B. ‘Earl-ee-bee’

RECENT OUTSTANDING CULTIVARS by DOROTHY S. BEHRENDS In the past two or three years, too few persons on the West Coast have been hybridizing begonias. But those who have been hybridizing have produced outstanding types, recognizable anywhere. You will all want some of these cultivars. Do not go to the hybridizers for plants. Plants will be distributed in the usual way when there are enough. Mrs. Budd also created Begonia 'Earl-ee-bee', a cross between B. heracleifolia var. nigricans with B. purpurea. B. 'Earl-e-bee' is not hardy, but it is a beautiful rhizomatous begonia that earned rave notices at the American Horticultural Society Exhibit in New York City's Commodore Hotel in September of 1964. Crown by Carlton L'Hommedieu, it attained a height of four feet with leaves sixteen inches across. The leaves are smooth and have a dark coloring, no doubt from the begonia that Sylvia Leatherman introduced from Brazil under the name of B. purpurea. The lobed, star-shaped leaves of B. 'Earl-ee-bee' are held high above the rhizome and the flowers are produced ten to twelve inches above the foliage.
Pests Diseases

• Classification: Cultivar
• Plant Type: Rhizomatous
• Origin: America, USA
• Originator: Ruby Mae Budd
• Date of Origin: 1962