For those who specialize, what do you think is a great plant?

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Permalink Reply by Andy Bittner on March 26, 2009 at 11:13am

I know this is a no brainer but I have to say Heuchera/Heucherella/Tiarella. I don't know a lot of tech on these plants but I think that form is going to come into play with this plant soon. (Almost) Everything has been done with color and I am aware that there are running Tiarellas that exist, so I'm thinking that a hot pink trailing Heucherella is not so far outside the relm of possability...

Also, Tradescantias like 'Concord Grape' and 'Sweet Kate'. A super tough plant with some nice foliage and a flower. Ever see these as they are emerging? I'm talking neon colors people! Seems like there is more to come from them...

Roses too. With all the good blood running in the current gene pool we are bound to get some stunners...stay tuned

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Permalink Reply by Rita Randolph on March 29, 2009 at 2:01pm

A great plant to me is the one that presents itself as a compliment to it's surrounding or stands out against it. It's the plant that grabs my attention by is great size, or tiniest form. A great plant is a grateful one... that responds to nature and nurturing, or that I frustratingly continue to kill three or four times! Sorry- just had to confess!

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Permalink Reply by Alan Shapiro on March 30, 2009 at 9:08am

Recently, I have been impressed by a little blooming ground cover/perennial, Veronica peduncularis 'Georgia Blue'. Anyone have much experience with it?
Like most anything else someone gives me to try, I dug a hole and plugged it in my yard (under high shifting pine shade) and then forgot about it. Competing against dwarf jasmine in the same bed, it held its own and bloomed continuously, spreading slowly but surely to a 4' wide mass in 2 years. That's the kind of plant I look for...long-blooming, tough, showy, pest and disease-free, and thriving with little or no maintenance. Yes, the flowers are tiny, but it's got lots of them, almost all the time - kinda like Blue Daze (Evolvulus), but cold hardy! What has been your experience with this plant?

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Permalink Reply by Tom Broome on March 30, 2009 at 11:37pm

I want to thank everyone who has written in so far, and would like to hear from many other people who feel strongly about certain plants. I thought I would go ahead and tell everyone about two species I think are special.
First, Ceratozamia hildae (the bamboo cycad) should be grown anywhere here in Florida as well as many places that don't see single digits. If you have any preconception on what a cycad should look like, this looks totally different, but still has the toughness that sagos used to enjoy before the Asian scale started wiping out sagos. This cycad did not have any leaf damage during a hard freeze event in Austin TX, going down to 12F. It has a subterranean stem, so if the stem is covered with mulch, it will probably survive short term freeze events in the single digits. It matures in 4 to 5 years which is something special for a cycad. It prefers shade so it grows in areas that might be hard for other plants to grow. It maxes out about 7 feet tall, and in time, will cluster as the apecies split after coning. I like it because of the upright habit and the clusters of leaflets that make a bow tie pattern. Cycads have got a bad reputation in the south because of the scale, but this plant doesn't get over come by scales in general, so this plant is something that can be counted on, like it used to be with sagos in the landscape.
Ceratozamia hildae may be my favorite cycad species, but Cycas debaoensis is fastly becoming my new favorite. It IS a cycas, which means it can get the scale, but this one is worth going out on a limb for. This has to be the fastest growing cycad in the world! It is maturing in three years from seed and at that time, it is throwing leaves that are 10 to 12 feet long and about 4 feet wide! Unlike species like Cycas revoluta, the leaflets branch and bifurcate in different directions. The plant in the picture is only two years old at the time (just a baby at that time), but I showed this one because the plant now is so large it is hard to get the whole thing in one picture and still see the leaflet detail. It is actually much more cold hardy than people would think. I had no leaf damage during a freeze that went down to 20F, but I did have burn during my last cold night of 16F this season. Just think, a cycad that has a stem that may just be showing above the surface and already throwing 12 foot long leaves. If you don't have the Asian scale in your area, this may be the most spectacular cycad in the world. If you do have the scale in your area, this is still a good plant because it grows so fast and reacts very well to fertilizer applications. This means that if you did get the scale on it and treated it, it will come out of it fast and start pushing new leaves never skipping a beat.
I will try to add pictures of each species.

