Cercis ‘Rising Sun’

Cercis ‘Rising Sun’

Is this eye-catching, or what? Ever since my heart was broken by Forest Pansy death syndrome, I have been leery of Cercis, but then I started being lured back by the likes of Covey (Lavender Twist) and Appalachian Red–and I never really let go of Oklahoma–but when i started growing Rising Sun, I became a believer again–altho I hear when it gets really big it can be brittle, but lordy, let it break and grow back hard and let me watch apricot turn to gold every day!

Size: 1 gallon Price: $25.00
Size: fieldgrown Price: $95.00

Davidia involucrata ‘Lady Sunshine’

Davidia involucrata 'Lady Sunshine'

Davidia involucrata ‘Lady Sunshine’

Davidia involucrata ‘Lady Sunshine’ is the showiest of all the Davidias out of the flower period because of the incredibly bright variegation; this is a good thing because the tree takes forever to actually start flowering- much like the species in general (see other posts for exceptions). The tree is smaller than species and slower growing but perfect in a shady location to bring light into a shady part of the garden. zone 6

Size: 1 gallon Price: $30.00
Size: Field grown Price: $115.00

Crispin’s Jaded Jester Ginkgo

ginkgo-cjj The best of the new variegated Ginkgos, in my opinion. It was introduced this year by Crispin Silva, plant scout extraordinaire. A broom from his plant Jagged Jade, it has proved remarkably stable. Jagged Jade a stubby interesting plant, so I would expect this variegate to be a chunky small plant.

Size: 1 gallon Price: $45.00
Size: Field grown Price: $130.00

Got Shade??

Ok, Guys, this is it, really really it. I am going to post what caught my eye every week for sure. And this week it is Hydrangeas. Actually it has been Hydrangeas for a bit and suddenly I realized that since mine are in the sun (a big no-no), it was going to be too late. Two of the cultivars I am sure I have listed on my site, but the other one, O’Amachi Nishiki is new, and I am trying to think of how to describe it: not really variegated leaves, more like a speckled wash, but that doesn’t sound too good, and it is indeed beautiful all the time and incredible in the fall. So here are the pics for O’amachi which stays small, Teller’s Blue, 5’x 5′ if you let it go, and Hydrangea aspera Macrophylla which gets tall and thin if unchecked, but is unmatched with its huge fuzzy leaves and purple lace cap. Hope this works.

Hydrangea O'Amachi nishiki

Hydrangea O’Amachi nishiki

Sargenteana (Hydrangea aspera 'Sargenteana')

Hydrangea asp. ‘Macrophylla’

Hydrangea 'Tellers Blue'

Hydrangea ‘Tellers Blue’

What caught my eye today (5-25-12)

Sometimes there’s a plant that just brightens up your day when you look at it, and here in Oregon where the spring has been cold and rainy, I have loved the little Ulmus hollandica ‘Wredei’. It is not Dutch Elm resistant so you folks where that is a problem can just go on to something else, but this jewel is a zone 5 plant that is dwarf and columnar–both hot commodities right now and chartreuse yellow–cute as a bug’s ear is what it is.Ulmus 'Wredei'

Here is the next big thing

Maples (and other hard to grow items e.g. Disanthus and Sciadopitys) in Smart Pots (i.e. Root Control Bags grown above the ground and in this case in a shade house). We have been doing this a couple of years now and find that the plants which can drain through the bottoms grow wonderfully. We still grow 95% of our material in the ground in regular Root Contol Bags (see below), but there are some plants that just hate full sun and languish out there in the field (e.g. Full Moon Maple) so this is a wonderful new venture for us. We list these as ‘2 gallon’ in the catalog.

How do Root Control Bags work?

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Japanese Maple in Root Control Bag

  1. Jose contemplates the task of freeing this freshly dug tree’s root ball from the root control bag.
  2. He demonstrates the technique of taking a serrated knife or gardener’s clippers to the root bag cutting lines from top to bottom.
  3. We see the root ball – the picture of health- released from the root control bag. Notice that almost no soil drops from the root ball.
  4. Jose has rescued yet another tree from the root control bag. This Acer palmatum is now ready to continue healthy growth in pot or ground.