Hemiboea flaccida Velvet Touch Begonia seed-grown plants from Pickens County

seed-grown plants from Pickens County

The clump is topped with lots of blue-lavender flowers in summer

starting for us in mid-July

dark green leaves are speckled creamy white

but the border eventually widens

Hemiboea flaccida Velvet Touch Begonia seed-grown plants from Pickens CountyWe received this lovely hardy gesneriad in 2004 as Hemiboea cavaleri, but after growing it for a few years, we keyed it out instead to the rare, Hemiboea flaccida. This African violet relative hails from up to 4,500' elevation in the alkaline forests of western Guangxi and southern Guizhou, China, where it grows among the rocks. Our nine year old plant of Hemiboea flaccida has made a slowly expanding patch to 18" wide. The luscious, felty green