Looking absolutely dazzling in early August is our plant of Leucophyllum frutescens ‘Silver Spirit’. For decades we tried to grow this Southwestern US (Utah, Arizona, and Texas) native, but failed over and over again with winter survival, until Patrick McMillan shared cuttings of his Uvalde, Texas collection. After five years in the ground, it’s still
Silver Spirit Texas Sage Read More »
A plant that’s really thriving in our summer heat and drought is the Southwest US (Arizona, Texas, New Mexico) native cactus, Grusonia emoryi. This colorful, compact, rock garden-sized specimen, matures at 1′ tall x 3′ wide, with great age. If you have free-range pets, who like to play with such plants, you may want to
Just finishing it’s flowering for the year is our specimen of Cylindropuntia kleinii. This North American native to the Chihuahuan desert regions of Texas, New Mexico, and Oklahoma, forms a 5′ tall, gnarly specimen, composed of long, jointed sections, that break away as they become attached to anything that tries to pass to near. Many
Through the years, we have grown 21 of the 35 North American native species of bear grass species. Nolinas currently reside in the Asparagaceae family, with the likes of Agave, Dasylrion, Yucca, and of course, Asparagus. One Nolilna species we didn’t expect to be winter hardy is the Sonoran bear grass, Nolina matapensis. This very
Cozying up to a Sonoran Bear Grass Read More »
We’ve experimented with a number of conifers through the decades, and as you can imagine, we’ve killed quite a few of those experiments. One of the nice surprises has been the unexpected success of Pinus strobiformis ‘Loma Linda’. Pinus strobiformis is the Southwestern US (Sierra Madre Occidental) equivalent of the Northeastern native white pine, Pinus
Looks like a Strobe Read More »
A happy combination near the crevice garden includes Sedum ‘Pride and Joy’, Dalea bicolor var. argyraea, a hellebore, and an Iris. The challenge of gardening in drifts of one is to used textures and forms to make aesthetic combinations. The easy-to-grow, southwest native dalea allows for some great combinations in a region where silver leaf
Falling for Fun Combinations Read More »
It’s hard to pass our picture perfect clump of Agave nickelsiae without stopping to take a photo. Agave nickelsiae, formerly known as Agave ferdinandi-regis, is a North American native century plant, found in dry, rocky hills in Mexican state of Coahuila. It was named to honor 19th century plant collector, Anna Nickels of Texas, who
Worth more than a Nickel Read More »
In 2024, I happened to check out one of the plant auction sites, and was shocked to see a listing for an edged form of Agave utahensis ssp. utahensis var. nevadensis. I had only seen one listed twice before, and each time, the price for a tiny, unrooted division topped $10,000 USD. Both times, the
Gambling with Liberty and Death Read More »
We’re preparing for another crazy year of century plant breeding, with fourteen agaves in spike so far. After flowering 34 clones over the last two years, we expected less this year, but now, that doesn’t appear to be the case. From the initial spike appearance to the first flowers opening is generally 6-7 weeks, so
Most years in fall, we sell off several of our large potted specimen century plants to make room in our overwintering greenhouse. 2024 was no different, but as is usually the case, all of the plants don’t sell. One that didn’t move was our large pot of Agave asperrima ‘Grand Duke’, so we decided to
Grand Duke Surprise Read More »
