I was driving past a landscape place in Saratoga that was winding down for the season, and they had a plant sale and give-a-way, so I pulled in.
Some of the first-wave flowers I planted are shutting down or dying out, and I’m working to replace them; I want my flowers to last until October or November.
The young man working there said he had no idea what the plant was; all he knew was that it had been overwatered and was dying.
He said it might be free if I didn’t want to buy it and I came back tomorrow. That’s okay, I said; I’m happy to pay for it.
I’ve been on that road before; he sold me two of them for $20. I put one right into my bed to replace the poppies’ space. If anybody knows what they are, please e-mail me at [email protected].
The first replies suggest it’s a kind of begonia.
This is a case for the Gardeners Of Good, who have been helping me with names and plant and flower care since the Spring.
I will keep one of these for my bed; I think Maria will find a place for the other. This is my four flower plant rescue; it is pretty satisfying.
This plant wants to dry out and get some sun time. That’s what it whispered to me. Done.
Hi Jon. These look like another type of begonia, but they don’t like too much sun, in fact, they do very well in the shade. And, yes, if they get too wet, they just rot off at the stems. We always planted them along our flower bed borders and one year my husband fell asleep after he let our four ducklings out of their cage and they enjoyed eating every single plant! 🙂
you got it right! Yes, most definitely a begonia…….and it appears it had too much sun in its previous *home*!
Susan M
Too much water, they say
Those are called wax begonias. They usually prefer no more than a couple hours of morning sun and shade the rest of the day. The leaves will turn yellow and burn if they get too much sun. As the writer before said, they also thrive and bloom even in shade.
will now call you PW for short: Plant Whisperer
🙂
I also thought it was a begins. In have an app called leaf snap that identifies plants and trees by flower or leaf. So I took a picture of your photo and the app confirmed it is a wax begonia. The app also gives the official name and description, common names, characteristics and much more. They do well indoors also.