Shade tolerant. Seed from trees with trunks.A heavy winter mulch is advisable for young plants in areas where palms are marginal. Or, the plants may be potted when received and kept inside the first winter.
- Hardiness
- Zones 8–10
1143 plants in this collection
Shade tolerant. Seed from trees with trunks.A heavy winter mulch is advisable for young plants in areas where palms are marginal. Or, the plants may be potted when received and kept inside the first winter.
A silver-blue jewel among native palms, this is the rare glaucous form of saw palmetto, the low fan palm that carpets the pine flatwoods and coastal plains of the Deep South. Most saw palmettos wear green leaves, but this selection, native chiefly to the east coast of Florida, holds fans of striking silvery blue, a metallic glaucous bloom that lifts the plant from a workhorse native to an ornamental of real presence.
Serissa foetida 'Kowloon', now more correctly placed as Serissa japonica, is a small, dense evergreen shrub known by a string of affectionate names: snow rose, tree of a thousand stars, and Japanese boxthorn. The genus stands alone in the coffee family, Rubiaceae, a surprising cousin to coffee, gardenia, and pentas. The unlovely species name foetida records the one fault, since bruised leaves and roots give off a faintly unpleasant smell, a small price for so much charm.
Palm grass earns the name at a glance. The broad, pleated blades of Setaria palmifolia fold and arch like the fronds of a young palm, bringing a lush, tropical boldness to a border that most grasses cannot match. This is a plant grown for presence and texture rather than flower, a bright green statement in beds, containers, and the wilder corners of a garden where form is welcome.
Shibataea kumasaca is the most civilized of bamboos, a low, dense, evergreen kind grown for tidy structure rather than height. The short, broad, oval leaves are unusual for a bamboo, closer to the foliage of ruscus or a small shrub than to the fine blades most bamboos wear, which is why the plant goes by ruscus-leaf bamboo. Growing to about four or five feet, the canes zigzag gently from node to node, giving a second common name, zig-zag bamboo.
Silene caroliniana is native in woodlands locally but this selection from our friends at North Creek Nurseries is excellent. Let North Creek tell it: "Delightful, compact and easy to grow, Silene caroliniana is an excellent choice for bright shade or full sun. It is covered in deep pink flowers in late spring. Very reliable for us through wet and dry seasons for three years now and in a cool spring it seems to bloom forever - one year we tracked 8 weeks of full bloom! A great native substitute for Dianthus, this Silene has similar appearance and bloom time, but tolerates a wider variety of garden situations. Silene 'Short and Sweet' is a fantastic plant for naturalizing, yet it can hold its own as a specimen in a container or patio garden as well."
Mexican Catchfly is a low herbaceous perennial with spathulate leaves and showy red-orange starry flowers on stems held well above the foliage. It is native to mountains and canyons in the southwestern U.S. and adjacent Mexico. We grew these from seed we collected in the Davis Mountains in west Texas. A good rock garden plant for sun or semi shade.
Royal catchfly wears the most electric red in the native flora. Silene regia sends up leafy, upright stems two to four feet tall, topped in mid to late summer with loose clusters of brilliant scarlet, star-shaped flowers, each with five deeply notched petals. Few prairie plants flower in true red, and fewer hold that color through the heat of July and August, which makes this native a genuine standout.
This perennial "Catchfly" has striking crimson flowers with notched petals. It flowers from late spring/early summer. A well-drained, gritty soil is good and in the North a full sun exposure is preferable. In the South it should have light shade. Not a strong competitior so don't let other plants overwhelm it. Native to eastern North America.
Low growing, spreading perennial with fringed deep pink flowers. Hybridized by Dr. Jim Ault and named for Longwood Gardens, Pennsylvania. One parent is the federally listed endangered species S. polypetala from Georgia. (See ARM)
Long blooming yellow daisies for dry shade in a home garden or wild garden. (See RAD)
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Tall growing prarie sunflowers with dramatic, deeply cut leaves. (See ARM)
Cup plant is a giant of the summer prairie, a statuesque perennial that rises on stout, square stems to eight feet or more and lifts a crown of bright yellow, daisy-like flowers above the border. The name comes from a quirk of the foliage: the large, coarse leaves are perfoliate, joined in pairs around the stem to form a shallow cup that catches and holds rainwater. Silphium perfoliatum belongs to the sunflower tribe of the aster family, Asteraceae, and shares that clan's generosity of bloom.
This large deciduous shrub was recently reclassified as a Calycanthus. It is somewhat like our native Calycanthus floridus but with larger 6 - 10 inch glossy leaves. The cream-white blooms in late spring are larger than North American Calycanthus species flowers but not scented. Should be planted in partial to full shade where it blooms in mid to late spring. Prefers consistantly moist soil, but do not over water. A relatively recent introduction from China. Woodlanders was one of the first nurseries to offer this plant in the U.S. See our listing for hybrids between this and our native Calycanthus including 'Hartlege Wine' and 'Venus'
Sinojackia xylocarpa is a rare flowering treasure from the hills of eastern China, a deciduous small tree or large shrub that few gardeners have ever met. Known as the jacktree, the species belongs to the storax family, Styracaceae, a close cousin of the snowbells and silverbells, and carries the same poetry of spring: pendant, bell-shaped white flowers that dangle beneath arching branches like small antique lanterns swaying in a breeze.
(To 3') Perennial from moist streamside location. Showy red-orange flowers. A Lobelia relative somewhat like our native Cardinal Flower (Lobelia Cardinalis). Salta Province.
Low growing. It is very showy in the spring with clusters of blue flowers, most with yellow eyes. Plant in sunny location with moist but well drained soil. Easy care.
Grows in clumps that are easily mistaken for grass when the plant is not in flower. Produces several flowers one at a time from a single spathe in spring, summer dormant. (See B&T)