On of our obsessive plant friends, Glen Melcher, of Tioga, Lousiaiana, sent us several seedlings a few years ago, from his cross of Hibiscus paramutabilis x mutabilis. We made our final selection this fall, which we’ve christened Hibiscus ‘Tioga Party’. This 12′ tall x 12′ wide beast puts on quite a show, starting several weeks
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Up until a couple of years ago, we could find no literature detailing any hybrids in the cast iron plant genus, Aspidistra. With our extensive in-ground collection, we had begun noticing seedlings that were obvious hybrids, so we began first by confirming that both the flowers and foliage showed signs of being intermediate between both
Iron Clad Hybrids Read More »
Agaves are an amazing architectural addition to the garden with their form and radial symmetry. We just captured this image of one of our Agave x loferox hybrids, that we named ‘Magical Moments’. The result turned out very artsy.
Magical Moment Century Plant Read More »
Below are three of our final selections of Agave x ovox, which we made out of several hundred seedlings. These are each sister seedlings from our cross of Agave ovatifolia x Agave pseudoferox ‘Bellville’ It’s always interesting to see how many different ways the genes sort out. These are from our 2018 cross, and only
Three Toothy Sisters Read More »
With September temperatures reaching 100 degrees F in Raleigh, is it any wonder we’re thinking about snow? Looking lovely after a recent rain is the rain lily, Zephyranthes ‘Summer Snow’. We grow a huge number of rain lilies, but none out flower our 2014 introduction of a hybrid between Zephyranthes candida and Zephyranthes citrina. This
Just back from the center of xMangave breeding at Walters Gardens in Michigan. xMangave are mesmerizing hybrids between Manfreda and Agave. Here are a few photos from the display garden there. Below is a variegated sport of M. ‘Mission to Mars’. These have reached 5′ in width. Mangave ‘Foxy Lady’ is a variegated sport of
Still Mad about Mangaves Read More »
It’s that time of year, when the surprise lilies, Lycoris, that we have scattered throughout the garden begin to pop. Actually, due to our early summer rains, they began popping in early July this year, 2-3 weeks ahead of normal. Surprise lilies are divided into two groups, based on when their leaves emerge….fall (October) or
Surprise, Surprise, Surprise Read More »
Plant breeding is a wonderful hobby that attracts an array of hobbyists, as well a plant professionals. Many plants, such as hemerocallis, hosta, hibiscus, and iris, are so easy that they attract the majority of hobbyist breeders. Professionals and the craziest of the breeders occasionally focus on more difficult plants that few others are willing
Plant breeders often get stuck in a rut, copying each other, with only slight variances in each new selection. What makes us stand up and take notice is when a breeder dares to head in a completely different “Pythonian”-like direction. Such is the case with Echinacea ‘Pretty Parasols’, which is in flower now at JLBG.
And Now for Something Completely Different – Pretty Parasols Read More »
Looking really lovely in the garden now is Juniperus x pfitzeriana ‘Daub’s Frosted’. This selection of the hybrid between Juniperus sabina and Juniperus chinensis was introduced by Oregon’s Mitsch Nursery in 1987. Our 18″ tall patch has spread to 10′ wide in less than 5 years. All of those trusted on-line sources say it matures
A Little Daub will do you Read More »
