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Lobelia (Cardinal Flower)
These campanula family members are some of our best native plants for both woodland gardens and full sun borders... especially in damp soils. Their flowering stalks arise from flat green winter rosettes and provide rich jewel tones admired by gardeners and hummingbirds alike. Lobelias generally begin flowering in midsummer on tall stalks, and may last into the early fall. Be sure to leave the winter rosettes unmulched.
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Lobelia chinensis (Chinese Lobelia)
Sun to Light Shade Zone: 6-9 2" tall Origin: China
Open House/Web-Only!
This cute little groundcover we've been growing has been moonlighting as a Chinese herbal vitamin supplement. We're not exactly sure what it does for you, but one catalog says, "Lobelia chinensis can help give you that little extra boost that will help you to achieve this state of being." Sorry, but our plants have not been approved by the FDA, FCC, or Michael Jackson's lawyers. For us, it makes a darling groundcover of tiny leaves, topped all summer with miniature pink, lobelia-like flowers. It seems to perform equally as well in moist or dry soils. It does spread nicely (3' in a year), so don't put it too close to choice gems that can't run fast enough to get away. Pot size: 24 fl. oz (709.77 ml) #05649
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Lobelia 'Monet Moment' (Cardinal Flower)
Sun to Part SunZone: 4-9 36" tall Origin: USA Hybrid
This is one of the most exciting of the new cardinal flowers to hit the market in years... all thanks to master lobelia breeder, Thurman Maness of Pittsboro, NC. L. 'Monet Moment' boasts massive heads of exquisite large, rich pink-violet flowers (RHS 59C). The flowers adorn the tops of the 3' tall stems beginning in early August, continuing for 3-5 weeks for an extended "Monet Moment." Pot size: 24 fl. oz (709.77 ml) #03758
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Lobelia sp. 'Candy Corn' (Candy Corn Cardinal Flower)
Sun to Part SunZone: 7b-10, at least 60" tall Origin: Mexico
Open House/Web-Only!
Forget what you know about lobelias and you'll be ready for Lobelia 'Candy Corn'. This unidentified Mexican species (possibly a sister genus Siphocampylus) makes a truly unique perennial, with tall stalks to 5'+, clothed with dark green leaves against the purple stems. Starting in late spring, the upper stalks are adorned with candy corn-like flowers of bright orange, ending with a reflexed yellow tip...very cool! Pot size: 24 fl. oz (709.77 ml) #05054
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Lobelia speciosa 'Compliment Deep Red' (Hybrid Cardinal Flower)
Sun to Light ShadeZone: 6-9 36" tall Origin: USA Hybrid
Open House/Web-Only!
This lobelia stopped me in my tracks in Suzanne Edney's garden in 1995. This hybrid (L. cardinalis x siphilitica x fulgens) tetraploid seed strain from Germany's Benary Seed Company has large, velvety, wine-red (RHS 61A) flowers with a satiny finish that are absolutely scrumptious on 3' tall stalks. From late summer, the plants are topped with an incredible floral display that lasts into early fall... a sock-knocker-offer! Pot size: 24 fl. oz (709.77 ml) #01578
SOLD OUT
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Lonicera
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Lonicera nitida 'Twiggy' (Twiggy Box Honeysuckle)
Sun to Part SunZone: 7b-9, at least 24" tall Origin: China
Open House/Web-Only!
We are thrilled to offer the exciting new selection of the well-known Lonicera nitida 'Baggesen's Gold' that I first saw in the UK garden of Ashwood's John Massey. L. 'Twiggy' makes a compact 2' tall x 2' wide shrub with twiggy growth, lined with tiny yellow leaves that hold their bright yellow color well into the fall when the leaves drop. I have seen literature from the UK that claims this cultivar will become taller than 2', but we haven't seen this to be the case in our trials. We're not sure if L. 'Twiggy' was named for the twiggy growth or for a famed former model, who was also proportionally smaller in all parts. Pot size: 24 fl. oz (709.77 ml) #04823
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Lychnis
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Lychnis coronata 'Orange Sherbet' (Orange Robin)
Part Sun to Light ShadeZone: 5-9, guessing 12" tall Origin: Hybrid
This amazing Chinese native from several provinces including Sichuan, has been cultivated in Japan and England for nearly 300 years. This particular clone is quite sterile, indicating either the need for a mate or the fact that it already had too many. L. coronata makes a tidy 1' tall x 1' wide mound of light green foliage, topped, starting in late May with 1"+ light orange flowers that continue through most of the summer. This is a truly superb specimen for a part-sun spot in the garden...very tolerant of a variety of soil types, but propagation will drive you nearly insane...we're proof! Pot size: 24 fl. oz (709.77 ml) #07907
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Lychnis miqueliana 'Momobana' (Momobana Japanese Woodland Catchfly)
Part Sun to Light ShadeZone: 6-8a, at least 18" tall Origin: Japan
NEW!
