Last year, late in the season for bedding plants, I got wind of a newish begonia suitable for summer garden and pot use in our climate. The plant in question is Begonia 'Bonfire', said to be a hybrid of Begonia boliviensis. I searched several of the local garden centers, but was unable to track down a plant. Several of the people who worked at the garden centers knew the plant - always an encouraging sign - but had no idea of where to get one so late in the season.
This year I had better luck. The plant you see in the image above was obtained in mid-May and has been dripping with bloom since then. So far it shows no sign of slowing down. This plant seems to be a better choice for our climate than the other Begonia boliviensis hybrid likely to be seen in our gardens, Begonia × bertinii (I grow the cultivar 'Skaugum').
Note: an earlier version of this post misidentified this plant as Begonia 'Fireworks'. 'Fireworks' is the name of a Begonia rex cultivar.
