Showing posts with label Religious Radish. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Religious Radish. Show all posts

Wednesday, March 9, 2011

Really Pretty Coleus and that Spectacular Begonia 'Bonfire'



The plant with the orange bell-like flowers is begonia 'Bonfire'.



I attempted to keep several starts of my 2010 coleus so I could start cuttings for this year. I used rooting hormone, clipped them to about 1 1/2" to 2", cut off or clipped back half the leaf mass, and stuck them in dirt. They are pretty babies today and very colorful. They'll make great impact in my summer pots.

I always save a number of my nice looking plants every fall. One of the more surprising discoveries happened quite by accident in 2009. I saved one pot with the purple leaved Moses-in-the-boat. I try to grow things as dormant/dry as possible during the winter. The purple Mose can take quite a bit of abuse. I had planted a begonis 'Bonfire' in the same pot that spring. By the beginning of October, the begonia was starting to look pretty dead, so I cut it back to the level of the dirt in the pot. I probably watered the pot four times all winter.



See all those rose colored bumps! My begonia-- "IT'S ALIVE!"

By the beginning of March I fertilized the Moses and started watering it, hoping to get some cuttings rooted by May. A couple weeks go by and I realize the begonia is not dead, simply dormant! Here I thought it was one of the annual begonias, and turns out it is a hybrid between the fibrous and the tuberous varieties.

The root mass has now gone through three summers and two winters. Dormant, the root mass is probably eight inches by 6 inches. During the growing season, it completely filled my 14" pot.! Last year the foliage mass from half the size root was incredible. This year I am considering cutting the thing in half.