Our clump of the ancient Mexican cycad, Ceratozamia kuesteriana is now flowering, and looking for love. Well, flowering isn’t exactly the most accurate term, since when this species evolved some 16 million years ago, flowering hadn’t yet been invented. Back in the day, most plants still formed cones…think wind pollinated conifers. To ensure cross pollination,
PlantMatch.com Really old lady, but still looking for Love Read More »
I’ve spent the last 60+ years tromping through woodlands across the Eastern US, from Maine to Florida, and west to Texas, and have looked at more Christmas ferns (Polystichum acrostichoides) than you can imagine. Being a diversity freak, I am always looking for odd forms, which are surprisingly rare for this species. I could count
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Looking lovely in the garden now is the Japanese selection of Osmanthus heterophyllus, known as ‘Goshiki’. The Japanese translation of Goshiki is literally, five colors, which accurately describes the intricate patterning and color changes in the foliage. The evergreen shrub, itself, is native to Japan, Korea, and into Taiwan. As the new growth emerges in
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Every year, I fall further in love with the false yew, Cephalotaxus harringtonia ‘Golden Dragon’. These eight year old plants are our oldest, and now measure 30″ tall x 6′ wide. This incredible import from Japan, holds it color year round when planted where it will receive at least full sun for a few hours.
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A couple of years ago, we installed a new bog garden in front of our nursery office with a rock stepping stone path through the center. Looking for a plant to fill in between the stepping stones without taking over, I thought it would be interesting to try the Southeastern US native Lachnocaulon anceps, a
Looking so good in the garden is the North American native, Ilex x attenuata ‘Sunny Foster’. This amazing hybrid between two native hollies, Ilex opaca and Ilex cassine, was first discovered in the wild in the 1920s and named Ilex x attenuata ‘Foster #2’. ‘Sunny Foster’ originated in 1964, as a yellow branch sport on
A plant that always draws the interest of garden visitors is our ever-expanding collection of non-running bamboos. One that I get to admire daily from my second floor office window is the Chinese (Sichuan) native, Fargesia robusta. Bamboo taxonomy is at best difficult, since most species only flower once every 100 years. Consequently, Fargesia robusta
Looking lovely in the garden now is one of the most overlooked of the Southeast US native palms. Sabal etonia may look superficially similar to the better known Sabal minor, but while Sabal minor is typically found in swamps and ditches, Sabal etonia comes from dry sandy scrub habitat in North Central Florida. It is
I have long been enamored with golden foliage plants, especially pines of the genus, Pinus. We’ve trialed quite a few of species with gold selections, but the only one that has survived in our hot, humid summers is the Japanese Red Pine, Pinus densiflorus ‘Ogon-aka-matsu’, which is commonly sold as ‘Aurea’. Our garden specimen is
Flowering here in mid-to-late February is the demure Coptis omeiensis. This dwarf, evergreen woodland perennial, with fern-like foliage, is from the Chinese provinces of Sichuan and Henan, and is in full blazing glory. In the wild, it grows in rock cracks at elevation of 3,000′ to 6,000′ feet, but it’s been quite happy in the
Someone call a Cop-tis Read More »
