One of the most amazing native plants we’ve ever had the pleasure of introducing is Aaron Floden’s Triosteum aurantiacum ‘Barry Purple’. Horse gentian is a little-known North American native which hails from mesic woodland from Canada south to Georgia. This deciduous 3′ tall x 3′ wide clumping perennial usually has green foliage, but this exceptional form is stunningly purple. The bee-pollinated, cinnamon-colored flowers occur along the leaf axils in late spring, followed by showy, peanut-sized orange fruit, starting in mid-July (NC), hence the common name, orange fruit horse gentian. As a garden designer, this fills a niche that has no other comparable matches. The only fault we’ve found is that its not particularly easy to root from cuttings, so our nursery offerings are always limited. We currently have this in production and plan to have them available in 2027. If you find this to be a must-have for your garden, you can add it to your wishlist and we will email you when they are available.