This woodland perennial hails from 5,000' elevation in the Japanese mountains of Honshu, Shikoku, and Kyushu. The upright stems are clothed with small green leaves and topped with clusters of 1" fleshy-peach colored flowers from July-October...a time when very little is flowering in the woodland garden. L. 'Momobana' (translated as "pink flower) is unusual in color compared with typical vermilion flowers of this species. L. miqueliana is best in open light shade or a couple of hours of sun in the morning. Pot size: 24 fl. oz (709.77 ml) #08114
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Lychnis 'Rolly's Favorite' PP 17,392 (Rolly's Favorite Catchfly)
SunZone: 5-8, at least 15" tall Origin: Europe
(aka: Silene x robotii) This one had us stumped as it was first introduced under the invalid name, Silene x robotii, only to later become a Lychnis flos-jovis. Since L. flos-jovis normally has white-hairy foliage, we won't rule out a yet unnamed baby daddy. Despite one parent hailing from the central European Alps, this Gerardus Oudshoorn hybrid has thrived in our hot, humid summers. For us, the drought-tolerant Lychnis 'Rolly's Favorite' forms a compact 10" tall x 18" wide basal rosette of fuzzy green leaves, covered from mid-March (NC) through summer with 15" stalks, ending in masses of 1" dark pink flowers...quite stunning! Pot size: 24 fl. oz (709.77 ml) #07610
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Lycoris (Surprise Lily)
Most folks have had a close encounter with a lycoris (surprise lily) at some time in their gardening life. Although the common species are wonderful, there are many more that have been virtually unavailable in this country. While many of these uncommon species are still not widely grown, historical records from Zone 4 and 5 show an amazing degree of hardiness.
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Lycoris aurea Guizhou Form (Golden Hurricane Lily)
Sun to Light ShadeZone: 7b-9, at least 36" tall Origin: China
We are pleased to offer a superb strain of the true Lycoris aurea that hails from China's Guizhou Province. The short, green leaves, which emerge just after flowering in October, make a small clump of foliage usually persisting all winter and finally disappearing in late spring. From a seemingly bare patch of ground, the 3' tall flower spikes emerge in September, topped with huge 10" flower heads composed of brilliant, ruffled, golden-yellow flowers. Without question, this is the showstopper of the genus Lycoris. Plants from this population have proven to be reliably hardy into the single digits F in our trials. Pot size: 24 fl. oz (709.77 ml) #07493
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Lycoris radiata (Dwarf Surprise Lily)
Sun to Light ShadeZone: 6-10, at least 15" tall Origin: China
This southern heirloom bulb is one of the most popular plants in old southern gardens. The small, narrow, strap-like, blue-green leaves die away in early spring. Then seemingly out of nowhere in August, the 15" tall spikes emerge from underground, topped with a deciduous azalea-like flower of bright red. After the flowers fade, the leaves emerge again and persist until spring, producing food for next year's flowering. L. radiata doesn't always flower every year...we feel the flowering is probably controlled by aliens who like to torment Earth-bound gardeners. Pot size: 24 fl. oz (709.77 ml) #04054
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Lycoris sanguinea (Orange-flower Surprise Lily)
Sun to Light ShadeZone: 6-9 12" tall Origin: Japan
Open House/Web-Only!
We are pleased to share another in our increasing line of wonderful August-flowering surprise lilies. The short, lily-like leaves appear in the fall and persist until late spring when they go dormant. In midsummer, 1' tall stems seemingly appear overnight, and the flowers burst forth like a giant orange starburst. A mass of these in the woodland garden will be quite stunning. Remember that surprise lilies often take a year or two to settle in before deciding to flower. Pot size: 24 fl. oz (709.77 ml) #03915
SOLD OUT
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Lycoris sprengeri (Tie Dye Surprise Lily)
Sun to Light ShadeZone: 5-9 18" tall Origin: China alternate image
Open House/Web-Only!
