Rare & Unusual

A brand-new intergeneric hybrid, and a small horticultural triumph. Dr. Tom Ranney of the North Carolina State University research station in Fletcher succeeded in crossing two icons of the Southern flora: the legendary Franklinia alatamaha, the lost Franklin tree that has not been seen in the wild since the early 1800s, with the native loblolly bay, Gordonia lasianthus. The result is xGordlinia grandiflora, a bigeneric cross that carries the best of both parents.

Hardiness

Zones 7–9

Light

Full Sun / Part Shade

Height

20–30 ft.

Spread

12–18 ft.

Bloom

White

Plant type

Tree

A rare gem of the Southeastern coastal plain, chosen for the bluest foliage of the tribe. Zenobia pulverulenta 'Woodlanders Blue' is a semi-evergreen shrub of the heath family, native to the pocosins and pine savannas of the coastal Carolinas, and grown above all for striking powder-blue, glaucous foliage and hanging clusters of white, bell-shaped flowers in early summer. Woodlanders selected and introduced this exceptionally blue form, which has since won wider recognition.

Hardiness

Zones 5–9

Light

Full Sun / Part Shade

Height

2–4 ft.

Spread

3–4 ft.

Bloom

White

Plant type

Shrub