New Items

Jamaica Scotch Bonnet Red

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 16:40:52 GMT

PEP355 Jamaica Scotch Bonnet Red ( Very Hot Pepper! 100000-350000 SU)
Super hot, oblong 2" bonnet shape, for hot Caribbean dishes, tastes like Habanero, 90 days.

Sugar Daddy Petunia

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 15:13:13 GMT

PET185 Sugar Daddy Petunia ( Pelleted Seeds )
New! Light orchid with deep purple veins, early to flower, grows about 8" tall, blooms in 11 weeks from seed.

Peacock Flower

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 00:06:20 GMT

NB81 Peacock Flower Caesalpinia pulcherrima
The most popularly planted species of Caesalpinia is Caesalpinia pulcherrima. Common names for this species include Poinciana, Pride of Barbados , Red Bird of Paradise, Mexican Bird of Paradise, Dwarf Poinciana, and flamboyan-de-jardin. It is a shrub growing to 3 m tall, native to tropical America.
It is a striking ornamental plant, widely grown in tropical gardens. It is also the national flower of the Caribbean island of Barbados, and is depicted on the Queen's personal Barbadian flag.
Peacock flower is an evergreen shrub or small tree in frost free climates, a deciduous shrub in zone 9, and a returning perennial in zone 8. In the tropics it gets 15-20' tall and its ungainly, wide spreading branches can cover about the same width. In cultivation peacock flower is usually 8-12' tall, growing that large even after freezing to the ground the previous winter. The stem, branches and petioles are armed with sharp spines and the leaves are fernlike and twice compound, with many small, oval leaflets.
Peacock flower lives up to its name with incredibly showy blossoms of orange and red. The flowers are bowl shaped, 2-3" across, with five crinkled, unequal red and orange petals, and ten prominent bright red stamens that extend way beyond the corolla. The flowers are borne in terminal clusters 8-10" tall throughout most of the year in tropical climates and in late summer and fall where frosts occur. There also are forms with yellow and forms with dark red flowers. The fruits, typical legumes, are flat, 3-4" long, and when ripe they split open noisily to expose the little brown beans.

Texas Wild Olive

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 00:05:00 GMT

1A319 Texas Wild Olive Cordia boissieri
A good lawn or park tree for warm states. The flowers of the Texas Wild Olive are spectacular and gorgeous. Each individual flower is 12 - 2 inches or more across. The attractive blooms continue aggressively from late winter through mid to late summer. The rest of the year, the Texas Wild Olive flowers sporadically.
This is a great hummingbird plant. The yellow-throated, tubular/funnel-like white flowers attract hummingbirds, who ardently claim an individual tree as their own. Butterflies also love the nectar the flowers produce.
Fruit of the Texas Wild Olive is also useful in many ways. Many wild animals, birds and domestic cattle eat the fruit. The leaves are also consumed as forage. The fruit is edible to humans, though not very tasty and should only be consumed with great moderation. In certain parts of Mexico, leaves are used as a medicinal tea to treat rheumatism and bronchial congestion. Some people find this a soothing remedy for the misery associated with the common cold. The Texas Wild Olive is a drought-tolerant and frost-resistant plant, tolerating temperatures in the high 20's. In a severe frost, Texas Wild Olives may loose their leaves. Suggested zones are 8b-10.

River She Oak

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 15:48:25 GMT

NB80 River She Oak Casuarina cunninghamiana
Best suited for zones 9-11. A fast growing evergreen tree, the largest of the Casuarina, very fast growing to 65 feet tall, 40 feet spread; with gray bark with small platelets and needle-like foliage
Trees are usually found in sunny locations along stream banks and swampy areas. It’s widely recognised as an important tree for stabilising riverbanks and for soil erosion prevention accepting wet and dry soils. The foliage is quite palatable to stock. Casuarina cunninghamiana is frost tolerant down to around -7 °C and is widely used effectively as a screening plant. It is useful on windy sites and is also suited to coastal areas. C. cunninghamiana has been introduced into several other countries for the purpose of soil stabilisation.
Superficially resembling pines because of their needles, the casuarinas also bear small cones and form beds of dry needles resembling the mat under a pine tree. Their dark-red tough wood is responsible for the occasional name beefwood, while the wide medullary rays suggested the name oak. Though the timber was shipped to Britain, it was not equal to oak imported from Britain; hence the prefix 'she-' (sorry ladies, but we are talking about 1800).
The wood was used in the past for making boomerangs and clubs. Small red flowers on female trees make it clear that something unusual is going on and examination of the needles with a lens reveals tiny leaves in the form of teeth surrounding the needles at junctions that are clearly visible to the naked eye. The cones are barrel shaped and formed of rings of bivalves, the number in each ring being about the same as the number of leaf teeth. The arrangement does not follow the spiral plan of the conifers. Each bivalve opens meridionally to release one winged seed.

