Emmenopterys henryi is a poorly known, but highly-prized, large (150′ tall) tree in the Rubiaceae (coffee) family. It was described by plant explorer, E.H. Wilson, as one of the most beautiful of the Chinese trees, yet, it was a tree, that for years, rarely flowered in cultivation. It’s namesake, Irish botanist, Augustine Henry, first discovered
Emmenopterys – The Need for Heat Read More »
It’s July, which means we’re enjoying the crazy flower clusters of Mucuna cyclocarpa. This vigorous, but non-invasive vine, from Southeastern China, flowers non-stop for us, from July until late September. The rubbery-feeling flowers resemble huge grape clusters. This self-sterile vine needs two clones to set viable seed, which is probably a good thing. Full sun,
A Honey of a Mucuna Read More »
We’re all familiar with maple trees, but one of our favorite smaller maples in the garden is the little-known, single-lobed, evergreen Acer cordatum. This fascinating group of maples have foliage that looks nothing like what most people know as a maple. This Chinese species was formerly considered a form of Acer laevigatum, before being elevated
While most folks from Zone 7 and north are quite familiar the English, Japanese, and European boxwoods of the genus, Buxus, gardeners in hotter climates had to turn to a substitue plant with similar traits for their climate. That plant is Myrsine africana, a woody member of the Primula family, which gained the common name,
We are just wrapping up the early spring lily season in the garden, and here are few we captured images of this year. Lilium formosanum var. pricei ‘Hehuan’ is a dwarf form of the Taiwan lily, from our 2008 expedition, collected at 9,300′. It blooms two months before the much taller, lowland form Lilium formosanum
When I first read the 2010 paper describing the discovery of an orange-flowered Musella (dwarf yellow banana), I was hopelessly hooked, and my heart filled with lust. Hanging out at 4,000′ elevation in China’s Sichuan province was a previously undiscovered population of only 130 orange-flowered plants, compared the more typical yellow. When you have grown
If Live Gives you Bananas, Make ’em Orange Read More »
Looking lovely this week in the garden is the rock jack-in-the-pulpit, Arisaema saxatile. This splendid, mid-season jack hails from rocky pine forests in Sichuan and Yunnan, China, at elevations between 5,000′ and 10,000′. The Latin epithet “saxatile” translates to “grows among the rocks”. Despite it’s natural habitat in dense shade, we have found it performs
While we love the typical redbuds that we’re all familiar with in our garden, only one plant stands out in the genus, as a true shade tree. While most redbuds that gardeners know, mature at 10-20′ tall, Cercis glabra towers above them all at a whopping 50-60′. This long-lived redbud is sadly virtually absent in
Late winter is peak season for our large collection of wild gingers, of the genus, Asarum. Below are a few from this week. The Chinese Asarum forbesii is typically deciduous, although we have a couple of clones, which retain a good percentage of their foliage, which we remove this time of year, for better flower
Wild Ginger Flowers – Part I Read More »
One of our prized confers in the garden is the little-known, Nothotsuga longibracteata. Originally thought to be a hemlock, this Chinese native hails from several of the southern provinces, where they grow on acidic soils at elevations between 1,000′ and 7,000′. Sadly, they are now endangered due to excessive logging. In the wild, they eventually
Long-bracted False Hemlock Read More »
