Putting on an elegant show in the fall woodland garden is the hardy gesneriad, Briggsia mihieri. Some taxonomists have recently moved it to a sister genus, Glabrella mihieri, but we’ll let the dust settle before making the change. Native to only three Chinese provinces, Guangxi, Guizhou and Sichuan, it’s a high elevation plant, occurring between
Early fall is Hemiboea time in the garden, and the the first to flower this year, is the little-known Hemiboea gracilis. The specific epithet, “gracile” means graceful. This hardy gesneriad (African violet family) naturally grows in mountain valleys and streamside among rocks, from 1,000 – 4,000′ elevation in South Central China. As you can see,
Flowering this week in our part shade rock garden, is the amazing, fall-flowered gesneriad, Titanotrichium oldhamii. This is simply an amazing plant that we grown for more than two decades. Several years ago, we were lucky enough to see in the wilds of Taiwan, where it grew from vertical rock walls. Light, but open shade,
Falling for False Gloxinia Read More »
Recently flowering in the woodland garden at JLBG is another hardy gesneriad, the Chinese Lysionotus wilsonii. This gems hails from 2,000-6,000′ elevation in China’s Yunnan and Sichuan province, where it’s found in woodland valleys. That’s near the minimum elevational range at which we’d expect winter hardiness in Zone 7b/8a, so we are thrilled that it
In full flower now, is yet another member of the Chinese gesneriad genus, Hemiboea. Hemiboea cavaleriei is a rarely cultivated species and forms a spreading mass to 30″ tall x 7′ wide in only 2.5 years. For us, flowering started in early October, and will continue until frost. In China and neighboring Vietnam, it grows
Boea Unconstricted Read More »
Have you met Anna yet? This charmer is a member of the Gesneriad clan, first cousin to the better known African violets, sinningias, and gloxinias. Anna ophiorrhizoides has only been with us for a year and a half, but we’re certainly hoping to make this a long term relationship. Before she moved to North America,
An introduction to Anna Read More »
As gardeners, we have a slightly different take on the words from Neil Diamond’s popular oldie of the same name. As Diamond writes; Where it began, I can’t begin to know whenBut then I know it’s growin’ strongWas in the spring, and spring became the summerWho’d have believe you’d come along? In our case, we
Sweet Carolyn…a Diamond in the Rough Read More »
Hemiboea subacaulis var. jiangxiensis ‘Jiangxi Bells’ is looking great in the garden over the last month. This gem is an amazing new, hardy gesneriad from a joint collection by Scott McMahon (Atlanta Botanic Garden), and Mark Weathington (JCRA). Discovered in Jinggangshan, China, this seems to be a new species to cultivation. The 1′ wide, fuzzy-leaf
Bells from Jiangxii Read More »
I doubt any of our garden visitors actually slow down enough to notice some of the smaller treasures flowering now, like the dwarf Chinese gesneriad, Petrocosmea oblata. When I say small, I’m talking 2″ in full flower. We are fascinated by the array of Asian gesneriads that thrive in rock cracks, most of which are
Blink and You’ve missed it Read More »
For several years, we’ve been fascinated with the genus, Hemiboea, a collection of 23 species of African Violet relatives, all native to China. We currently grow five of those, and two others that are still to be identified. On a 2020 trip to England, we picked up Hemiboea strigosa, which has been flowering beautifully here
Fall-flowering hemiboea Read More »
