Hardy Begonias, and others.
These wonderful plants are really not well known. It is not unusual when I mention hardy Begonias to a customer to get that ‘Is he mad’ look. However there are a large group of these subtle plants that are either totally hardy or on the fringe. Some, but by no means all, may need a mulch in the worst of the winter weather, but they are certainly worth the extra effort. As plant hunting progresses there are many more coming out of the Far East, especially China. Exciting times. Have a quick look at this article to whet your appetite
Begonia grandis the true hardy ones
The B. grandis forms can be absolutely spectacular. They are totally hardy, dying down in the winter to a small corm. Ours even came through the 2011 winter where we had -20 degrees for six weeks. They are invaluable for late summer and autumn colour, starting to flower in July and continuing until the first real frost. Colours, shape and sizes vary considerably. Many have wonderfully dark veins on the undersides of the leaves, some totally burgundy below. Others have silver spotting on the young leaves. This adds extra value to what is already a good plant. Flower colours are either pink or white, the whites are especially good for lightening a dark area.
The hardiest of them all are the B. grandis types. We currently have several different ones, namely
B. grandis ‘Herons Pirouette’
B. grandis subsp. holostyla ‘Nanjiang Silver’
B. grandis ‘Sapporo’
B. grandis pale green leaf form
B. grandis subsp. evansiana ‘Simsii’
B. grandis subsp. evansiana
B. grandis subsp. sinensis ‘Red Undies’
B. grandis subsp. sinensis ‘Snowpop’
B. grandis subsp. sinensis BWJ8011A
B. grandis subsp. sinensis BWJ8133
