The set up:

Starting: around January 15th

Germination:

this is around February 15th:

February 21st:


Double down:

February 25:



That's it so far... :)

The plants in the center of my 20 troth insert are dying and will die. What was happening was the troth sits on top of the tray - the troth is only about a 1/2 inch deep - so I have to fill the tray nearly full of water - this puts pressure on the sides of the tray - one bump of the set up or tray or dome will send the insert lower into the water... and that happened and it grew mold and subsequently killed my seedings. They will not make it. This has happened a little in the past, but nothing like this, so it is something I will need to work out next year (or my next planting - the Queens - as it turns out).

The huggies box... I've had the box for several years - I keep my timers and twist ties and what not in the box - I seem to hang on to it and whatever doesn't go into the box seems to get lost. I've been giving fancy wood boxes to hold my 'stuff' and nice catalog boxes - but this is what I manage to pull out every year... !! Yes, I have 'little ones', but they've been out of 'Huggies' for several years now.

I'll keep you posted - and I'm very much looking forward to the 'queens'... I hope I get them soon!

Anita, Here is a picture of my front yard from last year and I may mix in some of the Dragon Wing Begonias with the other begonias.

Those are Canadian Hemlock and I planted them both when they were very small. I love them because they are so graceful, blowing in the wind.

Now they'll slow to a near STOP!

:)

Do the 'runts' catch up with the 'giants' once planted outside, or do you notice the size difference always? (The big guys appeared larger when in the troughs amongst the midgets, then they do now in their own little yards!)

Keep on posting,

kioni

I wish I had 'documented' when I had the sprinklers put in. My flowers were at full tilt. I told the guys I was ok with them trashing the flowers - it was later in the season also - well, someone lost their balance and fell into the begonias AND they dug up 4-5 and MOVED THEM! I thought they'd be gonners... wouldn't you know it, they completely filled in and you NEVER would have known they broke stems and transplanted them! 2 weeks they were completely PERFECT!

Hardy little suckers!

Queen's have started to germinate - I hope you can see them!

Red Dragon Wing Begonias 3-11-08:

That's all Folks!

~kioni~

Yes, those are the same 6 Dragon Wing Begonias.

I planted 100 Dragon Wing Begonia seeds that I purchased from Hazzard Seeds--2 weeks ago and 68 have germinated using my Park's Bio Dome seed starter. I started them under T5 high intensity fluorescent lights and have the lights on 24/7. The other 6 are under the same lights and are fertlized with one half strength Algoflash, once a week. This is the first time I have tried the T5 lights and I love them so far. I have no clue where I am going to put 68 more Begonias under lights. Here are a picture of the babies and also a picture I just took of the first 6.

I would like to know--after you planted your Dragon Wing Begonias outside- how long was it before they bloomed?

Anita, the begonias are the tip of they iceburg - I growing
approx 1750 impatiens (little over 1/2 way through
transplanting them - I've been posting my process on the
impatiens forum if you wanna check that?), New Guinea Imps,
Browallia, pansies, peppers, and my true love tomatoes
I'll start my tomatoes or part of them
this weekend... fun part is starting them - it IS work to
transplant and get them in the ground, but I feel the
results are worth the efforts. Although time consuming!

So 3-26-08 update - disaster struck:

I came home to THAT. I was horrified. I've got them under
a stronger light and uncovered and I haven't watered them -
or fertilized them at all... fans running 24/7... and
they're starting to look SLIGHTLY better.

The others look like this:

So it isn't all that bad.

Ok, here's the Queens - yes, I did get several - out of my
pelletized powder mess! :)




Tough to tell which picture will show how their looking - to me they all look bad!

Oh, added a table to the chaos!

Ew, I have a mess there don't I?? Yikes! And of course, there's that 'Huggies' box!

I have one more rolling rack and then I'm officially out of space!!!! Or out of my mind... which ever comes first I guess.

So, I think that's it for the 'report'.

I moved my healthy begonias into a bright window and they are happier than I've seen them.

The queens are looking really good, I think - slow but good. They're bigger just a week later. I think I got about 60% germination (as I said before I have had no luck with seed that is not pelletized and these were a pelletized/powder MESS! I have to tell you I have no idea what a begonia seed even looks like - I have not been able to actually SEE one.) :)

Hope all is well with you, Betty and Anita - and others!