Here is a great plant for you '60s throwbacks! What a riotous surprise awaits you next August from this fabulous and easy-to-grow Chinese surprise lily. L. sprengeri is found on moist slopes and in bamboo groves in the Anhui, Hubei, Jiangsu, and Zhejiang Provinces of China. In late summer, the dormant bulb gives rise to 5-7 dark pink, lily-like flowers atop 18" tall stems. Each pink petal is carefully painted with an electric blue overlay that is more prominent toward the tip...a truly surreal color combination. Enjoy a mass planting of these, and you'll think you're on one of those trips where you don't have to leave the farm! Pot size: 24 fl. oz (709.77 ml) #03821
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Lycoris squamigera (Nekkid Ladies)
Sun to Light ShadeZone: 5-9 24" tall Origin: Japan
L. squamigera is certainly the most well-known and easiest-to-grow of the surprise lilies. The robust, 24" tall, "nekkid" scapes emerge from dormancy in late summer, topped with large, clear pink, outward-facing flowers. L. squamigera is great mixed into the border for a summer change or naturalized in the woodland garden. After flowering, the grey-green, strap-like foliage emerges to produce energy for next year's flowers. In the Raleigh garden of the late garden writer Elizabeth Lawrence (whose home sold in the '40s and later became a fraternity house), a row of these still persists. This is a very long-lived and durable lily for a wide range of garden soils and sites. Pot size: 24 fl. oz (709.77 ml) #00177
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Lycoris straminea (Surprise Lily)
Sun to Part SunZone: 6-9, at least 24" tall Origin: China
This is a very rare surprise lily we originally imported from China in the mid-1990s. The 20" flower stalks emerge from bare ground in late August, topped with large 6" flower heads of narrow, ruffled, light creamy-yellow flowers, occasionally tinged with pink as the flowers age. Our 10-year-old clumps are absolutely stunning! After the flowers finish, the bulbs produce short, strap-like basal green leaves in fall. Soils that don't dry out for long periods of time in summer produce the best flowers. Pot size: 24 fl. oz (709.77 ml) #00835
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Lycoris traubii (Traub's Surprise Lily)
Sun to Part SunZone: 7-9, at least 18" tall Origin: China
Lycoris traubii is one of the great garden geophytes (bulbous plants) that hail from the floristically rich island of Taiwan. This October-flowering surprise lily produces an 18" tall stalk topped with 4-7 brilliant golden-orange, spidery flowers, held at a 90 degree angle to the stalk. Several weeks after flowering, the dark green foliage appears like a small clump of liriope that persists through the winter. This plant is often mistakenly sold as the related L. aurea, which is much shorter and comes into leaf several weeks earlier. Good winter drainage is best for top performance.
Pot size: 24 fl. oz (709.77 ml) #03971
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Lycoris x houdyshelii (Surprise Lily)
Sun to Light ShadeZone: 6-10 20" tall Origin: China
This rare, naturally-occurring hybrid surprise lily (L. straminea x L. radiata var. pumila) is found in the Chinese provinces of Jiangsu and Zhejiang. It was first imported to the US in 1948 and named in 1957 by Dr. Traub in honor of bulb collector Cecil Houdyshel. The frilly, light-yellow flowers top the 20" tall stalks that seemingly appear from nowhere in mid- to late-August. Emerging from the center of the petals are long stamens, often tinged in light pink, like eyelashes on a lady of the evening. After flowering, the winter rosettes of 15" long basal leaves emerge in late September and persist all winter. Pot size: 24 fl. oz (709.77 ml) #03820
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Lysimachia (Loosestrife, Gooseneck, Moneywort)
While there are terribly invasive members of this family, we have carefully selected some easy-to-grow, but choice, plants that won't eat your garden. As a rule, they prefer moist rich soils, but we find many types to be amazingly tolerant of a wide range of conditions.
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Lysimachia congestiflora 'Persian Chocolate' (Persian Chocolate Moneywort)
Sun to Part SunZone: 6-9, at least 2" tall Origin: China
This amazing new moneywort is the handiwork of plantsman Darrell Probst. This semi-evergreen groundcover makes a mass of small purple foliage on a nicely spreading groundcover. For us, it makes a 3' wide mat in one season but doesn't show tendencies to eat plants that it surrounds. In late spring, the purple foliage is topped by hundreds of golden bells...a really amazing sight. We've had great luck using this to cover extremely difficult nearly vertical slopes. In hanging baskets or color bowls, it's a killer! Pot size: 24 fl. oz (709.77 ml) #05803
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Lysimachia nummularia 'Aurea' (Gold Moneywort)
Sun to Light ShadeZone: 3-8 2" tall Origin: Europe alternate image
This easy-to-grow moisture lover is a marvelous low-growing golden groundcover whose dime-sized leaves give the ground a year-round golden color. Gold moneywort is perfect for brightening an area in the garden or interweaving to make some great color combinations...it needs sun to maintain the golden color. Pot size: 24 fl. oz (709.77 ml) #00242
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| <Lilium - Liriope] | [Malvaviscus - Miscanthus> |
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