native

Croton alabamensis

Show your team colors with a Croton

We love the fall foliage of the evergreen Southeast US (Alabama, Tennessee, and Texas) native, Croton alabamensis. This lanky, 5′ tall shrub is a member of the Euphorbia family. In early winter, it drops its summer, fruity-scented leaves, but not before they turn pumpkin orange. This has been considered by many botanists to be one

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Cardamine bulbosa 'Snow Ruffles' winter growth

It’s Grow time for Cardamines

While most plants are going dormant in winter, others have a seemingly backward schedule. One of those is our native cardamines. Below is our garden clump of Cardamine bulbosa, which emerged in late November, and is growing happily as we hit the new year. This cabbage family (Brassicaceae) member, native from North Dakota south to

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Conservation Sense and Nonsense

Conservation Sense and Nonsense – Invasion Biology

Earlier this year, my friend, former Garden Rant columnist, Carol Reese, told me about a California blog, Conservation Sense and Nonsense, written by Sierra Club conservationist, Mary McAllister. In her thought provoking blog, Mary calls out those who engage in ethnic profiling of plant for the purpose of discrimination, something about which we have voiced

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Winter is a good time to be Hairy

Looking exceptional in the garden is the selection of the North American native Yucca flaccida ‘Hairy’. Yucca ‘Hairy’ is a Tom Foley selection that we feel is probably the finest clone of Yucca flaccida that we’ve ever seen. It’s truly puzzling why this isn’t an industry staple. Below is a photo of our 20 year

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To Breed or Not to Breed

We make crosses on our flowering agaves during the early summer, then in some cases, must wait until fall to see if we were successful. If we don’t get pods formed within a few weeks, we know that the particular cross was a failure, but in some cases, the cross forms pods, but there is

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Falling for Sarracenia

Many of our sarracenia (pitcher plants) have started to go dormant by now, but that’s not the case for Sarracenia leucophylla and any of it’s hybrids. Patrick explained this difference by noting that this species is designed for attaching moths, due it’s white tops that illuminate at night. These moths are prevalent in the fall,

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A Nickel-siae for Your Thoughts

Our oldest clump of the amazing Agave nickelsiae (formerly A. ferdinandi-regis) is now over a decade old, so we’re probably within five years of flowering. Often confused with the similar Agave victoriae-reginae, this North American (Northern Mexico) endemic is somewhat similar, but has more leaves, darker spines, and more prominent leaf markings. Some seedlings offset,

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If you grow it, they may not buy it

One of the frustrating things about growing and propagating plants is when you find an incredible plant, offer it for sale, and virtually no one buys it. Such is the case with the Texas native, Ageratina havanensis, aka: Havana Mistflower, Eupatorium havanense. This fascinating woody perennial, formerly classified as a eupatorium, forms a 3′ tall

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Tressing Up for the Fall Dance

Here is one of our bog gardens showing off the lovely native Spiranthes bightensis ‘Chadd’s Ford’, wrapping up its flowering in early November. This easy-to-grow native orchid is right at home with sarracenias (pitcher plants) in very moist soils. Despite its popularity in gardens, Spiranthes bightensis has a global rarity rank of G1, meaning it

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