Take Care!

Here is a picture I just took of my 6 surviving Dragon Wing Begonias. And also I took a picture of my babies from Hazzard Seeds. Do I divide them now or wait?

Tom I miss seeing pictures of your Dragon Wing Begonias from last summeer.

Imps:

This has little to do with begonias, but this is the back of the house - I do little work back there because I find once I get back there I get nothing done - gazing off...

Back to business:

Betty, those are the CUTEST little guys I have ever seen! what was your germ rate on those???

Ok,
Begonias:

Disaster Begonias:

Queens:

Thanks for posting the pictures, Tom of your Dragon Wing Begonias and your Impatiens. It made my day!!!! Now, I can imagine what my Dragon Wing Begonias will look like, hopefully. I grew Impatiens in the past, but I have little shade, and I was driving myself crazy trying to keep those guys watered.

Anita, I just counted 63 Dragon Wing Begonias --and I planted 100 seeds from Hazzard Seeds last month. I may wait another week to divide them, since you do not have advice for me. I have had a lot of fun growing them under lights this winter. I have them in my computer room and the temperature is constant at around 75 degrees. I have two other plant lights in the room and it stays pretty warm. I also keep the ceiling fan on continually. I was pleased with the germination rate using the Park's Seed Dome-- and next time I will try very hard not to crowd the seeds, but I did not want to handle them too much and I just tossed them on the top of the soil. I have been pleased with growing them under the T8 high intensity lights and I kept them on 24-7 until this week, and it did not hurt the other 6 that are growing so fast with Algoflash fertilizer. It is hard to believe that 4 tiny little bulbs can do so much. The plant light costs $170 and it has been worth it to me, because gardening is my hobby.

The flowers I am overwintering in my basement are doing ok but not nearly as well as the ones in my computer room. My basement is cooler.

Keep posting pictures--I really enjoy them.

I THINK what caused my death was the begonias were too humid/wet. They never got slimy, but the leaf died (not the stem) and died from the leaf to the stem - so they were too humid... I will keep them drier next time.

I'm slowly learning more and more about begonias. I 'hooked up' with someone that is very knowledgeable, and I'm looking forward to trying more begonias outside. I really have little interest in houseplants... but I'd like to move some angel wings outside and see what becomes of them. Tell me more, Anita about your 'hardy' begonias.

I did notice last year - later that my imps had self sowed and I actually got an F2 seed to grow and flower. I was excited and gave some seed to a friend with a greenhouse. I'm interested to see what happens to them.

Betty, I got approximately 60 seed out of 100 for the queens. I don't think that's a bad germ rate. I'll know for sure once I start transplanting - which wont be for a while yet. I also plan on putting them outside in a flower bed. I hope this is not a bad idea... but who knows until you try it!

Is that starofoam thang your parks set up (part of the dome)??? Tell us more about that - it looks interesting - and insulating for the lack of a better term!

Oh Kioni, I've been meaning to mention to you that I did take some cuttings of someone's dragon wings (that I grew last year - I gave her a pot and she kept it inside). Anyway, it grew about 3 feet tall so we decided to hack it back and since I did so poorly with cuttings into soil, I tried water and wham! They're looking great. Tiny little roots. Very encouraging!

Talk later gals!

Thanks Anita for the info. I checked the babies and the roots are coming through on the the sponges. I will go ahead and divide the bigger ones this weekend.

Tom, I will include a link to the Bio-Dome seed starter.

I always get better germination with this seed starter. And you just replace the sponges.

It will be interesting to see how your queens do-outside.
Do Baby wing begonias do well planted in the ground?

I have seen pictures of the baby dragon wings outside in a flower bed - they just looked more delicate... They looked fine... They were the white baby dragon wings. I am partial to the red and they don't have a red baby wing yet. YET.. :) Kioni's picture of her pink baby wings is tempting though - they're just lovely!! I may have to move away from my regulars. You folks are bad influences on me!!! here's the 'dragon wing web site' they don't have ANY baby's in there..? http://www.dragonwingbegonia.com/

Betty, I like the vents in the top of the bio-dome (I'm chuckling at the name of this, there was a movie out a zillion years ago called Bio Dome with Pauly Shore and one of the Baldwin Brothers that was just down right goofy - I wonder if they know they named their product after a goofy movie)? I wonder if I can poke holes in the top of some of my domes - once the plants get to a certain size... ?? Probably defeat the purpose of the dome, aye? :)

Golly, I've learned so much from you gals!! Thanks so much!

