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Begonia 'Yanonali' (Yanonali Begonia) - A great evergreen rhizomatous begonia that grows to 18 inches tall by 3 feet wide with nearly round leaves that are an olive-green color above and red below with prominent yellow veins and older leaves aging to a greenish yellow. Though primarily grown for its foliage, the inch wide pale pinkish white flowers that rise up on two-foot long stems in late winter and early spring are also very attractive.
Plant in part to full shade in a well-drained and rich amended soil and irrigate regularly to occasionally but allowing soil to dry between watering. This cultivar has proven to be hardy to at least 30 °F. It is a nice plant for a large container or in a protected spot in a frost-free garden.
Begonia 'Yanonali' is classified as a thick stemmed rhizomatous begonia and is a hybrid created by Santa Barbara's phenomenal plantsman Rudy Ziesenhenne by crossing Begonia mazae with Begonia carrieae. Ziesenhenne named his plants after local Santa Barbara people such as his cultivars Begonia 'Freddie' that he named after his son and Begonia 'Ramirez' that he named for a Santa Barbara gardener. Like Begonia 'Yanonali' he also named plants for locations in or near Santa Barbara, such as his Begonia 'Lotusland' and Begonia 'Cachuma', but it is not clear whether this plant was named for Yanonali Street, a street that runs east-west a few blocks back from the ocean or whether it was named for this streets namesake, the Chumash chief Yanonali who was the leader of the large Chumash village where the Spanish built the Santa Barbara Presidio.
Our thanks go out to Mike Flaherty, who long had the wonderful Gazebo Plants and Flowers nursery in Montecito, who knew of our interest in the Ziesenhenne begonias and gave us our start of this plant.
Information displayed on this page about Begonia 'Yanonali' is based on our research conducted about this plant in our nursery library as well as from information provided by reliable online resources. We also include our own observations made about it as it has grown in the nursery gardens and other gardens visited, as well how the crops of this plant performed in the containers in our nursery field. We will also include comments received from others and welcome hearing from anyone who has information about this plant, particularly if it includes cultural information aiding others to better grow it.
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