Portland plant purchases and other recent additions

As I mentioned in this post, I recently spent three fun days in Portland, Oregon. They were filled with all kinds of plant-related activities, including garden visits, the Hardy Plant Society of Oregon's Plant Fest, and—do I need to say it?—nursery hopping and plant shopping.

Since I flew to Portland and back, I could only take a few plants home with me. Fortunately, fellow blogger Kathy of GardenBook, who lives in Napa, happened to be in Portland at the same time and offered to be my plant transportation service. Yesterday, I went to her house to pick up my haul. When I set everything out on our driveway, I realized that it was more than I had remembered buying:


Even so, there are few plants I now wish I had bought, especially at Cistus Nursery. Oh well, there's always next time...


As I'm looking at my loot, I'm realizing what a wild hodge-podge it is. My gardening interests have definitely broadened, and I might be in a bit of a schizophrenic phase at the moment. Or maybe I'm just reaching a new level of mix-and-match.


Yes, there are a few succulents, but there's also a wild assortment of plants of all types: trees, shrubs, perennials, even herbs. It's clearly the Portland influence!


Three fine-leaved shrubby plants (the one in the middle, a Hebe 'Caledonia', actually belongs to Kathy, as it turned out):


My succulents include two Yucca 'Blue Sentry', a Yucca 'Blue Boy' (actually three plants in one pot), an Agave victoria-reginae × asperrima (grown from seeds obtained from the Ruth Bancroft Garden, of all places), and a mystery agave from Danger Garden Loree (possibly a form of Agave salmiana gentry or a hybrid).


Two lucky finds from the metal salvage place Loree took me to:

No clue yet what I will do with these pieces, but I'll know when I know

Another view of all the leafy goodness:


It's all about texture and color, isn't it?

The Cobb Mountain lupine (Lupinus sericatus) in the middle is from Annie's Annuals and will go to my mother-in-law's place in Mount Shasta.

Here are individual portraits of some of my finds:

Muehlenbeckia astonii, a small shrub from New Zealand (slow to 4×4 ft)

Cotoneaster horizontalis 'Cheney', only grows 4" a year. Still trying to find the perfect spot for it.

Chamaecyparis lawsoniana 'Blue Surprise', a very blue dwarf form of the Port Orford cedar native to the Oregon coast. Grafted onto phytophthora-resistant rootstock so it can be grown in warmer climates as well. The forever home of my 'Blue Surprise' will be mother-in-law's two-acre property in far northern California.

Acacia cognata 'Cousin Itt'. All of $4 at Portland Nursery at their 50% off  sale on "annuals" (they consider anything that's not hardy in Portland as annuals).

Choisya arizonica 'Whetstone', a Cistus introduction from material collected in the Whetstone Mountains in southern Arizona. Grows to under 3 ft., yet produces the largest flowers of any choisya. I was attracted to the filigree foliage.

Carex phyllocephala 'Sparkler'. I've seen it in Portland and Austin gardens but was never able to find one in our nurseries. I should have bought more than one, but I want to see how well it does in my garden.

Mahonia oiwakensis subsp. lomariifolia var. tenuifoliola from Far Reaches Farms, "seedlings from an unintentional mixing of a Dan Hinkley collection and a Peter Cox Cangshan collection"

Ruscus aculeatus 'Wheeler's Variety', also from Far Reaches Farms

Ruscus aculeatus 'Wheeler's Variety', with berries forming on the "leaves"...

...which are actually modified stems called "phylloclades" that perform photosynthesis

LEFT: Callistemon viridiflorus 'Xera Hedgehog'. Only to 2×2 ft, covered with chartreuse flowers in the spring. Hardy to zone 7.  RIGHT: Yucca 'Blue Sentry', stem-forming to 2-3 ft. Said to be fast-growing. Very hardy to zone 5a (!). Origin is a mystery. Sean Hogan thinks it might be related to Yucca rigida. Both of these plants are destined for my mother-in-law's garden.

Begonia 'Stormy Sunset'. Purplish leaves with a metallic shimmer. Only hardy to zone 10 so it will have to overwinter inside.

Plectranthus 'Lemon Twist'. $2.25 at Portland Nursery's 50% annual sale. Iffy hardiness in our climate; will take cuttings for insurance.

Rhipsalis cuttings from Loree for future use in a hanging planter

In addition to the plants that made the move from Portland, I was recently given two agaves from a local friend who is thinning out her collection. I was only too happy to give them a new home.

Agave schidigera 'Shira ito no Ohi'

Agave xylonacantha 'Frostbite'

But there's more. There are plenty of other plants waiting to be put to good use. Many of them, especially the aloes, are still small and would be lost in the ground. They need another few years before they're landscape-ready.


This tray contains a bunch of terrestrial bromeliads that need to do some more growing before I decide what to do with them.


