Post this image on FB PB and see if anyone knows what it is.

It reminds me of this one I saw at Harmony Foliage back in June.

oh, this looks very close. curious, what is Harmony Foliage? some sort of show?

I don't do FB :)..

oh, it's Harmony! nursery in central FL. got it, googled it. I do av's too - do they have av's there too? or it's special begonia greenhouses?

it might well be from there - as I am happily sitting in Miami FL :) at the moment.

I got it in South Miami nursery, they have a special a/c room to keep them in tip-top shape :)...it's been hot, 85F.

so I looked for harmony's begonias and found sev images matching other begonias that were there, with names :). except for this one, naturally.

so, they had 'Fire Breathing Dragon', 'Xmas Eve' , 'Holly Jolly Xmas' - and others. but I am a sucker for silver-pink rexes. so I think these 4 are the best of what they had, but most pots were very small 4" plants.

I wanted smth bigger that I can keep stable for awhile - so I got the biggest pinkest! but am salivating for the Dragon...even itty-bitty one...

will try to get it, if they still have it .

Check eBay as there are some sellers who get their stock from Harmony. Maybe they might have your begonia for sale and you can get the name that way since you don't FB.

nope, don't see a number. I asked at the store, but they were clueless..

'raspberry beret' ;) wow! that's a pretty good name :)

ebay came up with lots of prince lp's :).. perhaps those twists are funky? think so!

but I can't raise anything at all about it - it must be new? DH just latched onto it as best buy ;)))...it must be magnetic!

it's too big to cart back to NYC, but I am too happy to think about it for now.

Enjoy it for the winter!

i'm not cutting any leaves for now, but I just might before the departure to fit them all in. and root them upon arrival - I've been water-rooting on your suggestion and then xferring to perlite in clam-shells.

but they need to be monitored...I just brought about a dozen or so clam shells with me to FL(some gerneriads too ) ...go ahead, laugh...but I forgot 2 in a hurry...RIP and rise again!

so I got 3 new ones: all in 3" pots, so I can easily take them back.

Harmony's 'Fire Breathing Dragon' and 'Christmas Eve' and NOID from Kartuz.

here's a pic of NOID

I'd almost like to say Pandora but don't think it is that. Here is Pandora at Harmony in 2014.

Here it is just a few days ago (the 6th) with the other two flashy rexes.

Ah, I found an old picture of my Pandora (of course lost it a long time ago). This is when I went to extremes trying to figure out what it took to grow begonias - rexes in particular.

2007 - Pandora, Kismet, Omaha Beefsteak under plastic wrap in a 10 gallon aquarium.

this last 'Pandora' looks rather different from prev pic - pink between veins merged vs distinct pink dots. mine has many more denser dots. donnow,

but the same seller 'southern oaks aquatics' has it on ebay and also on bonanza site that I mentioned listed as new Kartuz hybrid, NOID.

I think I saw 'Ring of Fire' too, not sure. No, I didn't know that the Dragon came from the 'ring of fire' :))). RoF is very pretty too, but the dragon is very twisty and the leaves are quite elegant , such a narrow tip. love it.

I think i'll plop 3 3" pots in one shallow tub as is without disturbing them for now, with perlite in the bottom and in between and on a yarn wick like African violets.

they dry up quite fast, I give them a bit of water ev 2 nd day (I have 75-77F here and ultra bright).

I have to be quite careful with tiny 3" pots...unfortunately they are in peat - too heavy for wicking (which is what I do mostly). I left sev grown rhizomatous on wicks while I am here - last winter my Hocking Inner glow did just fine on wicks thru winter. But it's in half-perlite mix.

What I found is that putting down leaves and growing from scratch in perlite and then after 1 year perhaps transferring in half-perlite mix on wicks is best for minimal care growth. that is because I have to leave them for sev weeks at a time many times a year unattended (love to travel). in peat they'd never make it.

I figured out a way to keep just sprouted leaves in perlite on wicks in vented large plastic liners for 2-3 weeks too. took sev tries and some casualties ;(..

the rexes that I had before in small 3-4" peat pots all died from accidental drying up within 3-4 mo. so for me it's a sure way to kill them fast ;).

Big difference between the plants you see at a commercial greenhouse and the ones you buy. Plus there is a lot of variability in growth patterns from the same plant. A juvenile Fireworks looks so different than a mature specimen is a good example.

Ring of Fire may have been a Logee's introduction. The sport - Fire Breathing Dragon - came from Harmony (they get a lot of sports). They were going to name it Ringy Dingy to begin with (keeping ring in the name) but I guess they went with Fire (kept the fire) Breathing Dragon (I believe they are into GoT).

Sounds like you have a system if you have to leave for weeks at a time. I find summer easier for me since I can set up the hose, sprinkler, and timer and go away for two weeks (probably longer). Winter care is another matter - it is constant watering so leaving for four days is pushing it.

