In addition to all the expected new petunias, verbenas and other annuals shown at 2014 Spring Trials, the Greenhouse Grower team noticed several breeders have introduced rex begonias and rex-like hybrids.
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'Jurassic Green Streak' from Ball Ingenuity
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'Jurassic Pink Shades' from Ball Ingenuity
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'Jurassic Silver Point' from Ball Ingenuity
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'Jurassic Silver Swirl' from Ball Ingenuity
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'Jurrasic Watermelon' from Ball Ingenuity
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'Shadow King Cherry Mint' from Green Fuse
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'Shadow King Moonlight' from Green Fuse
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'Shadow King Tuxedo' from Green Fuse
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'T Rex Painter's Palette' from Terra Nova
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'Cool Breeze Pewter' from Terra Nova
Terra Nova referred to the Cool Breeze series as its non-rex rex begonias.
The foliage is gorgeous and offers another option for shade plants. Rex begonias may very well take the same path that coleus took a few years ago, when breeders fell in love with developing the most vivid colors and unusual leaf shapes they could manage. All that remains to be seen is if consumers are as captivated by foliage begonias as they were with coleus.