Tuberous begonias

Here are three tuberous begonias that I purchased from Half Moon Bay Nursery (a must visit place in you are in the San Francisco area) on my recent trip to California. Their plants appear to be seed grown, but oh my--what a difference from the "Non-Stop" seed grown series commonly available here in the East. Some of these had humongous flowers, literally dinnerplate sized! With help from my wife, I selected three of the best from among a large number of plants at the nursery. The picotee and yellow ones had huge flowers, the red one less huge but richly colored and the plant had more numerous branches and buds. Of course, coastal California has an ideal climate for tuberous begonias, which do not like the heat and humidity often experienced in the East (though this summer has, on average, seemed cooler than normal).

I had to take a pic of these beauties, before I had to slice them up into cuttings and roots w/stubs in order to pack and bring them home with a large number of other goodies, about which I will post later.