Lilac Bush

Wed, 11 Nov 2009 16:20:20 GMT

The Common Lilac is also known as 'Old-fashioned French Lilac'. Extremely fragrant with a broad, rounded habit makes it a wonderful lawn plant. Native to southeastern Europe.
Lilac is a deciduous shrub that will grow almost anywhere in zones 3-9, up to 15 feet tall with simple, dark green, opposite, heart shaped leaves 2 to 4 inches long and 1.5 to 3 inches wide, and of course the delightful flowers.
The fragrant lilac flowers bloom on the previous year's wood. Showy, fragrant, light purple, pink or even white flowers, in mid-spring, in large terminal clusters, 4 to 8 inches long. Pruning should be done after the blooming is finished. They transplant easily. We often wonder why this wonderful shrub is not more common in yards, gardens and parks as it is easily maintained, makes a nice hedge and features beautiful fragrant flowers in spring.
Seeds will need to cold stratified for about 90 days before planting, or can be late fall planted in outside temperatures for spring germination.

Red Oak Tree

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 18:09:58 GMT

Q35 Red Oak Quercus Rubra
Good for zones 5-9. Fast growing, spreading deciduous tree with attractive gray to grayish brown bark. Dark green leaves. Mature tree can reach 80 ft tall and spread to 70 ft. wide. Native to E. US.
The northern red oak is one of the most important oaks for timber production in North America. The wood is of high value. Other related oaks are also cut and marketed as Red Oak, although their wood is not always of as high a quality. These include black oak, scarlet oak, pin oak, shumard oak, southern red oak and other species in the red oak group. The northern red oak is widely planted and naturalized also in Central Europe.
Red oak wood grain is so open that smoke can be blown through it from end-grain to end-grain on a flatsawn board.
A 10-year-old tree will be about 5 m (15 ft) tall.
Northern red oak is easy to recognize by its bark, which feature bark ridges that appear to have shiny stripes down the center. A few other oaks have bark with this kind of appearance in the upper tree, but the northern red oak is the only tree with the striping all the way down the trunk.

Swamp White Oak

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 18:08:59 GMT

Q4 Swamp White Oak Quercus BicolorGood for zones 4-9. One of the fastest growing oaks, forms a large canopy and prefers moist sites. Transplants easily and offers wildlife food as well as being an excellent landscape specimen. Mature tree can reach 70-100 ft tall and spread to 50-70 ft. wide. Native to North America.
It is one of the more important white oaks for lumber production. In recent years, the swamp white oak has become a popular landscaping tree, partly due to its relative ease of transplanting.

Coast Live Oak

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 18:07:57 GMT

Q2 Coast Live Oak Quercus Agrifolia
Good for zones 9-10. Spreading, Evergreen tree with reddish brown to gray colored bark and dark green spiny toothed leaves. Mature tree can reach 70 ft tall and spread to 50 ft. wide. Native to California.

Chinese Chestnut Tree

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 00:17:32 GMT

FDR76 Chinese Chestnut Castanea mollissima
Chinese Chestnut is a deciduous tree growing to about 60 feet tall with a broad crown. The nuts are edible, and the tree is widely cultivated in eastern Asia.
Chinese Chestnuts have evolved over a long period of time in coexistence with the bark fungal disease chestnut blight (Cryphonectria parasitica, formerly Endothia parasitica), and have evolved a very successful resistance to the blight, probably more so than any other species of chestnut, so that, although it is not immune, it typically sustains no more than minor damage when infected.
It is hardy to zone 4. It is in flower in July, and the seeds ripen in October. The flowers are monoecious (individual flowers are either male or female, but both sexes can be found on the same plant) and are pollinated by Insects. The plant prefers light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils, requires well-drained soil and can grow in nutritionally poor soil. The plant prefers acid and neutral soils. It can grow in semi-shade (light woodland) or no shade. It requires dry or moist soil and can tolerate drought.

American Chestnut Tree

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 23:58:57 GMT

FDR75 American Chestnut Castanea dentata
The American Chestnut (Castanea dentata) is a large, deciduous tree of the beech family native to eastern North America. Before the species was devastated by the chestnut blight, a fungal disease, it was one of the most important forest trees throughout its range.
The American Chestnut is a prolific bearer of nuts, usually with three nuts enclosed in each spiny green burr, and lined in tan velvet. The nuts develop through late summer, the burrs opening and falling to the ground near the first fall frost.
The American Chestnut was a very important tree for wildlife, providing much of the fall mast for species such as White-tailed Deer and Wild Turkey and, formerly, the Passenger Pigeon. Black Bears were also known to eat the nuts to fatten up for the winter.
Best suited for zones 5-8.

