave them. Shame is that most of the local stores practically close their greenhouse operations in winter. Gotta make room for the same old Xmas junk. You may just have to start ordering via mail. The mail order growers for the most part are slow, have very small plants (shipping costs?), and sometimes pricey (I have bought bunches through the mail that cost more than what I have shown above and come in 2.5 inch pots to boot, I wonder what they would charge for a ten incher - $50 or more?), but if you have to have it, then this can work for you. Not all stores are slow or pricey, but most will be on the small side. Even small ones can grow quickly provided you give them what they need. One more tip - if you ever travel to an area where one of these mail order places are, you should plan on stopping by for an hour or so. You should be able to get a good collection going this way. The plants should be a lot larger as well and the price modest. Butch

You are correct that a lot of the B. boliviensis hybrids are very similar. The first hybrid that became popular 'Bonfire' is still one of my favorites. I have gotten several 'Santa Cruz Sunset' plants from different sources that are slightly different so I do not know which one is 'Santa Cruz Sunset'. The Million Bell series had several different colors so that was new for B. boliviensis hybrids and now there are several different series with different flower colors. My 'Santa Cruz Sunset' plant and the Million Bells plant 'Devotion' are difficult to tell apart. The Million Kisses plant 'Amour' has foliage that is darker than any other B. boliviensis hybrid that I have found. Different suppliers are pushing different series. I haven't found any nurseries that carry plants from the different series.

How far is the Eagle Creek Park from your house? I would be visiting that often if I lived there. The park we go to is less than 10 miles from the house and the annual pass is less than $20 (senior discount and military service discount on top of that). At our other house we were closer to the National Battlefield Park with miles of trails, a lot of hills, and a nice little mountain (Kennesaw Mountain). We still love to go there but the distance is around 14 miles and the traffic is a lot worse. Anyhoo, it isn't the Grand Canyon but it is within 15 minutes from home so we take advantage of the parks as often as we can. We also have a 60 mile bike trail nearby but my wife is not much for biking so we will walk those trails at times too, but not much on the way of hills and it is all paved so kind of boring. Those squirrels are a PITA but as long as they stay in the yard and off the deck then we can co-exist. I like your nickname for your friendly squirrel - NUBBY! Our old deck was nibbled to death (and old). This one probably wanted a massage. Can't even put a hummingbird feeder out. prefer the woodpeckers at the feeders than the squirrels.