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Begonia Show Classifications Begonias come in all sizes, shapes, and colors.   For show purposes, the American Begonia Society subdivides begonias into seven broad classifications, based on their growing habits.  This is a convenient subdivision because plants with the same growth habits often require similar growing conditions and care.  The major classes of begonias are: Rhizomatous The largest number of species begonias are rhizomatous. These plants have a thickened stem with short internodes, which usually runs on the soil surface. Leaves come from the rhizome, rising above it to form the plant. These plants usually flower in the winter and early spring (January through May), with small white or pink flowers hanging on tall inflorescence that rise in the middle of the plant. Cane-like  Cane-like begonias are characterized by a strong upright stem with long internodes, and the stem looks very much like bamboo. Many cane-like begonias will attain either an upright growth pattern, or can be made into a hanging basket plant, depending on the grower's pruning techniques. These plants are very popular with local growers because they are easy to grow and flower heavily in the spring through fall (April through October). Flower colors range from bright red, to orange, to pink, to white, and to all shades in between. Shrub-like  These plants are very similar to the cane-like plants, except they easily branch along the main stems.  These plants make good hanging baskets, and many bloom spring through fall. Rex cultorum  This is the brightly colored, big leafed begonia plants sold widely in the wintertime. These plants are also rhizomatous; but because of their high commercial value, they are classified separately. These plants are beautiful but difficult to grow because too high or too low a temperature, even for a short period of time, will cause the plant to go dormant, losing all its leaves.   Many rex cultorums never recover from this dormancy in ordinary home growing conditions. Thick-stem  These plants grow tall and upright, with thick, strong stems.   Many grow to five or six feet in home care.  Some branch frequently; some never branch. Many have leaves only at the very top of the main stems; some have leaves throughout the stem. These plants tend to bloom with very small white blooms in midwinter. Trailing/Scandent  These plants resemble vines.  They grow downward (trailing) as a hanging vine, or climb upward (scandent) with a clinging vine habit. These are favorites for hanging baskets.   Most bloom in the spring and summer and have small white flowers. Semperflorens  These are the common "wax leaf" begonias frequently used for bedding plants. These plants are broadly available at any local hardware store in the spring or summer. The main attraction of these plants is, as the name implies, they are everblooming (From the latin semper - always and florens - blooming). Many are plain green in leaf color, but some newer varieties are rust to red in coloration. Flowers are typically bright red, pink, or white. Tuberous  These plants have a tuberous growth below the soil surface from which the stems emerge and require low temperatures for proper growth. They don’t seem to adapt to our southern climates. The “Rieger” begonias are of this type; beautiful, but very difficult (read that as impossible) to grow in Texas. For begonia shows, each of the above classifications are broken down into 5 to 38 subclasses as differences in leaf size, color, shape, etc. are taken into account.

B. 'Lulu Bower'

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