Thanks Tom for the information on when to divide my babies. And for the links--I really enjoyed those websites. That was funny about the Bio-Dome movie, and I had not seen it.

I was visiting a nursery in Mt. Washington, Ky. last weekend and they had the most beautiful pink Baby Dragonwing begonias in bloom and my boss wanted me to plant some in her front yard. I wanted to know if they grow well in the ground. I guess I will try them now.

Anita, I will include a link with a picture of my plant light. It is the one with 4 lamps, the one priced at $151.95. The lamps are not included, and I will have to replace them each year. The lamps are about one-half the size of the regular shoplight lamps. The entire fixture is so very light. It is energy efficient and high output and cool. That is why I chose it over some of the other type fixtures which are hot and not energy efficient. I have the plants growing under this fixture on a table that is about 6 feet by 3 feet and it is amazing how many plants I can grow under this fixture. I overwintered my Hibiscus and Gardenia also and they were in bloom all winter for me to enjoy. The Dragon-wing Begonia cuttings also bloomed well all summer.

That is so exciting about your new begonia and I would love to have seeds. Post pictures when you can.

I have a busy weekend. It has rained so much in Louisville since the beginning of the year. We are now around 12 inches over for the year so far. My basement started to leak, and I have someone coming to the house to give me an estimate to fix the leaks. I now have to clear out one room in the basement completely---what a job.

Here is one I had 3 years ago and would winter over since they were rarer to come by. It is in a coir lined basket with a small caladium on our hot deck.

Two years ago I got this King Kong coleus and a new Dragon Wing begonia that I put in 18 inch pots.

Last year I got this six pack for $5.

This is what they looked like a little later in the summer.

Close up of the blooms

Another DW beside a breynia and epiphyllum. The arborvitae is a 24 inch pot.

Side view of the same scene

close up of same pot

Close up of DW and a couple of caladiums.

Six DW begonias after a couple of months.

I just divided my Dragon Wing Begonias and I counted 73. I planted 100 seeds --5 weeks ago.

hcmcdole--The pictures of your Dragon Wing Begonias are breathtaking!!! I will show those to my boss, as she wants me to plant them in her yard and in containers this year. The Dragon Wing Begonias were selling for $3-$4 each at one of our garden centers last year.

I will probably put the Dragon Wing Begonias in my backyard in front of my Arborvitaes and also in pots and maybe a few in the front yard. I will give the rest away to my boss and friends. I visited one nursery today that had them for $4.50 each in a 4" pot. They were smaller than mine and already blooming. I do not understand why mine are not blooming. Maybe I need to change the fertilizer.

Betty

I will try that fertilizer. Last night I put some Better-Gro Orchid Bloom Buster on them, and it is 11-35-15. Also the nursery I visited last week in Mt. Washington, Ky.--the owner told me he was keeping his Dragon Wing Begonias that he started from seed--on the dry side to get them to bloom. Maybe, I will try that too. I have been watering them every other day. They dry out so fast.

I wish I knew that those seeds looked like - I couldn't see diddly! (and truth be told my eyes are NOT that bad!)

I found this article:

Plant of the Week
Dragon Wings Begonia
Latin: Begonia x hybrida 'Dragon Wings'
Big Boy is a large-fruited F1 hybrid that has maintained its popularity for over 50 years.
In 35-plus years following the comings and goings of horticulture, I've seen a number of plants rise in popularity, only to be dashed against the rocks as gardeners tire of them or their less desirable attributes become known.

Dragon Wings begonia is one of the most remarkable new garden flowers to come along in my career. It too will eventually fade from the scene, but for now it's an excellent example of another group of garden plants – the interspecific hybrids – as we continue our discussion of how garden plants are produced.

Dragon Wings begonia is a 2- to 3-foot tall, cane-forming begonia with deep, glossy-green, 5-inch long leaves and drooping clusters of flowers. Because the hybrid is sterile, it just keeps blooming from spring till frost. The original introduction had bright red flowers but pink and white forms are now available.

My only complaint with Dragon Wings is that it's a bit messy on my deck. It makes so many flowers that I have to occasionally sweep to keep it from staining the wood red.

