Probably grown in some perfect greenhouse environment and then stuck outside for a photo op to fool the masses into buying a few bulbs of it from some of those spring catalogs. If only it grew like that... Sigh!

https://www.mullerseeds.com/18004-2.html

https://www.unwins.co.uk/begonia-illumination-apricot-and-tropical-shades-ggid59.html

https://www.dobies.co.uk/Garden/Flowers/Flower+Plants/All+Flower+Plants/Begonia+Illumination+Apricot+Shades+15_214811.htm

so some exaggeration in advertising..can relate to your "photo op to fool the masses" comment..I've seen that too..plants that need sun in a pot blooming profusely on a covered porch for instance..looking forward to shopping for summer plants..this is my backyard right now..made some "peanut huts" for the animals..

just yesterday we used our snowblower for the first time..and our snow was not as heavy as what you had..pretty photos..we have cardinals but not bluebirds..the begonias look terrific!..I've been recovering from a basal cell surgery..small innocent looking spot on my face ignored by dermatologists for years..well a new Dr did a biopsy and I had a basal cell..had Mohs surgery and was SHOCKED at the size of my incision..I'm trying to be an adult about it but I'm sad..hoping to look normal when it's time to go back outside..at least this is a good time of year to be inactive..another reason why I need some mid winter cheer..

OUCH. Do they recommend plastic surgery? My sister did. I've had two Mohs surgeries myself but I guess men just look more "rugged".

I fell down our basement stairs four years ago and it took quite a few stitches to close the wound above my right eye. The scar looks right at home today. HA!

OUCH is right!!..numbness.stabbing pains and tingles..Dr said "you have nice fair healthy skin..we should get a good result"..didn't mention plastic surgery..I am improving..I'm using a scar gel Rx..excited for winter to end..I'll feel and look better (hopefully) and can enjoy my plants..

Hang in there. Old age isn't for sissies. Hopefully the pain and tingles will ease up and go away in short order.

Spring is a long way for me and probably a little longer for you. I will just have to tend to my jungle indoors for another four months. UGH!

so true..growing older ISN'T easy..we just do the best we can..I get so excited when March comes but the truth is until mid May it's not that nice!..going down to your basement must be uplifting when it's dreary outside..if the weather had been better and if I was my normal self I might have looked for some begonias for my new pots..maybe in a week or two..thanks for sharing such fun colorful begonia pics..

Some things will start blooming here but I don't make an all out effort to go see them up close. March things will be coming along, a lot more blooms, and some things greening up. Camellias is the biggie for me. April is azaleas if the buds are still intact. I like the trees to leaf out for shade before moving houseplants outside so May is my best bet. They say it is safe the middle of April but the nights can still be chilly.

Here's wishing you well! The rexes and some blooms do cheer up dreary old winter. We have a little snow on the front lawn now and even a little accumulation on the driveway. Tomorrow may get to single digits. I wonder if this will hurt the big leaf hydrangeas.

Awww..your begonias are sweet..so bright and colorful..the flat round leaved one with the red centers (third pic above) is interesting..exotic..I love even a bit of color..and outside in March even a modest display of bloom is appreciated!..I guess for me hellebores will be the first pretty thing that I'll see..and the flattened damaged winter leaves mar the beauty a bit..then crocus and daffodils..just writing this down sounds good..I want to improve my pics..take the time and put more effort into it..thanks for wishing me well!..I should be fine someday..but this was an unpleasant surprise..forgot to say I'm also worried about a lot of my "more delicate" shrubs and perennials..but even in GA there's reason to be concerned..FL too..none of us are exempt it seems..

Thanks for the comments. The green begonia with a red center is conchifolia var. rubrimacula and is doing quite well despite hanging to edge of a light stand.

As for winter damage, that is part of the cycle of nature? After our heavy snow in early December, there was a lot of damage to trees and shrubs - mostly pines and Bradford pears. I don't know who is responsible for the cut/broken limbs lining the roads - the property owner or the county but eventually it will either be cleaned up or rot away.

Oh yes, Hellebores, Crocus, Daffodils, winter honeysuckle, Mahonia, Okame cherry, and some camellias could be blooming in another month if the weather cooperates. Even my Harry Lauder's walking stick has its male catkins out already.

My white blooming cane is already going to seed.

closer view of Teen Angel and Hot Tamale. The big silver leaf in the bottom corner is Silver Beauty or Silver Collar.

Mary Bucholz

I cannot believe we are in the middle of January and my Escargot is still looking halfway decent.
Kevin Whitecotton
I got this unknown from either HD or Lowe's last summer in Orlando and is a lot larger than this photo shows. The other half of it is in the shadows hanging off the backside of the stand. This side was bare just 3 weeks ago until I turned the pot 180.
Looking Glass is halfway decent as well. There is one Miniperba in between four pots of L.G.
I put these 3 moyesii cuttings in a Jiffy pellet which went inside a six ounce drinking cup filled with some aquarium gravel (to hold them up) and then housed in a new high dome tray yesterday.
Dimitri
I don't know the name of this small rhizo and I wished all rhizomatous could wait until I moved them out to bloom so bees could pollinate them. Oh well?

