When I first read the 2010 paper describing the discovery of an orange-flowered Musella (dwarf yellow banana), I was hopelessly hooked, and my heart filled with lust. Hanging out at 4,000′ elevation in China’s Sichuan province was a previously undiscovered population of only 130 orange-flowered plants, compared the more typical yellow. When you have grown
If Live Gives you Bananas, Make ’em Orange Read More »
Only a couple of weeks remain, before we kick off the 2026 Southeastern Plant Symposium in Raleigh, NC. For our 8th year, we celebrate two milestone birthdays, the 50th anniversary of the JC Raulston Arboretum, along with the 40th anniversary of Juniper Level Botanic Garden. Both Mark Weathington and I will be giving presentations on
Southeastern Plant Symposium 2026…Coming Soon Read More »
When woody plant experts visit, they almost all ask to see our specimen of the Mexican oak, Quercus tarahumara. Named after the Tarahumara tribe of Northern Mexico, this fascinating oak is quite rare in conservation collections, although there is currently a concerted effort to introduce more wild germplasm. At present, the JLBG specimen, planted in
Tara of the Northern Hills Read More »
Below is our stunning, seventeen year old specimen of the Subequal Ironwood, now measuring 30′ tall x 20′ wide. Below, is our plant this week, showing off it’s beautiful fall color in early November. Parrotia subaequalis is the Chinese version of the better known Persian ironwood, Parrotia persica. This is so rare in the wild,
Nearly Equal Ironwood Read More »
Flowering this week in the garden is the little-known, Hydrangea hypoglauca. Hydrangea taxonomy has been in a bit of flux, especially within the group of species that comprise the Hydrangea heteromalla complex. One of the taxonomic segregates from that group is Hydrangea hypoglauca, which hails from forested mountains between 600 and 12,000′ elevation in the
This combination recently caught our eye, where we planted the variegated tiger lily, Lilium lancifolium ‘Fukurin Fu’ in the midst of Clematis ‘Rain Dance’.
We’re only a couple of weeks away from the 2025 Southeastern Plant Symposium, co-hosted by the JC Raulston Arboretum and Juniper Level Botanic Garden. Our goal each year is to bring in the top horticultural speakers from around the world, to share their knowledge about plants that are growable in the Southeastern US region. We
Southeastern Plant Symposium 2025 Read More »
In late January, I was handed a small stack of mail, and on top was an envelope from the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), which I assumed to be a journal renewal notice. Upon opening the letter below, I sat stunned, unable to even fall from my chair, which would have been the appropriate response. After
This January, we first flowered Hippeastrum idimae, a 2017 published species from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, that we received from our friends at Yucca Do in 2015. This new species was discovered by amateur Brazilian botanist, Idimá Gonçalves da Costa, in a long-ago deforested area, where it had survived among a few granite outcrops. This
Not your Average Amaryllis Read More »
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
Show your team colors with a Croton Read More »