To follow the story of Dragon Wings begonia, we must first discuss a bit of jargon. The plant is an interspecific hybrid (a cross between two species of begonia), so an "x" is used in the name to indicate its hybrid origins. While this has no legitimacy with begonia taxonomists, some sources are using the name Begonia x hybrida as a catchall name for this hybrid.

The name Dragon Wings is a bit confusing. Chatter amongst members of the American Begonia Society indicate that a plant was registered in 1985 and named Christmas Candy by Mable Cowin, a hobby breeder working with shrub type begonias. From photos on the web, Christmas Candy seems almost identical to what we call Dragon Wings begonia.

In 1992, Brad Thompson registered, with the American Begonia Society, a cane-forming hybrid and called it Dragon Wings. This foliage plant is completely different than the flowering plant we find in the trade with the same name. Thompson's contribution to the story seems to be coming up with a nifty, marketable name.

In 1997, the lawyers at Burpee registered a trademark, and Dragon Wings became Dragon Wings®, but for a different plant, a hybrid of Begonia U014 x, an unnamed B. semperflorens (wax begonia) cultivar. It's unclear if Cowin's Merry Christmas is the same cross as Burpee's Dragon Wings Red, but they're certainly very close. Dragon Wings seeds are produced by PanAmerican Seed Company, a division of the Ball Seed Company, which also owns Burpee. The company thought they had a hit on their hands so pulled out all the stops to promote the plant with greenhouse growers and gardeners.

Begonia U014 was a then unidentified cane-forming begonia from Argentina . Early on, it was suspected to be as a form of the Angel Wing Begonia ( B. coccinea ) but now appears to be a different species called B. descoleana that was identified in 1950 from material collected in Brazil .

To cross successfully, plants must have the same number of chromosomes and enough base pairs in common so that their DNA will match successfully. Dragon Wings apparently is a good match but not perfect.

Interspecific hybridization is a common way for breeders to introduce new traits into plants. If the hybrid is closely enough related to produce viable seeds in the F2 generation, the characteristics can be fixed using inbreeding techniques. If they're too distantly related to produce seed, as is the case here, they can be maintained as a hand pollinated F1 hybrid. If seed production is not the main means of reproduction, these interspecific hybrids can be propagated by cuttings.

Dragon Wings' sterility is good for both the gardener and the seed company. For the gardener, sterile plants never develop seeds and keep flowering in an unfruitful attempt to procreate. For the seed company, it's good, because the only way seeds can be produced is to make the cross by hand and harvest the seeds, thus guaranteeing a lock on the market for this unique plant. Because the seeds are costly to produce, they sell for about 10 cents each to wholesale growers.

Dragon Wings begonia, named an Arkansas Select plant in 2001, grows in sun or shade. It's usually not available until late spring in the garden centers, and then most growers offer it in larger container sizes. It's a big plant, so give it plenty of room.

Like all begonias it does best in fertile, well-drained but never dry, organic soil. To keep it growing throughout the summer, make sure it is fertilized with some regularity. Dragon Wings thrive on the heat and humidity of an Arkansas summer.

By: Gerald Klingaman, retired
Extension Horticulturist - Ornamentals
Extension News - August 27, 2004

They're growing they're growing they're growing!!!

And here's the other two trays:

The last 'disaster' tray is pulling along, I'd say may be 15 plants will be SAVED!! sorry no picture!

Thanks for the interesting article, Tom. Anita, I am going to the nursery today to get the Fertilome fertilizer. I just took this picture of two of my Dragonwings started last January and I am concerned they may never bloom.

I purchased the Fertil-lome fertilizer yesterday. This morning I saw two buds forming--so exciting. I will post pictures when they are fully out.

Here is a picture of the new buds forming--so exciting! Thanks a million for all of your help. Tom, my babies from Hazzard Seeds are also taking off.

The Bonfire Begonia is lovely and I cannot believe it is 5 feet long. I am going to pot up some of my containers this weekend. I started around 24 geraniums from seed last January and one is about to bloom. I honestly do not have room for all of them and may just give many away. I overwintered a couple of geraniums and they got so huge, growing under lights that I gave them a major haircut and just stuck the cuttings in potting soil and did not expect them to do much. And they are all doing well. Tom, please post pictures after you plant your Dragon Wing Begonias.