12 degrees right now..yuck..I'm happy to stay home anyway..we do have a warm up on the way..your Escargot looks very nice..flawless actually..might have said this before but the dark leaved ones remind me of heucheras..the white blooms on the cane sure remind me of summer..makes me think of wax begonias..I've been buying wax begonias every summer for many many years..I like all of them..bronze leaves..green leaves..red, white and pink blooms..can't wait to buy some..saw this on Pinterest..no ID..blooms are different..very pretty..are they begonia blooms or another advertising trick with cut flowers added in?..I see a leaf sort of like a geranium just below the center of the pic..but the blooms don't seem like a geranium..a mum maybe?..

It was 18 a little earlier in Atlanta with a wind chill of zero. Most of the snow has melted if it is in the sun but the shady spots still have snow. We are supposed to be 63 or so on Sunday. Typical weather.

This will be the first year that Escargot will come out just fine (keeping fingers crossed since we still have a long way to go). Hmm, heuchera? If you could see the dark leaf begonias up close and in person I showed above, you would change your mind pretty quick. Colors maybe, leaf shape and size - no.

I don't get wax begonias anymore - at least the bedding type. I had Charm (variegated) and the double blooming ones such as Lady Frances, Cherry Blossom, and Lady Carol. I think those were the names. I could never keep them over winter so I quit but maybe one day I will try them again. I will get 'Big' since it is like a super wax begonia - much bigger leaves, much bigger blooms, and semi-tall - maybe two feet tall?

My old double blooming wax begonias - all 3 together.

How about 'Big' which you can buy at HD and other nursery centers in the spring?

Dragon Wings on the left and 'Big' Bronze form on the right. Blooms all summer long in the heat and full sun.

Maybe I will upgrade to bigger and better varieties!..but it's hard to resist bargains..and if the "ordinary" ones are practically free I go for it..I can relate to what you say..I now walk by bargain hostas if they're "ordinary"..I have definite preferences now..you could send pics/names of what you find at HD, Lowe's and Wal-Mart and I can look for it here..you'll get it sooner and I'll know what to look for..

I look for bargains too but try to avoid the old standards unless they are worthy. I like new and different but they also have to be affordable.

Getting too old to just go with the ordinary if I can get something exciting for a couple dollars more.

You're right..we deserve special plants!..especially me with my messed up face!..when I do cave and bring home bargains I at least try to get a reasonable quantity..I'm proud of myself when I don't overbuy!..I hate to spend too much gardening time (and money) on ordinary annuals..great pics again..the plants look so pretty..love the cordyline and the ginger(?)..they're HUGE..

I don't buy expensive plants but will buy a lot of plants. I'm not getting any younger so I buy what is affordable and pleases me.

Some prices are absurd for some of the plants shown on-line. Check out daylilies where some single fans are going for $300 or more. And some agaves over $1,000!! Some JMs are in the thousands. Good for the folks who can splurge like that but I like to keep some money for other things like food! HAHA!

https://www.ebay.com/sch/Yard-Garden-Outdoor-Living/159912/i.html?_from=R40&_nkw=japanese+maple&_sop=16

https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_odkw=daylily&_sop=16&_osacat=159912&_from=R40&_trksid=p2045573.m570.l1313.TR12.TRC2.A0.H0.Xagave.TRS0&_nkw=agave&_sacat=159912

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Purple-Goliath-Daylily-2017-Grace-Gossard-introduction/132087156418?hash=item1ec1020ec2:g:pP8AAOSwNnRYl4fW

I can't believe anyone would pay those prices!..I can spend so much less and love what I buy..but if I knew what I've spent on plants in my lifetime I'm sure that I would be surprised..but I would still say "it was worth it to me"..

Some of those prices are probably peanuts to the 1%. I remember years ago where a company in Atlanta spent $50,000 to move a very large Japanese maple from their old location to their new location (digging it up, having the police give an escort to stop traffic, planting it in its new location, etc). Why not just buy a new smaller tree for a lot less and let the tree live out the rest of its life where it was?

A private garden on the ABS convention tour (on the small strand of Palm Beach) said his annual budget for plants alone was $100,000 and he employed six gardeners - two full time if I remember right. It was six acres and the largest private garden in Palm Beach. I wished I knew the name of the place since it used to have a website.

the 1% sometimes act as if unless they pay some outrageous price it's not worth having..how foolish..I bet the people who pay so much don't even know what plants they own, never take care of them or even really enjoy them..