Begonia boliviensis ‘Brothglow’
Roy Herold (Thu, 06 Dec 2018 16:58:52 PST)
Judy,
Close, but no cigar. I, too, picked up Sparks Will Fly this spring, and
was delighted with how it looked and performed. At some point, I read
the label and saw the Plant Patent number.
Further reading of the patent revealed several things. First, it is a
bolivensis hybrid from England. Second, it is propagated from stem
cuttings. Third, it is sterile, as it only has MALE flowers. Yup, take a
look at the photos and you will see. Burpee doesn't quite know what the
story is--I'm sure they are selling tubers as opposed to seed.
I also got a nice fat tuber, and packed it away in peat moss with my
other bolivensis tubers. They spend the winter in a friend's basement
that is cool enough to keep them and other bulbs dormant and happy. That
said, you would probably be okay leaving it in the pot in a cool
spot--begonias take a good bit of warmth to get going.
The other bolivensis I grow are from the Bossa Nova seed strain,
acquired as liners--the yellow one is particularly nice. These all
appear to be fertile, although I've never tried to grow the seed.
--Roy
On 12/6/2018 7:35 PM, Judy Glattstein wrote:
Early last summer I bought a Begonia 'Sparks Will Fly' with lovely
tangerine flowers on somewhat arching stems, bronze leaves with lighter
veining. It clearly wanted to stop growing later this fall, even though
transitioned into my greenhouse. In fact, it fell apart, dropped all the
stems. And - surprise! - there's a nice plump smooth brown tuber sitting
somewhat above the soil.
It is a seed raised Burpee offering, /Begonia boliviensis/ ‘Brothglow’
What can you tell me about /B. boliviensis/? Anyone else have 'Sparks
Will Fly'? Do I just shove it under a bench and neglect watering until
early spring?
Judy in New Jersey where we are flip-flopping from warm to rain to quite
chilly
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