Are any of you who garden on the East Coast growing Begonia sutherlandii as a garden plant? The greater Washington, D.C. area must be on the borderline of the areas where it is possible to grow this plant as a garden perennial. I’ve failed to site it successfully several times, yet I hear reports from gardeners a bit east of here that it survives from year to year in their gardens. This is a short species, as I know it under a foot tall, which produces loads of bright orange flowers in late summer. I have been able to bring plants through our winters by planting them against the house wall. But such plants then sprout in the spring in the rain shadow of the eaves, and unless I move them into moister positions, they do nothing. This species produces little stem corms at the bases of the petioles somewhat in the fashion of Begonia grandis, although the corms of Begonia sutherlandii are much smaller. A friend who has grown this species for many years as a house plant which goes outside during the summer now has a nice pot full of stems with plenty of little corms in evidence. I’m going to try again. Jim McKenney jimmckenney@jimmckenney.com Montgomery County, Maryland, USA, 39.03871º North, 77.09829º West, USDA zone 7 My Virtual Maryland Garden http://www.jimmckenney.com/ BLOG! http://mcwort.blogspot.com/ Webmaster Potomac Valley Chapter, NARGS Editor PVC Bulletin http://www.pvcnargs.org/ Webmaster Potomac Lily Society http://www.potomaclilysociety.org/