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I didn't think I liked the rex begonias but

8 years ago

I've had my eyes on a couple other kinds of begonias, but none of the photos I've seen of the rexes have made me sit up and take notice. But today I went to the nursery to buy some orchid bark. Just that. And ogle the plants a bit, because that's always pleasant, right? And then this one with shiny metallic red and greyish foliage caught my eyes and I tried to resist, and moaned to myself that I felt I'd fallen in love with a plant and I really didn't need to buy it but (after finishing my browsing . . . and picking up a couple other plants) decided I couldn't pass up such amazing leaves and so it went into the basket, too...

House plants · More Info

House plants · More Info

I'm so sad the photos don't do it justice. It reminds me of some of the awesome metallic wrapping paper I remember as a kid, but it's fuzzy, too, so it's an amazing mix of velvety and metallic and gosh I hope I can treat it well enough to keep it happy.

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Comments (4)

hc mcdole
8 years ago
And this is how it starts - one plant that catches your fancy and then another one because it is different, etc. Enjoy it and join the club.

Looks like Stained Glass (maybe Ring of Fire but I doubt that it is that one).
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J Feathersmith
Original Author
8 years ago
LOL, yeah. I already had a few dozen houseplants of a variety of kinds, but I hadn't quite yet hit one specific type that really caught my attention. I'm afraid now that begonias hold some potential for that . . .

Are there a few specific resources that are good for pinpointing specific variety names, or do you have to keep tabs on a wide range? The label on this one's pot didn't have anything other than "rex begonia."
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hc mcdole
8 years ago
There is no one place to find out about names and photos. I'd start with the ABS site (begonias.org) and go from there. There is an international database that has a lot of names and some photos. It has a link on the ABS site or just do a search for begonia international database. Plenty of other web sites as well but again - no one site comes close to covering everything.

Another suggestion is to do an image search - rex begonia for example. The problem is there are a lot of misnamed plants on the web which is a pity but that is the nature of the beast.

I have several hundred begonias and a lot of them have no names or the wrong names. Buy the plant for its beauty rather than the name. Then years later you may actually find a name for it. For example, our oldest begonia was a passalong plant to my wife and was simply named Angel Wing. Turns out this is a common name for a lot of cane type begonias. We've had this particular begonia for almost 41 years now and found the true name perhaps 15 years ago thanks to the web. Its real name is Corallina de Lucerna and most folks abbreviate it to Lucerna. Another plant I bought from a mail order place (Glasshouse Works) was supposed to be crassicaulis. It didn't look like crassicaulis from all the photos on the web but I liked the plant and it grows very easily. I gave it a nickname - Sprawler until I found the true name just a few short years ago - Bayberry Lane. So hang in there...
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J Feathersmith
Original Author
8 years ago
*nod* Thanks! I don't know how much it necessarily matters what specific variety a plant is, once I know its species and basic requirements, but I like having the resources.
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