This is a hay rack I planted a couple of summers ago. Think it is a nice picture for a cold winter day.

Nice combination of colors. Beautiful! Thanks for posting on another gloomy Pacific Northwest day. Well the sun did make it out for a few hours, but the clouds came in again.

Nice combo. Looks like summer!

That is stunning Paul. I love the colors. Which coleus is that?

No sun came out here yesterday. Just clouds and cold.

Sorry, I don't remember what the coleus is. Cold and overcast here. Teens at night and might approach 32 mid-day.

Here is another look.

Love it even more after this last shot.

me too.Its a great sight in this weather.Gloomy all day except an hour ago.

Paul, that's gorgeous! I have 2 hay rack planters I bought on sale at the end of the season. Can't wait to play around with them next year!

But the only plant I recognize is the coleus. What are the others in the planter? The soft green fern-looking leaves and the flowers? Thanks!

There are red and chartreuse coleus, asparagus fern, and tuberous begonias...the blooms. Glad you enjoyed it.

Ah, so that's what asparagus fern looks like! Dragon wing begonias did really well for me this year, so I was looking forward to growing more begonias. I had no idea tuberous begonias blooms were so gorgeous! More things to read up on before spring...

I've never grown the dragon wings but was planning to try them this year. When I tried to buy them last year locally, I could only find them in overflowing hanging baskets. I want smaller to fit it my own self-designed, self-planted baskets.

Do you grow your dragon wings from seed?

Karen

I love begonias in a combo. Trouble is the blooms drop on the deck daily and need to be picked up before they become permanently rotted and attached to the deck. I dont mind them in a garden setting where they can biodegrade at will.

Karen, I needed a big flowering container plant to cover a large semi-shaded area, and the dragon wings were perfect. They got huge and required very little care. So I'm guessing they won't be good for your small baskets.

I've actually never grown anything from seed, not even herbs. I'm trying it for the first time this year with wintersowing. I didn't even know begonias could be propagated from seed. I wish I had taken cuttings from it this fall, but I'm still learning how to do that. I'm hoping gardening gets a little less expensive every year, as I learn to save seeds and take cuttings!

Dragon wings are wonderful! I grow them from seed every year. They do get very big 15-20 inches and are more like the fibrous type begonias. So the blossoms are smaller. They are very low maintenance because you don't have to dead head. They will take more sun than the others. I will start mine just after New years as they take some time to grow into nice size plants for Mothers day planting. I use boottom heat of about 72 with a dome. Germination takes about 7-14 days. I buy the pellets because begonia seeds are like dust. There is a picture of mine over in the data base for Red Dragon Wing begonia. I don't have my pictures in this new pc so can't post. Every one have a great holiday. Wish you all lived closer as I always have exrta in the spring.

I was going to try a Dragon Wing in the top of my Bloommaster pots. I think the smaller has a 10" diameter, the larger an 11" diameter. They are deeper than your average $1 hanging basket size.

I have a heck of a time getting things to grow, let alone bloom, in the top of those pots. They get almost no sun under that ceiling.





Karen

Karen,
I'm not sure if this would work in your area? A friend of mine has a covered area like yours and we put her pots on longer chains so the sun would hit them more. it would also give you room for a bit more height. She faces east so they get morning sun. I planted one dragon wing and impatients. Filled out nice. The last picture is very pretty!!

I took this a couple of years ago and don't recall where.

Dropping the height of those baskets doen't work well here. We spend a lot of time on that porch and people bonk their heads on the pots! On days when I'm home, I do set the pots on the ground for a while in morning sun. Still, it's not much sun.

Karen

I love all the ideas and helpful information in this thread. I am already planning a hanging basket planting using what I have learned here.