If you had an airtight environment with the plants in gravel, a little soil, and maybe sphagnum moss then you could probably leave them in there for months without any additional water. A mister on a timer would be the best system but again mechanical/electrical controls do fail.

I don't like it when FBD does this!

My old Ring of Fire (2013) and old Purple Snow

so those 3 that are in a 12" clay pot - what is approximately the size of a clump?

just trying to figure out how large the plants can be relative to pot size.

are you keeping them in the same pot over winter too?

and in the first pic of twisted leaf of FBDragon - does it happen often? any idea why? and how to prevent it if possible?

do they eventually grow out to some degree of normalcy when twisted so?

I love those twisting leaves, but not so-o clumpy...it must be some sort of abnormal growth?

I think the original pots were 4 inch size because I am cheap. Our chain nursery would sell 6 inch begonias (rex, rhizomatous) for $13 while 4 inch goes for $6 or $7. Here is a picture of them on June 23 probably after I potted them up. Shame I didn't take photos of them when I bought them unless it was with my phone. Anyway if they were brand new, then they were grown out very nicely. You can see putting 3 four inch pots into a 12 inch pot is a bit crowded to begin with.

I don't know what causes the doubling over of the leaf and it happens more than I like. Not terrible but also not good. It could be heat or some insect borne disease? Who knows.

I don't think the really twisted leaves grow out to "normalcy". If it really bothered me I would 1) cut them off or 2) get rid of the plant.

Who knows why some plants are subject to sporting so much but it seems like rexes do it quite a bit often to our delight.

July 17

September 14

tremendous growth! and in just a few months - that's outdoors for you :).

well, if FBD is a twisted sport of RoF - then it keeps wanting to twist randomly, I would guess?! I see a normal spiral on some leaves, and on others it sort if spirals in opposite direction on the outside part of the leaf...if it spiraled correctly all the time - probably would be prettier..

I got my little 3" ones for $5, and one big 6" one for $14. the bigger ones are much easier for me to grow, but I just can't transport them all back, so I had to go for itty-bitty ones. I am also rooting croton cuttings and an interesting clerodendron with huge leaves :)...all planning to take home ;)))

I think there are more twisted begonias than FBD and some people love them that way. Lots of options.

I have one croton and hope to keep it going for years to come. I may have to bother you next year on how to propagate it.

Which Clerodendrum are you talking about? I have several different ones now. Love them all but wondering if I did wrong by getting the bungei. Have trichotomum, paniculatum, speciosissimum, and thomsoniae and looking at others to add to my collection.

fantastic!

I used to have thompsoniae in a basket until it grew huge and dried up when I was away in the middle of summer...it was white like yours. that was very long time ago, before i started growing ev. on self-watering wicks in semi-hydro.

I rooted a few cuttings of a C. thompsoniae 'Delectum' 2 years ago - it didn't grow for 2 years, and then I put it outside on the balcony and gave it ironite ::) and it grew from 1 foot to 5! in a few months...should bloom this year.

now I found C. speciosissimum on the vacant lot - i took a cutting. of course it has to stay in a pot indoors most of the year. the leaves are huge. I wonder if indoors they will become smaller? I hope so :O..

not sure from pics - yours can't be in the ground? they'll freeze overwinter!

if this one roots ok maybe i'll look for C.splendens too.

they are all spectacular here in FL vining to gigantic proportions!

yah, i'll give u all the details on rooting :).

I rooted some of my thomsoniae cuttings last year too, very easy and blooming this year.

Indoors the leaves of speciosissimum will be smaller until you move them outside again. I had blooms for many weeks after I brought them inside (speciosissimum). I have not tried cuttings of it but should. I think I got a couple of seedlings from the seeds.

The only two I have in ground is bungei (actually in a pot trying to keep it contained) and trichotomum.

I have noticed on my C. thompsonii constant dew drops on the underside of the leaf, along the main vein. for the longest time I sprayed them thinking that may be mites were biting them. but it does not stop or go away.

on a new cutting of C. speciosissimum it's the same.

is it on all of them ? can you check yours? these spots where dew is on underside they eventually dry up and I can see spots on the top too.

may be it's some sort of deficiency?

I looked today and couldn't find anything obvious. It may be perfectly normal too - maybe getting rid of excess minerals?

after I fed C. thompsonii with ironite (leaves were chlorotic yellow) the spots diminished and new growth seemed to be ok, though some dew drops still occurring at very base of the leaf. like it's sweating. it wasn't overwatered, as it was huge in 6" pot on water-wick, but leaf mass was gigantic for the pot size.

i'm just paranoid, as I have a lot of plants crowded for winter - I usually apply indoor systemic for that reason when i'm away - don't want to be coming back to infestation..