Anita, I will not start putting anything in the ground
until about May 15th. I usually start around May 15th and
finish up around June 1st (Memorial day weekend) with my
tomatoes (30 varieties this year) and peppers. I'm one of
those weirdos that watch the moon cycle too... I know!
But I really hate to lose anything after I've had them in
the house for 4-5 months (for some). So I probably wait
longer than I need to - but I'd rather be cautious... So
it's a two week process. I will take 2 days or so off of
work to try and get it all in during that two week time -
otherwise it's an hour or so after work at night and
weekends for me.

I'm still scraping frost off my windshield in the AM...
although my better half put my begonias into the direct
sunlight yesterday for 2 hours... I nearly had a fit! Ah,
he tries!

Time IS a real issue for me - I work full time and have two
children (3 and 5) so getting to it all is difficult...
And I live on a lake with a 3 & 5 year old so it's a
Miracle I get ANYTHING done! I have to watch them like a
hawk. I think I told ya, I had a sprinkler system put in
and I am thrilled I won't be spending time watering this
year like I did last year.

I'm very much looking forward to the queen series. They
will go out in one of the beds...

My imps are finally looking decent:

My DW's are topped off with their size - they won't get
much bigger - sorry I'll send a picture tomorrow... And
the queens are looking SWEET! I'm really excited about
starting something new!

That is exciting about your Bonfire Begonias and be sure and post pictures. I went to quite a few nurseries yesterday and saw them in Hanging baskets for around $20, but I have already spent too much and will just enjoy yours. I am going to plant flowers today in my yard and start on the pots. Thanks for the two emails.

I have 4 trays of 36 tomatoes. I'll give over 1/2 away.
I just transplanted them so they're still looking a little
unhappy... :)

I'm on the hunt for other begonias - you gals mentioned
bonfire... and others have mentioned other begonias and
I've been on the hunt, but there's nothing in the nurseries
right now - real heavy duty planting won't occur around
here until close to the end of May.

My new guineas I think look great:

Other imps are coming along:

I'm working on the bags right now - they look horrible - so
I'm refusing to take pictures to show you THAT! But once
they get over the transplantation shock, I'll send along
some pictures.

The peach butterfly. I grew them last year - I grow the
larger varieties. My peach butterflies were 'envoy'. The
fella who gave them to me (we have an impatien swap -
although he got a lot of dragon wing begonias last year -
something that won't happen this year!) he did not like
them - they didn't hold up for him - he has a hedge like I
do and they just didn't produce nicely for him. I thought
they were ok. I put them in an area that was not optimal.
I loved the color though.

So I have ONE tray of dragon wings left. One tray got
destroyed by the hubby thinking he was helping:

He put them out for "only 2 hours" in the direct sunlight.
LOVELY!

Thankfully the other tray is fine - but it's still quite
a blow... I started 250 and I'm ending up witn nearly
nothing! Ugh Uhg Ugh! I wish I lived in the area of the
country Butch does with the cheap DW's!

The queens (I transplanted this weekend) I ended up with
almost 2 trays of 36...

These might make up for the DW's disappointing year. (though the 'disappointing year' is through no fault BUT my own...)

There's the update - on a lot more than just begonias!

The one time I did lose it - cried - last year I put in all
my imps... they were in for about 2-3 weeks... I came home
and they were all laying over on their side - like a big
wind came through and knocked them all over. They were all
'pointing' towards the neighbors house (on the other side of
the fence). Clearly he had had a company come in and clear
leaves... but I just couldn't figure out why my plants would
be knocked over in such a way... It didn't make sense. I called
the hubby. He came home shortly there after and I was in
tears. I couldn't even look at the plants! I didn't want to
even go outside - all my work over the winter/spring - I planted
Hmmm - approximately 360 plants - and they were all laying
over on their sides - looking pretty dead... My husband inspected
the area and realized that the leaf cleaning people had come
over to OUR side of the fence and blew the leaves into his
yard to clean them. In doing so they took their leaf blowers
to my brand new babies 2-3 weeks in the ground AND killed the
bleeding hearts and maidens hair ferns I had planted. I was
horrified. The neighbor came home I pounced on the man - he
hired the dang company! He refused to do anything! He refused
to call the company - he fluffed it off... We were brand new
neighbors! Ugh! Anyway I did lose it... I cried... HOWEVER,
since my lovelies had a few weeks in the ground I watered the
heck out of them and low and behold they came back! And they
are the ones above along the fence! So plants are very tolerant
(thankfully!)... Anyway, the company ended up replacing the
perennials (there was no replacing the annuals since I grew
them myself!) so they made it better, but our relationship
with our neighbor has never been the same.

