PlantFiles: Bonfire Begonia
Begonia boliviensis 'Bonfire'

I love my three bonfires! They bloomed last year, died back in January and came back to life in May more beautiful than ever. However, yesterday I noticed one of them was wilted -- not the leaves as much as the stem. Can anyone tell me why? Is it the start of root rot? It faces south-east on my front porch, has adequate drainage. Nothing unusual happened, but as I don't know much about this begonia, I would appreciate anyone's comments on their own experience. Thank you my garden friends!

I am really impressed with this plant. I bought a hanging basket of it last year and it bloomed all year in light shade. I saved the tubers and started them again this year with the thought to have another hanging basket. However it got to be way too big so I moved it to a pot. It has bloomed all summer so far.

I wish they came in colors other than orange.

Positive with caveat!
Not heat tolerant. I have 3 hanging baskets of this begonia, they are stunning for 9 months out of the year. They tend to start dying back in late june and only flush out again in mid september.
The other 9 months they are stunning, positively dripping orange flowers with lush foliage that drapes beautifully. This summer I hung them directly in front of my coolwall with my highland begonias and some rexes in the greenhouse, which kept it under 80F, and they flushed back starting in mid august. They get more oohs than my "rare" begonias from visitors.

I'm afraid to say that Bonfire begonia disappointed me. I grew it in a container in full sun. It produced few flowers until about September, and even then it was not as many as I was expecting. It was also a pricy annual, and the payoff didn't justify the expense. I won't be growing it again.

In 1990 during an plant expedition into Argentina from New Zealand, seeds from Begonia boliviensis were gathered. From this seed, the best plants grown were the basis of a breeding program which produced different forms of Begonia boliviensis .

The first of this series was released in 2005 named Begonia Bonfire, a orange flowered plant similar to Begonia Boliviensis but more compact and free flowering. Ideal for hanging baskets in that the stems hang down nicely.

The second in this series which had a limited release in 2007 with a larger one in 2008, is Begonia Bellfire which is distinctively different in that it has plum colored leaves with more salmon colored flowers. It too is compact and flowers from spring to first frost when they die down till spring unless in warmer zones where there is no frost. Bellfire has a more bushy upright growth than Bonfire.

These are also great houseplants though they will survive a variety of outside conditions in zone 9 to 11. They can take full sun to partial shade. They will withstand hot temps to 100 degrees and periods of little water or lots of rainfall if in a well draining medium. They develop a corm which holds water to supply the plant during drought.

Both of these cultivars are low maintenance and fast growers if fertilized. They also will self clean their spent blossoms and quickly replace them with new flowers. Truly unique and outstanding tuberous begonias.

A beautiful plant. I was drawn to the deep orange flowers and it never disappointed, blooming straight through to October heer in Zone 6A. I purchased this plant again this morning and am trying it in a pot on the back porch so as to better enjoy it! (See last years plant to the right.)

Does best when pinched to encourage bushiness.
This plant is patented. Propagation is prohibited.