new Begonias

Begonia x 'Sinbad'

These past couple weeks I have been scrambling to save various annuals from an untimely trip to the compost pile before frost sets in. Before bringing them in I cute them back pretty hard, pruning back to just above the node(s), leaving a few stubs remaining. Thanks to the (now inside) heating up of their root systems, keeping the roots and soil slightly moist, and misting and trying to keep the humidity increased, I have seen the plants determination to maintain what us botany geeks love to call the "root-to-shoot ratio". These such begonias have been putting out tons of new growth and I am so happy to see them bounce back so well. You have to love species persistence to survive. Now the challenge is just to keep the humidity up through the winter months. Good thing I get up at sunrise every morning and can mist my new acquisitions as much as they like. And I love this one, with the comical white polka-dots:

Begonia maculata 'Wightii'