Susan,

Not sure about 6 inch pots (most are 4 inch or smaller - usually smaller) through the mail but you could try:

Palm Hammock,
http://members.tripod.com/~PalmHammockOrchidEst/phoe.html

Kartuz,
http://www.kartuz.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc

Lauray of Salisbury,
http://www.lauray.com/

Earth's mine and yours,
http://www.earthsmine.com/begonias.htm

Cloudy Valley,
http://begonias.com/main.html

and Glasshouse Works.
http://www.glasshouseworks.com/

Butch

Thanks, Butch!

Lauray's, I'm familiar with. She has healthy plants and a good selection.

Mr. Kartuz is the sweetest man but he takes forever to fill an order.

Glasshouse Works is questionable at times.

Thanks again, tho!
I'd really like to find some shops in my area that I can visit. I wonder why no one carries anything but DragonWing.

Susan,

Lauray's is slow and has very tiny plants but at least the plants are as ordered. This was the first year I ordered from them and thought they had closed down because I never got a confirmation. Finally 2 months or better went by before the package arrived (all the other places I had ordered from at the same time had been delivered anywhere from a week after the order was placed to 4 weeks, but not 2 months). I was disappointed that 2 out of 10 plants were not shipped. Not even an explantation as to why. Maybe I will find those 2 somewhere else later on.

I don't know Mr. Kartuz but they do take their time filling an order. They have some begonias that no one else offers. I just placed an order with them a week or two ago so hopefully I will get a delivery by the end of July. I'll keep my fingers crossed.

GHW is very questionable but their mistakes or substitutions (I think it is more mistakes) usually turn out to be nice additions (just wish I knew what they are but then they probably would like to know as well). One day I would like to visit their greenhouses. They seem to have a lot to offer but their mail order and web site needs a lot of work. I ordered about 10 begonias from them and 3 ('Cleopatra', 'Tamo', and 'Earl-ee-bee') look like mistakes but 2 of those ('Cleopatra' and 'Earl-ee-bee') look like nice plants. I also got two freebies and one substitution.

Logees is one of the more expensive places to order from but usually they are quick to deliver and the plants usually grow fast (usually).

Palm Hammock is usually slow and they make mistakes as well when doing mail order. I'd like to order from them now, but am very reluctant to. I have had to call them back after several weeks went by to see if they lost my order (a few years ago). Of course I got an excuse that they were just filling the order and lost my address or something like that. I just visited them the end of April. There is nothing like visiting in person. Bigger plants for the same money. More selections than the web site and you pick them out. Very nice place to vist.

I have not bought any begonias off eBay but continue to look. I hate bidding because I refuse to pay more than what you can buy at one of the stores above. The shipping costs on one begonia is not a bargain either. I usually look at the "Buy Now" ones but haven't bought any yet. I did buy an agave that was a "Buy Now" though.

There are lots of places in Florida if you only knew where they are. I stopped at a small nursery on one of the Keys a few years ago. Beautiful begonias at a good price but you need a truck! I also picked up 2 different begonias in a 3 gallon pot on the same trip at the Key West nursery for $4. Of course that is a long way to go to pick up begonias.

I don't know what is in your area, but there are several nurseries in my area (suburbs of Atlanta) that have sporadic shipments of begonias. I have had luck at several small nurseries and even the big building supplies including of all places - Ace Hardware (at least one with an attached greenhouse and this has been one of the best sources locally). It is hit or miss so I try to stop by at least every two weeks. I have a feeling a truck out of Florida swings by some of these stores every 4 to 6 weeks. Now if I only knew when they deliver I would try and be there on that date. First come - first serve.

Butch

I liked what I received from Kartuz, although the plants were small. They were really vigorous and healthy despite the small size. The thing with Kartuz is to place your order two full months before you want it to arrive. Then it arrives "on time". I didn't order this year because I was too busy doing "other" garden ordering and gardening and planning and just didn't get it together in time.

I've always gotten nice healthy plants from Kartuz, but especially the last several orders contained too many substitutions and cancellations for my taste. In the future if I can get out there I will visit and undoubtedly buy, but I won't order. The things I wanted most were the things I didn't get. Logees, as Butch says, are fast and espensive, and I must add not always too accurate about names.
I've always done very well with orders from Lauray, and I like to get cuttings from her (Judy Becker), which isn't exactly what you're interested in! Just got an excellent reason for the delay this spring--it was posted on another forum that her mother just died and the services are this week I think--I didn't plan on running up to Connecticutt so I didn't mark the date! She is very reliable about names, and I think now is really a one-woman business--maybe she has some help; I certainly hope so. FWIW, the name of the place, Lauray, is a combination of her mother, Laura, and her father, Ray, who also died fairly recently. I grieve for her.

Hi Susan,

If you are interested in trading, I can send cuttings of these canes: Honeysuckle, Don Miller, and Martha Floro. I'd be interested in other begonias and hoyas you have. I'm always on the lookout for brugmansia I don't have too. Drop me an e-mail if you're interested.