Some New Plants, Have You Grown Them?

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Fern

Location: Washington, Western Cascade Foothills

Posted: Jun-14-2009 at 8:59pm

This is a list of some new, interesting plants we have for sale at the nursery I work at that that I don't know much about, except what I could find out on the Internet. Has anyone grown them or heard reports about how they do around here?

• Lophospermum or Asarina "Red Dragon'(I bought one)
• Asarina scandens (I bought one)
• Cup-and-Saucer Vine (Cobaea scandens)
• Cardinal Climber (Ipomoea quamoclit)
• Firecracker Vine (Mina lobata)
• Calceolaria 'Golden Mystery' (I bought one)
• African Blue basil (Ocimum kilimandscharicum x basilicum 'Dark Opal')(I bought this one, too)
• Mahonia eurybracteata ‘Soft Caress’, introduced by Novalis (I'm tempted, but I"m worried it's not very hardy in zone 7)
• Myrtus luma / Luma apiculata (I'm very tempted)

Thanks!

Fern

 

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Sangria

Location: Washington, Puget Sound Corridor

Posted: Jun-14-2009 at 9:50pm

My neighbor had the Firecracker plant last year and really liked it, so he bought another one this year. I'm assuming the vine one is the same. I think his stayed small and it was an annual. I saw a candy corn plant the other day and laughed out loud.

I bet you get tempted daily working at a nursery. How fun! I was toying with the idea of working at a nursery, but I have tendonitis in my hands and arms (too many projects!), so it would be hard to work hard physically at work AND at home in my own garden.

Sandra

Stilettos in the garden aerates the soil.

 

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Fern

Location: Washington, Western Cascade Foothills

Posted: Jun-20-2009 at 7:25am

It is very fun working in a nursery, but you are right about it being very hard work. This year has been very busy, good for business but it's getting harder on my aging body every year. And it's hard to find any time to work in my own garden in the spring! The Firecracker vine is one I didn't buy, not because I wasn't tempted, but because it's related to Morning Glories (not the bad weed one, but the annual one) and it needs a hot, sunny place and I don't have a place like that I could spare. I'm glad he liked it. It's good information that it stayed smaller for him, in a warm climate I read it can grow really big. The candy corn vine is fun, too, it's often sold as a perennial, but, in truth, it usually doesn't survive the winters around here.

The African Blue Basil has started to bloom and I think it's very ornamental, it's a very purplish plant with purple flower stalks and lavender flowers. It's perennial so I don't have to worry about it dying after flowering. I realize it won't make as many leaves if it's flowering, but that's ok.

I think I may break down and buy the Chilean Myrtle, Myrtus luma / Luma apiculata. It may not be hardy enough, but my Chilean Azara survived this winter with no problem, and I really need a fast growing tall evergreen that can take part shade for screening in one place. I have a Mexican Orange there, and it is living, but the snow load damage (breakage) and cold damage are keeping it too short to do the screening I need. This was the first winter it had any cold damage and I still think it is a good plant to have.

Fern

 

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Briarwood

Location: Washington, Puget Sound Island

Posted: Jul-07-2009 at 5:30pm

We have grown several of these. Asarina scandens will form quite long trailing stems, with beautiful flowers in shades of pink, rose, or red. It seems to dislike getting too much water, so watch out for that. Not reliably winter hardy in our z7 garden, although it did come back once. Some people overwinter it in the house or greenhouse. Cobaea scandens is a fascinating annual vine that has interesting buds and pretty exotic flowers in either blue or white. Give it lots of sun out of the wind; ours in part shade didn't bloom until nearly the middle of September, but it produced lovely masses of handsome leaves on the trellis arch. Ipomoea quamoclit is related to the morning glories (not bindweed, which is Convolvulus); it likes sun and regular water. The deer like it, too. Mina lobata is a wonderful annual vine that will happily scramble up through trees and shrubs. It's flowers never cease to elicit comments. Also related to morning glories, so the more sun and regular water you can provide will really boost them. Note that if you fertilize Ipomoea, you will get crazy amounts of vine and flowers, but you might get fewer flowers. Enjoy your new plants!

Richard, Briarwood Garden

"Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?" -Mary Oliver

 

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Briarwood

Location: Washington, Puget Sound Island

Posted: Jul-07-2009 at 7:11pm

BTW, there's a photo of Asarina scandens flowers on my personal blog.

Click here to see the article and photos.

If you click on the photos, you will see a larger version with better color.

Richard, Briarwood Garden