My fascination with begonias grows as the days grow shorter. I feel almost rushed to get a few more for my collection before freeze sets in. All of this while I move daylilies from the Southwest garden into pots. 72 done, 3 to go. Then, I need to refresh soil in my other buried pots. So, why not blog while it warms up a bit more?

I found out about a new plant shop in the neighboring city of Grand Junction and inquired about rex begonias. She had 2. While I was there, I spotted a 3rd with unusual leaves. In fact, each leaf on the plant looks different. Check this out. Someone online said it’s likely an immature Harmony’s Firewoman.

I got a couple others yesterday at the plant store. The one w the colored leaf may be another version of Harmony’s Firewoman?

My other acquisitions have been an adventure in learning about mail order begonias. Here are my new additions since the last post. Yes, there goes my COVID bonus, but I’m planning to propagate and sell these when they get bigger.

My biggest challenge so far is Ideal Silver Blue. She was one of the more costly of my choices. I got her from a lady named Dotty on Etsy. She is nice enough but selling plants is not her main business. The pot was peat and not taped inside the box for security. The mouth of the pot didn’t have anything to keep the dirt from spilling out. This plant has beautiful silver leaves which faded in front of me despite her terrarium type of environment. The seller said she might sell me a new one if this one didn’t pull through but she didn’t have any yet. Good lesson for me if I ever sell in Etsy. Anyway, the one little leaf that popped up while I was away camping last week has probably doubled in size since this photo. There is hope but I also learned what to avoid when I sell these plants.

I guess I need to get back to the daylily pots. I have a few more begonias coming before freeze. It’s going to be my winter adventure to grow these colorful plants.