Cultivar
B. ‘Black Monarch’
Photos
1 photo
Identity
- Genus
- Begonia
- Name
- B. ‘Black Monarch’
- Originator
- Susie Zug
- Date of Origin
- 1953
- Publication Date
- 1981
- Place
- San Dimas, Ca.
- Country
- USA
- Region
- America
- Plant Type
- Rex Cultorum
- Publication Reference
- MLT2; The Begonian, Mar 1970;
- Article References
- The Begonian (37) Jan 1970, p. 54-55.
- Photo References
- The Begonian, Mar 1970;
Plant
- Description
- BEGONIA REX 'BLACK MONARCH' by Elda Haring, Greenwich, Connecticut Among the bewildering array of Rex hybrids there is a large group with leaves so dark a red as to appear black. One such is B. 'Black Monarch'. It is spiral leaved and a mature plant will produce leaves 8 inches wide and 12 inches long. The flowers are large, dark pink and held well above the foliage. Some Begonia enthusiasts remove the flowers from the Rexes but I enjoy them as I do the flowers of all Begonias. As is well known when Rex Begonias are quite small the leaves are not typical of the mature plant. In this one there is no hint of spiraling on small plants produced from cuttings but the deep coloring is retained. The leaf is lightly spotted with silver but this in no way detracts from the midnight black of the leaf. While many Rexes are temperamental I have found this one amenable to any conditions I give it. The plant in the photo has grown as happily in the East window of my living room as it has under the fluorescent lights. When the leaves began to grow to maturity the plant took up so much room that it was relegated to the greenhouse where it was placed on the top of a double decked bench but protected by a canopy of muslin, I had expected that with the full light of the greenhouse the deep coloring of the leaves might fade but this has not been the case. It receives slanting sunlight which has served only to enhance the silvery dots. Many of my Rexes tend to take a resting period now and then, usually in autumn when they drop a few leaves. This one indicates its desire to rest by simply not growing any new shoots or leaves during the summer months but in late September it starts to grow and sends up its lovely clusters of flowers. Begonia 'Black Monarch' has the odd habit of producing adventitious growth at the base of the mature leaves but in my experience only when growing under fluorescent lights. I have permitted these new plantlets to stay on the old plant until the mother leaf starts to brown on the edges before removing it. The mature leaf is trimmed back close to the new little plant and 1 ½ inches of the stem inserted into the rooting mix placed in such a way that the base of the plantlet is resting on the mix. These root very quickly and make very handsome little plants. While I have had other varieties show adventitious growth, B. 'Black Monarch' is the only one of the rexes in my collection to exhibit this unusual behavior.
Lineage
2 descendants
Parents
No parentage recorded.
Descendants
2 recorded children
As female parent
2
Male parent: B. unknown
Male parent: B. ‘Bearded’
As male parent
0
No children recorded with this plant as the male parent.
Culture
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