My C. thomsoniae dried out when we went away for four days at Thanksgiving. Lots of dead leaves and blooms. One pot has recovered rather nicely while the other is struggling to put out new leaves. I should chop the vines back some to make the plant push out new growth.

Are your "spots" similar to the ones that appear on Impatiens? I think I read somewhere that some plants exude calcium carbonate or calcium oxalate but it is normal behavior.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calcium_oxalate

I know about calcium-oxalate: I have it on begonia rex vine (you pointed it out, if you remember? - I never had them on any other plants). those are tiny crystals, while my 'dew' is just small water drops, weeping in many places along the central vein. totally like smth is biting it - but there's nothing...no mites .

oh, this reminds me - I have similar dew-like water drops on underside between veins on 2 of my philos too. when I tent them they disappear. so it's not over-watering, when tented plants remain even moister, if anything..and then after some time it becomes a tiny yellow spot. I am inclined to think it's bacterial spot of some kind. but those usually increase in moist conditions, not decrease :)...so I am stumped!

Sounds like a good question for a trained botanist in philodendrons (and Clerodendrums too).

Anyway it sounds like a natural process for the plant(s) in question.

latest report :).

my all newly bought plants did very well for about a month and then i started tenting several in tall sleeves as i noticed that new growth was drying up at the edges a bit.

then around jan 25 i noticed dreaded mildew spots on 'Pandora' and then after 2 weeks on 1 leaf of 'Red Raspberry beret'...i had no fungicide :(...so i removed offending leaves and sprayed with a little soap and peroxide in the solution. and then after about a month i sort of dunked them upside down into very light soap/peroxide solution for the transfer home...

the trasfer to cold north was kinda brutal on the largest ones - leaves got crushed here n there and they were dark and moist for a couple of days...then i sprayed them with fungicide finally at home and tented all.

so the long story short 'Pandora' lost most leaves and is barely alive, but has 2 new leaves coming clean :). it was a good mid-sized plant, strong too. so should pull thru.

'Fire breathing dragon' was my fave, but it was the smallest plant and only 1 rhizome in a pot, it stopped producing those lovely curling leaves even in FL, all new resemble 'Ring of fire'. It lives, but with only 4 small leaves (lost 4) and new growth tip dried up. so waiting now for a new bud to show up, hopefully.

"red raspberry beret' was a Big plant, but sev leaves got ripped up and bruised(as i expected!) and i removed them...but it has sev growing tips and is ok.

'Xmas eve' did the best - it was tented from the start - so no mildew! and no damage of any kind. But it had smallish dense leaves and produced a good amount of new growth. it's nice and bushy even now...it's not that impressive, not much pink in the leaves yet, it needs to mature some more for that i guess.

so may be i'll manage to click a few pics soon. then and now for comparison.

Sometimes it is best to learn as you go - what works, what doesn't, how to ID mildew, what to do about mildew, etc. Hang in there and hopefully they will all pull through as spring is close but still too risky to move plants outdoors (unless you just have a few).

A few of mine a couple of days ago. So far, so good - knock on wood!

oh! what a color on 1st one! you gotta name it!

i only recognize 3rd (marmaduke) and 5th(eyelash).

i love the 2nd one bright green with burgundy ctr and border and the one after 'marmaduke' but bright green. never seen that one even on a picture..

i brought a lil 'marmaduke' with me to fl and now it is back : it's from leaf and it's a quarter size of yours :). or a 6th ;) ???

but i lost a U400 - it was doing great last year, but too big to take...it dried up - the wicking failed...too much perlite...i was too scared to repot it close to departure...

my 'fedor' from leaf is chugging along. was to fl and back too safely :). hey, my begonias are very worldly ;)! some of them, at least...DH is getting the fever..already talking how Next year we are going to get MORE! like there is room or nook or 6" ..for more ;(

First one is Harmony's Firestorm. 3rd one is not Marmaduke but is from Ross Bolwell in Australia (can't remember the name - maybe Summer Forever or something like that). Fifth one is Persian Brocade from FWBG.

Second one is handellii x rex (no name, just the cross).

I lost my Marmaduke this past year after I gave a few leaves to a club member. Oh well I will keep my eyes open for another one.

I started a few U400 from leaves last year. They look better than the mother plant because they love the humidity.

I think I have bought Fedor the last 3 years from Lowe's/Walmart just because they look so fresh in spring and the prices are GREAT!

If only there was a way to cut the number of plants back to say, 50, then I could concentrate on making those grow as good as they could. Decisions on what to keep and what to toss are just too hard!

Which ones should I toss? HA!

U489 has flourished under a dome and only growing in a small Jiffy pellet.

Mr Hunt is quite ravishing ;)....

dreaming of a MORE space to fill with plants!