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Monarda
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Sun Zone: 7b-9, at least 48" tall Origin: Mexico alternate image
Open House/Web-Only!
This splendid monarda species comes from an early 1990's collection by Yucca Do Nursery in the Puerto Purificacion region of the Sierra Madre Occidentale mountain range in Tamaulipas, Mexico. The 4' tall clumps of slightly aromatic, jagged-lobed green leaves are topped in June and July with hundreds of mauvy-lavender flower heads. We have seen no signs of mildew on this reportedly mildew-resistant species along with a greatly reduced spreading habit from its US counterparts Monarda fistulosa and Monarda didyma...give your bees a taste of South-of-the-Border cuisine!
Pot size: 24 fl. oz (709.77 ml) #08005
SOLD OUT
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SunZone: 6-9, at least 48" tall Origin: USA Hybrid
This little-known bee balm created a "buzz" in the Dallas Arboretum trial garden, where Director of Research Jimmy Turner says,"It's the only Monarda that doesn't die from powdery mildew." M. 'Peter's Purple' occurred in the garden of Texas native plant guru Peter Loos, when a Mexican M. bartlettii and the American M. fistulosa 'Claire Grace' got frisky under a moonlit sky, and you know the story. The result is a robust heat-loving 4' tall clump, topped in June and July with rich lavender-purple flowers, backed by purple calyces. We have seen no signs of mildew in our trials and greatly reduced spreading compared to other monardas. Pot size: 24 fl. oz (709.77 ml) #07999
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Muhlenbergia
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Sun to Part SunZone: 6b-10, possibly hardier 30" tall Origin: USA
I'm in love again...just don't tell my wife. Muhlenbergia capillaris is another US native ornamental deer-resistant grass (Massachusetts to Texas) that will knock your horticultural socks off! Hairy awn muhly makes a nondescript clump of narrow green foliage (30" x 30") until mid-to-late August, when the clumps are topped with cloud-like heads of reddish purple...truly STUNNING! Pot size: 24 fl. oz (709.77 ml) #02317
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SunZone: 6b-10, possibly hardier 48" tall Origin: USA
Open House/Web-Only!
This dazzling deer-resistant introduction, from Florida's Superior Trees, is a white-flowered version of the wildly popular Muhlenbergia capillaris. Starting in late September and continuing into early November (NC), the showy, 4' tall x 4' wide clumps are topped with a soft, see-through cloud of white...absolutely dynamite! The color lasts well after frosts have begun. This is a superb selection you simply must see to believe! Pot size: 24 fl. oz (709.77 ml) #06240
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SunZone: 6b-10, at least 36" tall Origin: USA Hybrid
We have waited more than a decade since we first saw this amazing hybrid at John Fairey's Peckerwood Garden in Texas. Muhlenbergia capillaris and M. lindheimeri had a conjugal encounter on a warm Texas night and the result was Muhlenbergia 'Pink Flamingos'. The spherical 3' tall x 4' wide clump of narrow glaucous foliage is topped in fall with 4.5' long arching spikes, ending in pink plumes, which are more linear than M. capillaris. This is a stunning deer-resistant drought-tolerant grass that should be grown throughout its hardiness range. Pot size: 24 fl. oz (709.77 ml) #08362
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Mukdenia
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Part Sun to Light ShadeZone: 4-7, at least 12" tall Origin: China, Korea
NEW!
