Blackmore & Langdon Exhibition Begonias

Blackmore & Langdon Exhibition Begonias

Some of the B&L Exhibition begonias I ordered from England's prestigious B&L nursery, founded in 1910, grower of award winning Tuberous Begonias and Delphinium for nearly 100 years. These tubers can retail for up to $125. each in the US, but can be ordered direct from B&L for a third of the cost. One cannot compare these plants with the inexpensive trash tuberous begonias one purchases in peat-filled poly bags at garden centers in the spring. If you can afford one, try one next year.


'Tahiti'

If you are a regular reader of GROWING WITH PLANTS, you may remember my post on Tuberous Begonias last January. Briefly, while visiting White Flower Farm, America's premier premium mail-order nursery, I visited a greenhouse with a display of the Blackmore & Langdon Exhibition begonias which the nursery exclusively sells in North America. The display was stunning, and being one who prefers species over gaudy hybrids, and all, I had to admit that sometimes, abundance and gooeyness has it's place, after all, pretty is, well, pretty. And we can all use a little pretty, some time. Especially in late August, when
'pretty' in the world of flowers, has to try a little harder.


An seedling or un named variety, from B&L, available for even less than $15.00. Still, just as beautiful, isn't it?


Another of the un-named seedlings available.


'Primrose'


'Golden Hind'


'Melissa'
Nothing against White Flower Farm, sure the are expensive, but I understand why they carry the best of the best, and especially with certain plants ( not all, their Daylily varieties are ancient, and not worth the price) many of the plants they carry, are indeed, the better cultivars. So it is with Tuberous Begonias, for the Blackmore & Langdon hybrids are the finest available, once one sees one plant in a live display, they instantly get the gold medal. The lesser forms (from the Home Depot's and Lowes) simply become white trash. That said, paying these B&L Begonias are not cheep, and they sell out quickly. Even I, who often thinks little about dropping $75. for a rare South African Bulb, shrieks at the thought of a Tuberous Begonia selling for $80. Let alone $125., the White Flower Farm prices are steep.

Un-named Picotee variety


'Saturn'
So I tried ordering direct, from Blackmore & Langdon in the UK, and was surprised that they ship to the US, that they have more varieties on their website, and that they are about a third of the price, if not less. Arguably, paying $35.00 US for a Tuberous Begonia is still a luxury, but I guess I had to at least try, one year, to grow a bench in the greenhouse. A few hints on ordering from B&L. 1. ORder early, most varieties sell out by December. 2. Try the unknamed seedlings, many of these are equally as stunning, and if you are not going to exhibit them, why not. Make up a name for your friends. I'm thinking of some of the unknamed pinks as, 'Paris Hilton', or a yellow as 'Legally Blonde'. 3. Don't give up on White Flower Farm, commercial? Sure, but I would imagine that they tubers they carry are prob. the premium size, and if you can afford them, they are the only source in the US.

'Sugar Candy'


Other Begonia species and various fiberous forms, spending the summer on the back porch. Late summer is when most Begonia's start to really shine.

Overall, I have been happy with these given that this year was terribly rainy, and I had kept them plants on the deck too long, and they started to rot the foliage a bit. June and early July was too hot to keep them in the greenhouse, but I have found that most of my Begonias like to spend the summer on the back porch, where they can dry out a bit between waterings, and not get rained on. The greenhouse, even with shade cloth, does get too hot in July. By August, I move most plants back into the greenhouse, since cooler evenings start to arrive around the third week. It was 45 deg. F here Monday night, but 90 degrees F today.