This plant requires bright filtered to part sun to look its best but try to avoid mid-day sun. Our oldest stock plant that we kept for years in a large cement pot was in full sun and only suffered briefly on our warmest days (low 90's ° F). This really is an interesting tall foliage plant that looks a bit more like a palm than a typical begonia.

It is listed in Begonias: The Complete Reference Guide>/i> (Thompson & Thompson) as a bare large-leafed shrub-type for the advanced grower. It was discovered in 1848 in the Organ Mountains north of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. These mountains take their name for their resemblance from a distance to the tubes of an organ. The name for the genus honors Michel Begon (1638-1710), who was governor of French Canada, a passionate plant collector and a patron of botany. His friend, the French botanist Charles Plumier, named the genus for him. The specific epithet comes from Latin words 'luxus' meaning "luxurious", "extravagant" in reference to the attractiveness of the plant. This plant received the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit in 2004.

We have grown this great begonia at our nursery since 1999. It was a featured plant at our 2001 Field Day when the late Mark Bartholomew of Hi-Mark Nursery gave his talk titled "Outstanding Begonias for the Garden". 

The information about Begonia luxurians displayed on this web page is based on our research conducted in the nursery's horticultural library and from reliable online resources. We also include observations made about it as it grows in our nursery gardens and other gardens we have visited, as well how the crops have performed in containers in our nursery field. We will also incorporate comments we receive from others and welcome hearing from anyone with additional information, particularly if they can share cultural information that would aid others in growing this plant.