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Begonia Species
by Brad Thompson
Species begonias are begonias that grow in
the wild somewhere in the world. There are
several hundred species of begonias in the
world, many still waiting to be discovered.
Many species of begonias have been in
cultivation for a few hundred years however.
They come in the full range of cultural
requirements. Some are nearly indestructible
and some may require terrarium care.
Unlike hybrid begonias, which were developed
specifically for our gardens and homes, species
begonias evolved over eons to adapt to the
specific climate where they live. Many can be a
challenge to grow but nearly all species can be
grown if you keep in mind their native habitat.
Species begonias also have a plus in their favor
in that they can be grown true from seed unlike
the hybrids which must be propagated by
cuttings. (note of interest; the word species
is both singular and plural. One plant is a
species and a group of species are species.
There is no specie. I’ve commonly seen someone
say “I have a begonia specie” but correctly it
should be “I have a begonia species”.)
The Importance of Growing
Species
Just like tigers and other endangered
animals, begonias are also endangered in the
wild as their habitat is being destroyed. Some
species are so specialized that they only grow
in a single valley in some tropical area. It’s
important to include species in your begonia
collections in order to keep them from becoming
extinct. Many species only exist in cultivation
and are already extinct in the wild. It’s only
due to dedicated begonia enthusiasts that many
species are still around.
Not all species are beautiful or make pretty
plants but each has genetic traits that may be
important in the future. There are beautiful
species to be sure. Some of the most beautiful
begonias are species that rival even the most
spectacular hybrids. All the species are
special and need to be preserved to the best of
our ability. Even the plainer species can fill
niches in our yards and homes where other
begonias might not do well.
Responsibilities of Growing
Species
Many begonia growers grow numerous species of
begonias and treat them like all their other
begonias. They just enjoy them. Although
enjoying them is part of the reason for growing
them you should take a more responsible
approach. The following is a list of
suggestions for growing species responsibly if
your aim is to help keep them in cultivation and
save them from extinction.
1. Names. You should make
every effort to make sure your species are
properly identified and named. Improperly or
misnamed species being circulated doesn’t help
in their preservation. It only adds an element
of confusion. If you have a species that can’t
be identified don’t circulate it to others until
you can identify it at some later date. Make
sure you stay as current as possible as to name
changes for species you may have. Many species
have been given several names by mistake and
it’s an ongoing project to determine their
proper names. Make sure the spelling of your
species name is correct and make sure that when
shared with others, those are properly labeled
also.
2. Sharing and conserving your species.
If you have species begonias in your collection,
make a concerted effort to share them with
others. Keeping rare plants to yourself will
only come back to haunt you in the end. If you
lose your one of a kind or rare species, you’ll
have no one to get it back from if you didn’t
share. So, if for no other than selfish
reasons, you should always share. Make
especially sure to share them first with people
who are good growers, people that will keep them
labeled correctly, and people that will continue
the sharing. Make a concerted effort to
propagate new plants of all your species so you
have duplicates. This will give you a backup
for when you lose one and you’ll also have the
extras around to share with friends. When you
start plants for club sales, don’t forget to
start plants of your species for those also.
3. Grow some of the plainer species.
Make room in your collection for some of the
less exciting species. You don’t have to give
them your prime areas. Everyone has a corner or
out of the way spot. Tall rangy growing species
can be used as background plants even. Besides,
even some of the plain ones may surprise you
with awesome flowers you weren’t expecting. You
might even find they work in an area where
you’ve had trouble growing other begonias. If
you do hybridizing, you may also find that some
of the plainer species have desirable traits you
can use.
4. Watch
for new species. Try to add new species
to your collection as you find them at various
sales and other people’s homes. You can also
acquire new species by finding and growing
seed. This is an inexpensive way to add to your
collection and also have extra plants to share.
Try to make finding species and preserving as
many as you have room for a personal goal.
5. Get
others involved. Make an attempt to get
other begonia growers interested in growing
species. Getting others interested will help
keep you interested. This can be as involved as
you want, any involvement is better than none.
It can be as simple as just suggesting to
friends that they grow species to as involved as
joining a species preservation group or starting
your own.