I'm not sure what I'll use to replace the DW though. They
really looked spectacular. The picture I think there were
a little over 72 plants there... it's a 20' by 5' area...
I really could put in a lot less since they spread so well -
but the area was DESIGNED for them - it was a perfect amount
of sun and shade... I'm not sure WHAT I'll do... Suggestions?

tom,

So sad about your loss. Here is a picture I just took of 3 of my Dragon Wing Begonias from Hazzard Seeds. I am now repotting around 60 that made it out of 100 seeds planted. If there is a way to ship them to you, you can have most of them, as I have no room for them. Let me know--I live in Louisville, Ky. My Dragon Wing Begonias are doing great under the high intensity lights and I have already planted 6 of the ones that survived from one package of Burpee Seeds. I want to keep a few for pots but you are welcome to the rest--if there is a right way to ship them. I guess I could remove them from the pots, in a couple of weeks and wrap them gently in bubble wrap or something like that.

Betty

Betty, thank you so much for your offer, but I'll think I'll pass. I very much appreciate it, but I'm taking this opportunity to try some other begonias (I hope). Also, I'm sure (like me) you'll have people lining up for those DW - yours are just BEAUTIFUL!!!! You can plant them in a bed Betty - they won't go to waste! Thank you SO much - your offer is so very generous. Thank you.

I started a tray of Amaranthus - these can be a back up for the area if I can't find something that I really love to replace the Red DW's.

Anita, that IS a great idea. I wish I was planting... While driving into work this AM I saw FROST on some of the neighbors grass and pansies! Unbelieveable! I've been frost free for a few days because the lake keeps me warmer... I'm jealous you folks are planting already.

Queen:

That is exciting!! Post a picture when it is fully open. I have been busy planting in the yard and last evening cut down 7 Arborvitaes that were not doing well. Now I have to dig up the roots and will then have another area in which to plant my Dragon Wing Begonias. I saw a beautiful Baby Wing Begonia like the picture of the one Anita posted, and I am still debating about purchasing it. It is in a hanging basket and around $20 and so beautiful.

Oh, I thought that was your Baby Wing Begonia. I dug up all the Arborvitae roots in one and a half hours yesterday. They were around 7 feet tall and 8 years old. I had bought them at a grocery store for around $10 each. They all fell to the ground last winter, during an ice storm. I had someone look at them a few weeks ago, and he said that the problem was ---they had 4-5 trunks for each tree instead of one. Well that is what I get for buying them at a grocery store and not really knowing to look at trunks anyway. I also planted good quality Arborvitaes across the back of my fence about 3 years ago and they have one trunk and are doing well. I cut all 7 of them down in 35 minutes. I finished the bed last evening---I work very fast. That bed is now ready for my Dragon Wing Begonias, which I have to harden off slowly.
Glad you got all your seedlings out. I will enjoy your pictures. I received seeds from Monica in Denmark yesterday--that is exciting.

A update on the queens - they looked pink to start with, but as the buds age they look more RED. THey're looking healthy, but small. I'm going to try and put them in the flower bed where I had the dragons last year. Butch seems to think they might make it there just fine - and Butch is the pro when it comes to these things... They haven't opened fully to see the double bloom, but as soon as it does you can bet, I'll get a picture.

The New Guineas are starting to bud - look fantastic.

Some of the bags are looking good - others are teetering on the edge of death... they seem to be having transplantation shock... and never quite get over it.

Imps are looking good in the trays.

Not much more to update - I'll take some pictures soon!

Take care all, and happy gardening!

I took on making my own fountain - I'll send along pictures -
what a project that turned out to be! And then we did a bathroom
remodel...

The NG imps are looking good. My white, salmon and red star
imps are looking good...

Its dawned on me (ok, I'm not the sharpest knife in the
drawer) that the bags might be having 'trouble' because I'm
using a different variety imp - They're looking skimpy -
so, we'll see - when I get to downloading stuff on photobucket
I'll attach some pictures next time...

but most importantly - the begones are looking good. :)

I think the Harley and the Begonia convention are perfectly
suited (coming from a motorcycle driver myself)... :)

I'll keep 'super thrive' in mind.