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• cerat_hildae2.jpg, 64 KB
• 9-14-05 007.jpg, 260 KB

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Permalink Reply by Tom Broome on March 30, 2009 at 11:44pm

I thought I would add another photo showing more leaf detail on a C. debaoensis that has leaves that are 8 feet long, which still has a long way to go to be full size.

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• 5-10-05 033.jpg, 126 KB

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Permalink Reply by Hap Hollibaugh on May 25, 2009 at 11:05am

The genus Dudleya is quickly becoming one of my favorites. The only problem is it hybridizes so easily (with fun results) that I need to work on better isolation to get true species seed from our parent stock. We were so cold and spring late this year that a lot of them are is still in bloom, so I am playing to seeing if they can cross with Echeveria subridida.

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Permalink Reply by Susan Dunlap on October 27, 2009 at 8:31pm

I recently came across a mature Strelitzia nicolai - and was pleasantly surprised it had done so well on the SF peninsula. Very impressive plant. It was grown as a specimen - so wasn't crowded and didn't have it's head lopped off by an overhang. This neighbor planted it only a few feet from an exterior wall, so perhaps it survived frost events because it's roots were adjacent to the building?

A genus that surprises often and gives me a lot of pleasure in the winter is Aeonium. They are easy to manipulate - let them mound (many small rosettes will form) or keep trimming a plant to force a single rosette high and wide. As with Agaves, each rosette will die after flowering. Many varieties are hardy in SF area and require absolutely zero water all summer long. We have nine in our Aerulean Plant Search database now - want more!

Susan

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Permalink Reply by Al Will on October 31, 2009 at 6:31pm

A small tree, Pittosporum ferrugineum, was introduced from the Atherton highlands, North Queensland Australia through IFAS at the University of Florida. The tree has evergreen 3 to 4 inch simple alternate leaves that have a rust colored underside when young. flowers are showy white, in terminal panicles followed by orange colored fruit. The tree tops out at about 25 feet and is easily propagated by cuttings, marcots or seed. Range is from zone 9 to 11. The tree has faily wide soil tolerance and is somewhat drought tolerant. At present, it appears to have little or no inset or disease problems.

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Permalink Reply by Marie Magrath on November 22, 2009 at 11:07am

Definitely my favorite plant right now is Dwarf Bottlebrush, Callistemon 'Little John'. Drought tolerant, slow growing, multiple bloomer, butterfly/hummingbird attractor, neat foliage texture, full sun loving plant. Just a very well behaved small shrub. My clients love this plants as much as I do, I think! My only complaint is that growers are reluctant to grow this true dwarf because it takes longer to get it to market size. This low maintenance, but "pretty", plant is what clients respond to.

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Permalink Reply by Susan Dunlap on November 22, 2009 at 4:10pm

Have you checked out a Callistemon sold as "Cane's Hybrid"?

If you are on the west coast I can do some digging around for you to see who grows Little John.



Marie Magrath said:

Definitely my favorite plant right now is Dwarf Bottlebrush, Callistemon 'Little John'. Drought tolerant, slow growing, multiple bloomer, butterfly/hummingbird attractor, neat foliage texture, full sun loving plant. Just a very well behaved small shrub. My clients love this plants as much as I do, I think! My only complaint is that growers are reluctant to grow this true dwarf because it takes longer to get it to market size. This low maintenance, but "pretty", plant is what clients respond to.

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Permalink Reply by Tom Broome on November 22, 2009 at 11:02pm

Marie, I think your right about the dwarf BB. Information on the net says it is an 8-11 plant so if that is true, it is more cold hardy than the regular trees we are used to. So, besides Amplex, who is growing this one close to us? I know Brantley has 7s, but I don't see a lot of people listing this one yet. So Marie, are you coming by sometime this week?

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Permalink Reply by Steve on January 14, 2010 at 12:13am

I saw Don Shadow yesterday and he had a yellow barked Sophora japonica that was striking. He also had a Japanese Maple called Bilhou that is a yellow barked Sango kaku that is exceptional!

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