(aka: Aceriphyllum rossii) With a name like Mukdenia, it's gotta' be good...and it is. I first ran across mukdenia in 1997 while botanizing Korea's Mt. Sorak. There it was on a sheer rock cliff...resembling dozens of hands trying to claw their way up from the crypt...sorry, far too many horror movies as a child. In the garden, mukdenia prefers moist, rich soil, where it forms a 2' wide deciduous clump of green foliage, topped in April and May (NC) with 2' stalks of tiny white flowers...similar to its cousin, the foam flower. As the weather cools in fall, the leaves transform to bright red starting at the tips...a truly stunning sight! Pot size: 24 fl. oz (709.77 ml) #08969
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Musa
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Sun to Part SunZone: 7-10, possibly colder 120" tall Origin: China
Recent research has shown that Musa basjoo, the world's hardiest banana species, is actually from Sichuan, China and not Japan. This 10' tall running species makes a thick, green stem that sports 6' long, narrow, green leaves arching from the top of the trunk. The flower emerges from near the top of the stem like a yellow-orange torpedo. After the flowers open, you will be blessed with clusters of small, yellow, 2" long bananas. Forget eating this one...just enjoy the tropical look and tease your neighbors. We recommend a good mulch in colder regions until the clump becomes well-established.
Pot size: 3 qt. (2.83 L) #03064
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SunZone: 8-10, guessing 144" tall Origin: Hybrid
Open House/Web-Only!
This new banana was discovered around 5,000' elevation in the plant rich eastern Himalayan region of Darjeeling, India. Musa 'Helen's Hybrid' is thought to be a cross of Musa sikkimensis and the edible Musa 'Chini-Champa'. The green leaves are occasionally marked with an upper red midrib, but you can consistently count on bright red leaf backs on the new foliage. The fruit is sweet, but seedy...sort of like the "treats" in a cheap Bangkok hotel. So far, these have survived 9 degrees F in our trials.
Pot size: 2 qt. (1.892 L) #07825
SOLD OUT
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SunZone: 8-10, colder with protection 180" tall Origin: Hybrid
This amazing banana is one of the most cold hardy of the edible fruiting bananas, commonly grown for fruit in the US Gulf Coast region. Musa 'Orinoco' amazes visitors with its nice fruit clusters in our Zone 7 garden. For us, a height of 10' is common, although M. 'Orinoco' can reach 21' in more hospitable climates. In the colder climates, cut the banana fruit stalk before the first frost, and keep it indoors in a bucket of water until the fruit ripens. In Zone 7, I recommend surrounding the trunks with a 3'-4' tall cage filled with leaves to preserve next year's fruiting stalks.
Pot size: 2 qt. (1.892 L) #04797
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Sun to Part SunZone: 8-10, guessing 96" tall Origin: India
Open House/Web-Only!
This dwarf, fast-multiplying Indian species is prized as a container plant because of its 5-8' tall size, and like Musa velutina, the clump is adorned in late summer and early fall with upright flower spikes of lilac-purple flower buds that peel open in layers, revealing the golden yellow flowers. Forget eating this seed-filled banana unless your spouse kicks you out of the house without dinner. We are just now trialing this outdoors and have a few extras to share...reports indicate that it is reliable in Zone 8 and possibly further north.
Pot size: 2 qt. (1.892 L) #07927
SOLD OUT
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Sun to Part SunZone: 9-10, guessing 96" tall Origin: New Guinea
I first saw this raving beauty when visiting Thailand in 2005. At great expense (I'm still driving my old vehicle), I procured one to bring home, we named it 'Siam Ruby', and we are thrilled to now be able to share it with folks back in the states. Our research indicated it originated in Papua New Guinea, where bananas have been cultivated for 10,000 years, as a sport on M. 'Tapo'. We have never seen it taller than 8', so that's our guess for height. The leaves are a stunning, dark ruby red with tiny green flecks...the more sun, the more intense the color. This is one banana that loves intense heat and humidity...dazzling, stunning...can you tell I've lost my adjectiveness over this plant?
Pot size: 2 qt. (1.892 L) #07784
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Sun to Part SunZone: 8-10, guessing 160" tall Origin: Himalayas
(syn: M. hookeri) Well, are you up for a new gardening experience? We are excited to again offer this little-known hardy ornamental banana hailing from high montane forests of the northeast Himalayas. Reportedly, the trunks can reach 14' in height with a diameter of 18" or, in other words, about the size of an NFL offensive lineman. The leaf backs emerge a dazzling cinnamon-red. To say these bananas are edible is about like saying that Himalayan bathrooms are comfortable...both have an aroma, but that's about it.