6. Keep a
list. Make a concerted effort to always
keep an updated list of the species in your
collection. This will help you keep track of
what you have. It will also help in being able
to let others know which species you’re growing
and preserving. By sharing and comparing your
list with other grower’s lists it will help
provide a basis for knowing what species are in
cultivation. You may find that some species
you’ve been growing for years and thought common
is the only one. There have been many efforts
in the past to build a database of species,
growers and locations. These efforts have
largely failed because growers don’t keep a list
that can be shared with anyone trying to compile
the information. Only list plants that are
correctly identified positively and that you’ve
been growing long enough to know you can keep
them in cultivation, at least for sharing with
others.
7. Set
Seed. Setting seed on your species
begonias is one of the most important things you
can do to help preserve them. This seed can
later but used for various seed banks and seed
funds to help preserve and circulate species.
It doesn’t take a large amount of effort to
self-pollinate a few flower clusters on your
species when they’re in bloom. They do need to
be hand pollinated however to assure that any
seed created is pure. Flowers pollinated on
species by insects or wind may not be pure.
Although all begonia growers should belong to
The American Begonia Society, if you don’t, you
can still donate your seed to their seed fund.
The address and info for sending and setting
seed will follow later in this chapter.
8. Show your species begonias. If you
live in an area where there are begonias clubs
that have local shows, enter some of your
species. This is a good way to get other
begonia growers interested in growing the
species. It also lets people see the charm and
diversity of species begonias. Species commonly
win best in show at begonia shows because many
can be a challenge to grow as a “show” plant.
There are just as many that aren’t a challenge
though and besides showing is the important
part, not whether you win anything.
9. For the
dedicated. If you want an extra challenge
that takes a little more dedication, keep a
notebook on your species. Many species have
very little written down about them and any
information you keep track of on your species
could be helpful to other growers. You can also
include in this notebook information you gather
from other sources as a reference for yourself.
Creating, Finding, and Sharing Seed
Creating Seed
Creating seed on species begonias is a
reasonably simple process. For specific or a
more detailed description refer to the chapter
on seed. Species need to be hand pollinated to
ensure the seed is true to the species. Seed
formed by mother nature could be natural
hybridizing so that seed shouldn’t be
collected. Hand pollinating a species with
pollen of the same species is called selfing.
Selfing is short for self-pollinating.
Ideally it’s best to use pollen from another
plant of the same species than to use the pollen
off the same plant. If you only have the one
plant of the species, then using it’s own pollen
is still acceptable. The reason for using two
different plants if possible is for genetic
diversity. Although species come true from
seed, each plant does have minor genetic
differences. Just like with animals, it’s
better not to inbreed if it can be avoided. In
can result in weaker strains of species or give
rise to mutations. Selfing a species with the
pollen from the same plant is however better
than not doing any selfing. When selfing, try
to pollinate several clusters of flowers so that
you collect a good supply of seed to share at
the end of the process.
Finding Seed
Although various seed catalogs do carry a
limited amount of some species, the mostly
likely sources are fellow begonia growers and
The Clayton M. Kelly Seed Fund. The seed fund
is only available to members of The American
Begonia Society. If you aren’t currently a
member, if you’re interested in finding begonia
seed, it’s well worth the membership fee just to
have access to the seed fund. You’ll find that
by sharing your seed with other growers, they’ll
be even more willing to share species seed with
you also. Other species growers are a valuable
source.
Sharing
your seed
The best place to share your seed is the
Clayton M. Kelly Seed Fund. You don’t have to
be a member of ABS in order to donate your seed
to the fund. They will accept all donations of
species seed.
To donate seed to the fund,
see instructions on the Seed Fund Page.
Collecting and sending seed is a fairly
simple process. After collecting the seed pods
of your species, allow them to dry thoroughly.
They are ready to collect once the stems that
attach the pods to the plant have started to
shrivel up or the pods have started to turn
brown. If you take them sooner than this, they
won’t be developed enough. If you wait longer
the pods may dry fully and release their seed
before you get them collected. I put my seed
pods in open film canisters or medicine bottles
to finish drying.
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