Finally found time to load some pics... (however bad they may be):
Queen:

New Guineas:

Imps:

Last years:

New Imp bed this year WAS going to be a dragon wing bed:

Amaranthus (Joseph's coat): (experiment)

As for the 'queen' begonias, I've been not liking them so much - they look like an average begonia that one could buy at home depot HOWEVER, in the last week or so they've really started to look better. I'm sorry I haven't taken a picture of them recently. I will tonight.

I'm TRYING to post my progress on the Impatien forum on the imps - so you can check that out at your leisure...

Feel free to e mail me, Anita.

Take care, and I'll post a pic of the begonias soon...

They're doing well, I'd say... considering I started them pretty late...

Anita, I grew Love Lies Bleeding a few years ago at my old residence and they were very interesting... but I went back to the Joseph's Coat. I probably won't grow them again, though. I think the area I have them in is just too 'good'? I know they like dry conditions and they're right under the sprinklers...

I've got something tearing up my NG Imps too - driving me to drink! Like I need an excuse.

I think I'm going to stick with the Dragon Wings in the future... although, I DO like the NG imps too - might do both... :)

Take care!

Seed pods (I am not used to these since I've been growing DW's) they're pretty in and of themselves!

Thanks!

How is everyone else doing???

On another note - my other interests - tomatoes did quite
well compared to others with the weather challenges we had..
some of my favorites:




Weird looking but a GREAT tomato!

I will remember this year for the weirdest blossoms I've
ever seen (mega blossoms):


And my impatiens were a complete BUST. One bed did great
the other struggled all summer long. All the NG Imps did great. Really weird.


the rest of the imps never looked any better than this:

The area that thrived looked like this:

This was the area I was most impressed with... Volunteers from
last year (gotta love mother nature):

we had the backyard destroyed and put in a patio.
Before:

During:

Shoot, I don't have an after!

another non gardening note, we adopted a rescue dog:

best decision we've made in a long while.

We'll see what next year brings.

Anita, (and others)
how did your plantings fair this year???

What's in your begonia collection so far? Did you ever
figure out how to post a picture?

The Mr. Stripey - good guess, but no. It's an Indian
Stripe. Someone sent me the seed and was shocked to find
it's degree of 'striping'. It has caused quite a stir to
those who like a striped tomato. This was my first
striped... And it tasted wonderful. Fully ripe it looked
more like this:

I also grew another striped:
Berkeley Tie Dye:


It was a little too late for my garden though :(

I didn't have a banner year for tomatoes but it wasn't all
that bad either. I grow tomatoes for the taste - the
stripes are a BONUS!!!! There are actually many ornamental
tomatoes out there - or what I'd consider ornamental b/c
I think they taste terrible. Berkeley Tie Dye and Indian
Stripe are beautiful and taste real good too - Especially
the IS. Mmmm!

I'm a firm believer of neglect for tomato plants. I plant
in the ground (not containers) so that makes life
easier... but I don't spray, I don't fertilize, I don't
water... unless I absolutely have to... I do use a lot of
compost and what not so I can get away with it. My plants
were probably 7-8 feet tall this year...

Big tomatoes are directly related to the size of the bloom -
I consulted someone who is a lot more knowledgable than me
and she said that she believed that it was environmental -
she saw A LOT of mega blooms this year.

Oh, almost forgot this one - I'm not a fan of green-when-
ripe tomatoes but this one Cherokee Green was fabulous:

Ok, completed patio pictures:





All in all I thought it came out good. I hated that hill,
so this made it more functional.

The rescue pup came from Mississippi - I don't know any of
her history. She's approximately 2 years old - she shows
signs of abuse (timid and skiddish, scarfs her food, will
thief food, etc.) BUT she is the most lovey dovey pup! We
just love her. She's definitely a 'water dog'. Good thing!

We adore her and would recommend rescuing a dog to anyone.
I can't imagine why someone would have let this dog go -
she clearly had had puppies - but she very close to a pure
breed (if not a pure breed - she'd be a chocolate/yellow
lab - her nose and eyes are the color of a chocolate, but
she is clearly yellow).

So that's the scoop on her!

Good to hear from you - and let's see some pictures!!!

:)