Pot size: 2 qt. (1.892 L) #03754
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Sun to Part SunZone: 9-10, at least 24" tall Origin: Hybrid
Open House/Web-Only!
I fell in love with this 2' tall dwarf while on a trip to Florida...that is legal in Florida...isn't it? Shhhh...I hear my wife coming down the hall. Musa 'Truly Tiny' makes a perfectly formed but shrunken plant with leaves that are nicely blotched in red. Musa 'Truly Tiny' is great for containers and highly recommended if you are on the South Beach Diet, since if your plant ever produces a banana, it'll be a "truly tiny" one. Satisfy the dwarf fetish in you!
Pot size: 2 qt. (1.892 L) #07875
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Sun to Part SunZone: 7b-10 72" tall Origin: India
New crop available 8-19-2010 There's something mystical about a pink velvet banana that makes you want to start belting out Elvis tunes...hmmm. Musa velutina was our first introduction to hardy bananas and is still a favorite in our summer garden. Rarely exceeding 6' tall, M. velutina produces copious flower stalks near the top of the trunk, starting in late summer. Each stalk is soon home to attractive clusters of small, pink, velvet bananas, which peel themselves when ripe. Don't plan on a snack from these seed-filled bananas unless you are exceedingly hungry or exceedingly drunk. Once established, they seem to be quite winter-hardy. Until well-established, a cage of shredded leaves around the trunk in the winter months should do the trick.
Pot size: 2 qt. (1.892 L) #05925
SOLD OUT
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SunZone: 7b-10 240" tall Origin: China
NEW!
We've grown Musa yunnanensis since 2006, but under the name Musa itinerans, with which it is often confused. According to the banana experts, all of the plants commercially offered as M. itinerans are actually the recently named Musa yunnanensis. Regardless of their identity, our plants have performed wonderfully, reaching 20' each year, despite dying to the ground in winter and not re-emerging until mid-June. The new leaves emerge red underneath, but the color quickly fades unlike the glaucous white-waxy trunk. So far, our plants have survived 9 degrees F with no winter protection. The giant leaves also double as a great toga party costume...duct tape not included. Pot size: 3 qt. (2.83 L) #08884
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Musella
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Sun to Part SunZone: 7-10 72" tall Origin: China alternate image
This magnificent ornamental banana is more of a shrub than the typical taller banana. The stiff, thick, leathery, grey-green, banana-like foliage is borne atop a stalk that can eventually reach 6' in height. Instead of being prized for its fruit, this plant is grown more for its flowers. Each specimen is home to large, bizarrely beautiful, yellow flowers that look like giant golden artichokes...I'm not making this up! Our plants have sailed through over a decade of winters...and without any mulch. I'm starting to believe those rumors of incredible winter hardiness. Pot size: 3 qt. (2.83 L) #03813
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Myosotis
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Part Sun to Light ShadeZone: 4-8 6" tall Origin: Europe
NEW!
Back in the late 1990's on a visit to garden writer Pam Harper's coastal Virginia garden, I was amazed to see the heat-hating forget-me-not thriving. Pam shared this special form that we are finally getting around to sharing with other warm climate gardeners. This wonderful deer-resistant groundcover forms 6" wide rosettes of shiny green leaves connected by short above-ground stolons. The patch is adorned from spring through summer with dozens of tiny sky blue (not purple) forget-me-not flowers. M. palustris is equally at home in average (not dry) garden soil or in a shallow water pool. In two seasons, expect a 3' wide patch...faster with very rich, moist soils. Pot size: 24 fl. oz (709.77 ml) #01427
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| <Malvaviscus - Miscanthus] | [Nannorrhops - Ophiopogon> |
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