Great pictures, Butch! I suspect that a lot of beginners would panic and think they'd killed their plants when they looked like that. I think they look very healthy and ready to take off. By the way--I'm trying to get valid names for my plants and I know some places aren't very careful, but I got my 'Benitochiba' spelled like that, with just one word. Which do you suppose is correct? Mine is still pretty small, and I have it inside under fluorescent light, and it is quite rosey. Not sure which is prettier, the silvery one or the rose one! Maybe I'll divide it and put one outside and let it be silver.
Nancy

Thanks, Nancy.

A lot of beginners are probably like me when I started trying other begonias besides canes. I tend to water too much. I even put in the water absorbing crystals years ago thinking begonias were like most tropicals - they love water. What a mistake! After losing a bunch, I read that most begonias like to dry out between waterings. That helped tremendously. Naturally you learn from mistakes and I still make a bunch of mistakes, but at least I have more successes than failures now.

I ordered my first 'Benitochiba' from Palm Hammock which has it spelled with two words. I was corrected when I posted it on the web using PH's spelling on this begonia. If you look it up on the web you can find both ways, but the most prevalent is one word. I know what you mean about some places not being careful with spelling and labeling, but if it looks nice and is a good price then I can't pass it up. I will look for names later. If I can't find the name, then I could do like my grandmother use to do - name it after the place or person you get it from.

P.S. I have seen the same begonia (or very similar) at D.S. Cole where they call it 'Savannah Bay'.

I lost my first 'Benitochiba' from PH due to overwatering and ordered another one from someplace else and lost that after a year (not sure what happened on that one). I finally bought this one locally and have wintered it successfully for two years now.

My new leafs come out very rosey (and are doing so now) but eventually go to silver with being outdoors in the summer. It did get some early sun all last summer. Maybe you're right about the amount of light.

On another note, the 'Selph's Mahogany' blooms started very tiny and as they matured turned large with seed and changed from light pink to a dark pink. Strange thing is I never saw the petals open for pollination. They must be self-pollinating? I need to take some pictures before they start falling off.

Butch

New 'Benitochiba' leaves

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Bloom stalk on 'Selph's Mahogany'

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Bloom detail on 'Selph's Mahogany'

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cool pics! I have to say tho, I love that selaginella!