We love the evergreen ruscus in garden, but realize they are a plant that will never be found at most mainstream garden centers. A genus of only 6 currently recognized species, native from Europe into Eurasia, these horticultural oddities are so odd that they once qualified to have their own plant family, Ruscaceae. Now, with
We love plant mysteries, and Sabal ‘Blackburniana’ fits the bill nicely. This pass-along seed strain has been considered by some to be an old hybrid of Sabal minor, while others consider it to be synonymous with Sabal palmetto, yet others consider it to be Sabal domingensis. Whatever it is, our plant is looking quite good
Just snapped this photo of Aspidistra minutiflora ‘Leopard’…one of our favorite cast iron plants. Although it isn’t really winter hardy here in Zone 7b, it makes one heck of a tough house plant.
We first met the little-known Baptisia nuttalliana back in the late 1990s on a botanizing trip to the gulf coast, and found it fascinating. Unlike most baptisia species, it doesn’t produce terminal spike, opting instead for axillary flowers. It’s namesake is English botanist Thomas Nuttall (1786 – 1859), who discovered it back in the day.
A Nutball of a baptisia Read More »
Amsonia (aka: bluestar) are one of the best temperate genera (18 species) of blue-flowered perennials for the spring garden. We’ve offered quite a few different species and selections through the years, rotating them in and out as propagation successes allow and as sales dictate. All but two of the species, (Amsonia orientalis from Europe and
Got the blues? If not, we can help. Read More »
True, not all false red yuccas are red! The genus Hesperaloe is a small genus of just 7 species that are related to aloe, yucca, and agave. All 7 species of hesperaloe are native to the Chihuahuan desert in the southern US and the area around Coahuila in northern Mexico. The “red” part of red
We posted this a few weeks ago as our Agave ‘Mountain Man’ (A. gentryi x montana) prepared to open. We’ll, the big moment is here…below are a few shot from today. The seed were wild-collected in Mexico in the late 1990s by our friends at Yucca Do, and our seedling was planted in May 2000,
Agave Mountain Man – the big moment Read More »
In a matter of two days, most of our region went from abnormally dry to saturated, when an unusual weather system tracked across our area. Not to worry…we’ve loaded two each of every plant on the green arc for safe keeping. We tallied 5.5″ of rain at the nursery, while areas a few miles away
Ark, Ark…is that rain we hear? Read More »
Look what showed up in the garden. Our specimen of Agave ‘Mountain Man’…a hybrid of Agave montana and Agave gentryi decidied to flower for our spring open nursery and garden. This unusual hybrid starts its flower spike in the fall, which stops for the coldest part of winter, then starts growing again in spring. The
A View from the top – Agave flowering soon Read More »
So what do you get when you cross Manfreda and an Agave? Wait!! Is that even possible? It is!! And, voila… we present… x Mangave! x Mangave is an intergeneric hybrid combining the leaf spotting and perennial flowering nature of Manfreda and the leaf spines and evergreen nature (above freezing) of Agave. Like both parents,
The Marvels of Nature! Read More »