The last plant I want to show you is a forest bell bush (Mackaya bella) from South Africa. It was recommended to me by Troy McGregor as a good shade plant for our backyard. I really like the glossy leaves; they remind me of my coffee plant. The spring-time flowers are a nice plus.

Forest bell bush (Mackaya bella)

OK, time to get off my duff and get some planting done!


All plants purchased in Portland:

Plant
Source
Acacia cognata ‘Cousin Itt’
Portland Nursery
Agave salmiana (?)
Loree Bohl
Agave victoria-reginae × asperrima (aka ‘Sharkskin Shoes’)
Jockey Hill Nursery (HPSO Plant Fest)
Begonia ‘Stormy Sunset’
Cistus Nursery
Callistemon viridiflorus 'Xera Hedgehog'
Portland Nursery (Xera Plants introduction)
Carex phyllocephala ‘Sparkler’
Secret Garden Growers (HPSO Plant Fest)
Chamaecyparis lawsoniana 'Blue Surprise'
ACE Hardware, St Helens
Choisya arizonica ‘Whetstone’
Cistus Nursery
Cotoneaster horizontalis ‘Cheney’
Jockey Hill Nursery (HPSO Plant Fest)
Juniperus communis var. saxatilis
Cistus Nursery
Mahonia oiwakensis subsp. lomariifolia var. tenuifoliola
Far Reaches Farms (HPSO Plant Fest)
Muehlenbeckia astonii
Cistus Nursery
Origanum × ‘Xera Cascade’
Xera Plants
Plecranthus ‘Lemon Twister’
Portland Nursery
Ruscus aculeatus 'Wheeler's Variety'
Far Reaches Farms (HPSO Plant Fest)
Sephora prostrata ‘Little Baby’
Cistus Nursery
Yucca ‘Blue Boy’
ACE Hardware, St Helens
Yucca ‘Blue Sentry’
Cistus Nursery


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Comments

  1. That's quite a haul! A $4 'Cousin Itt' is equivalent to a freebie - you certainly couldn't pass something like that up. Ditto the 3 Yucca 'Blue Boy' in one pot. I often tell myself I should write a list of what I "need" (at least in concept) before a trip to the garden center but then what's the fun in that?

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    1. I only had three things on my list: two for my buddy Troy (one of which was Grevillea 'Neil Bell') and a Sephora 'Little Baby' for me since the one I bought last year was doing so well in my front yard. The rest was all impulse. I love seeing what there is, especially when it's material that's all new to me.

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  2. Nice group of plants, am envious. Glad they all arrived unscathed. My Blue Boy is leaning left, now it’s leaning right...it better not be republican...lol, I jest.

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    1. You can always walk around your 'Blue Boy', then it will be leaning left again :-).

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  3. I am proud to say I got quite a few plants into the ground this weekend..after spending some quality time agonizing about where they would go of course. A productive weekend.

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    1. Same here. Both agonizing and planting. I'm proud of myself for being somewhat decisive, i.e. not moving anything right after planting it.

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  4. Just a correction/clarification for your records...the Agave you got from me wasn’t one of the possible ‘salmiana’ pups I dug, it was a special pass-along from a friend of mine. She bought it labeled Agave gentryi (yes, possibly incorrectly labeled) and shared the pup because of the unique like streak on one of the leaves. Watch for more!

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    1. Got it! I got those two agaves mixed up all the time when I was at your house.

      This one is very blue for an Agave gentryi, but that's what makes it so beautiful.

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  5. Oh, now you've really got it bad -- there's no nursery aisle safe from your roving eye now! And rusty metal pipes are always a worthwhile purchase. Carex 'Sparkler' was really good here in LA too, fwiw.

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    1. I have to start looking for a metal salvage yard in my area. So many cool (=rusty) things waiting to be discovered, I just need to know where to look.

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  6. Where the heck are all of these going? I seem to remember you saying you had of so many potted plants already... but maybe many of those have gone into the ground now? And to think you were once bamboo-centric. :)
    That Carex is a beauty! Wish it were a bit more cold-hardy so I could give it a try.

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    1. Oh, I do, but how can I turn down cool plants? I've actually gotten many of them in the ground already. And several will go to my MIL's place. She, btw, still has all the running bamboos I planted years ago. I should do an update!

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  7. What a nice haul! Next time you visit the PNW, you really should rent a Uhaul so that you can bring even more home. Looking forward to seeing what you do with all of these treasures!

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    1. The next time I'm in the PNW, I'd love to see you and Alison as well!! :-)

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  8. The Choisya and Callistemon are very appealing, and of course you could not pass up a $4 'Itt'--that would be very wrong.

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    1. LOL, one never says no to 'Cousin Itt', does one?

      BTW, do you have any experience with Choisya?

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