Alexandria Strawberry Seed

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 20:24:14 GMT

NB76 Alexandria (Fragaria vesca)
Alpine strawberries from seed.
Day-neutral. These decorative little plants produce delicious, aromatic red strawberries, about twice the size of wild berries but much smaller than the standard type. Perennials, Alpine strawberries stay compact and produce few runners, making them suitable for rock gardens, path edgings, pots, and window boxes. They begin producing the second spring, sometimes the first fall. Grows best in zones 5-8. 100-120 days to bear fruit.

Black Cardamom Spice Plant

Sat, 31 Oct 2009 18:16:39 GMT

NB75 Black Cardamom Amomum subulatum
This is a wonderful spice plant that may be grown in tubs in shady areas in warm climates. A clustering ginger with stems growing up to 5ft tall. Leaves are found on the upper portion of the stem. This is an evergreen plant with the old stems dying down after a few years. The rhizomes are a dull red in color. Flower buds appear in spring from the base of the rhizome. The peduncle is short and the buds encased in tight red bracts. Flowers appear from spring through mid summer. Individual flowers stay open for three days and more and new ones open successively.
Black cardamom has a fresh and aromatic aroma. Camphor is easily discernible in its odor. By virtue of the traditional drying procedure over open flames, the spice also acquires a strong smoky flavor. Not sure that this could be grown for it's spice properties in cooler climates, but well worth the effort to grow this plant for it's ornamental appearance.

Dwarf Elephant Ears

Sat, 31 Oct 2009 18:15:34 GMT

NB74 Dwarf Elephant Ears Colocasia Fallax
One of the hardiest elephant ear varieties, and the only one we have found that can be grown from seed. Boasts a silver splash highlighting the center vein of matt-green, with smaller silver veins radiating from the center to the leaf edge. Leaves are rounded and have a velvety-texture.
The plants are adorned all summer with small yellow spathe and spadix flowers. The 18" tall plants make 2' wide clumps in 3 years, but should spread faster in very wet soils by means of short above ground stolons, quite unique and very beautiful.
Elephant Ear varieties are hardy in zones 7-10 as perennials, suitable in zones 4-6 as annuals.

Frangipani Vine

Sat, 31 Oct 2009 15:11:29 GMT

NB73 Frangipani vine Chonemorpha macrophylla
This large-leafed, coarse vine from India featurs large clusters of blooms with a subtle fragrance, best in full sun and acid soil. Large shiny leaves, prominent veins, superb white similar to Frangipani, propellor shaped, delicious rich scent. Flowers are pure white with yellow center. Use it on larger structures (trellises, columns), or allow it to ramble over tall trees. This is a stunning vine, flowering profusely from May - July; one of the powerful lianas of the Indian and Malayan forests, climbing to the tops of the tallest trees. This plant goes dormant in subtropical climate and usually loses leaves if temperature gets below 60F, but it is somewhat cold tolerant (30-40F) and can survive mild frost for a short period.

Lace Veil Fern

Sat, 31 Oct 2009 14:03:10 GMT

NB71 Lace Veil Fern Asparagus pseudoscaber
This is a very ornamental plant that has many uses, especially in flower arrangements. The leaves are lacy and finely cut, with light dainty foliage. Late in the season bright red berries adorn the female plants. In the fall the plants turn from yellow to gold. Will grow to 4 ft,, the foliage is not upright, but arches outward, a single plant will produce loads of arrangement material, but it can also be grown in the garden for it's ornamental appeal. Said to be hardy to zone 5 outside, will die off in winter, but come back the following spring.

Himalayan Lily

Sat, 31 Oct 2009 13:59:33 GMT

NB72 Himalayan Lily Lilium Wallichianum
This is a true species lily with stiff green stems that are ringed purple and bear linear to lance-shaped, deep green leaves. Has umbels of up to 4 large, very fragrant, trumpet-shaped, white or cream flowers, tinged yellow or green. Prefers moist, acidic soil. Deadhead spent flowers, but wait until stems and leaves turn yellow to cut back to within a few inches of the ground. Spring and fall are the best time to transplant, even though they can be transplanted any time. Provide ample moisture while flowering, but can take periods of drought otherwise. A perennial best suited for zones 7-9, but can be grown in a couple of cooler zones if protected or dug up in winter. Easy to start from seeds, but seeds do need a period of cold stratification in the fridge before sowing.

Colville Glory Tree

Tue, 13 Oct 2009 16:27:58 GMT

1A326 Colville Glory Tree ( Colvillea racemosa)
This is a rare, beautiful, flowering tree. Grown outside in zone 10 and higher, but a good tub specimen when young, provides flowers in fall and winter. It grows up right. It has fine leaves like a fern. It is related to the Royal Poinciana. Beautiful cluster of orange flowers!