Scientific Name (Genus/Species): Zanthoxylum simulans

Family: (Rutaceae)

Hardy shrub to 15′. Prickly Ash. China. Small, greenish-yellow flower panicles in July are followed by reddish fruits. Elegant, pinnately compound, lustrous, dark green leaves with a prickly midrib. Spreading branches form a gracefully arching shrub or small tree. Stems have distinctive, broad, flat spines along their length. A lovely and unusual specimen tree. Sun. 3 & 6

Scientific Name (Genus/Species): Vitex negundo var. heterophylla

Family: (Lamiaceae)

Hardy shrub to 10′. East Asia. Cut-Leaf Chaste Tree. This choice shrub has a loosely branched, open airy habit with palmately compound, finely dissected, greyish green foliage. Small, 5 lobed, lavender, fragrant flowers in terminal panicles appear in July and August. Creates a good architectural backdrop for the dry, sunny border. Well-drained soil. Sun. PC- 4 weeks, 3 & T1

Scientific Name (Genus/Species): Tripterygium regelii

Family: (Celastraceae)

Hardy vine to 30′. Regel’s Threewingnut. China, Manchuria and Korea. A sprawling, scandent, shrubby plant with small, white, green tinged flowers in large terminal panicles up to eight inches long. Produces green, three winged fruits that dry like the samaras of elm trees. Dark green, broadly rounded, alternate leaves. Notable as Beatrix Farrand’s favourite vine. Sun. PC- 4 weeks, 3 & T1

Open PDF

Scientific Name (Genus/Species): Clethra acuminata

Family: (Clethraceae)

Shrub to 12′. Cinnamon Clethra. Appalachia. A rarely seen but choice native shrub or small tree, grown for its striking exfoliating bark of rich cinnamon-brown, with accents of tan, grey and purple. Terminal racemes of white flowers with a musky-sweet fragrance appear in July and August. Foliage turns yellow in fall. Well-drained soil. Sun/partial shade. 3 & T1

Scientific Name (Genus/Species): Clematis texensis

Family: (Ranunculaceae)

Hardy vine to 9′.  Scarlet Leatherflower.  Southwest US.  Urn-shaped flowers consist of four, thick, leather-like, rose-red to scarlet coloured tepals that recurve at the tip to reveal a paler interior.  Flowers are borne only on new growth and are held atop purple pedicels in axillary clusters of one to seven. The delicate foliage is a glaucous green and the ovate to rounded leaves with wavy margins enhance the charm of the flowers.  A mass of feathery balls of plumed achenes follows the floral display. At Stonecrop ours grows in a crevice on the Rock Ledge.  This is a very hardy and relatively drought tolerant Clematis.  A long bloomer from mid-summer through fall.  3 & 7 for 8 weeks, then T2

Scientific Name (Genus/Species): Veltheimia bracteata

Family: (Asparagaceae)

Tender bulb to 2′.  Cape Lily.  This South African native has shiny strap-like leaves with crisp, undulating margins.  Purplish stems support spikes of pale green, upright buds which open to pendulous, pale pink, tubular flowers.  Flower spikes resemble those of the Red Hot Poker.  These regal bulbs add a presence to our Conservatory in March.  Sun.  3 & T3, then they may need 40º for 2-3 months.

Scientific Name (Genus/Species): Tagetes lemmonii

Family: (Asteraceae)

TP to 5′.  Mexican Marigold.  Arizona and Northern Mexico.  The finely divided, olive-green leaves of this very tall and unusual Marigold emit the classic Marigold scent tinged with lemon and mint.  Orange-yellow, daisy-like flowers are up to 1-½ inches wide and have a slightly darker disc in the centre.  In its native habitat it grows as an evergreen shrub in lean, dry soils.  As a container plant at Stonecrop, it does well in full sun or partial shade.  Blooms mid-spring to early summer with sporadic flowers again in autumn.  Well-drained soil.  3 & T2.

Scientific Name (Genus/Species): Puya mirabilis

Family: (Bromeliaceae)

(TP) to 5′. Argentina and Bolivia. Silvery-brown, finely toothed leaves. Delicate, three petalled, chartreuse-green flowers with golden anthers appear intermittently on stalks up to five feet tall. A very distinct looking Puya. Choice. Sun. 4 & T2, keep moist

Scientific Name (Genus/Species): Habranthus tubispathus (syn. Habranthus texanus)

Family: (Amaryllidaceae)

Tender bulb to 8″.  Rio Grande Copper Lily.  Argentina and Uruguay.  Flowers have a copper-coloured exterior and are golden yellow within.  The solitary, upward facing blooms are 1½ inches in length and about the same diameter when open.  Blooms in the spring, but often, there is another flush in the fall.  Leaves appear after flowering.  Sun.  3 & T2

Scientific Name (Genus/Species): Ceratostigma willmottianum

Family: (Plumbaginaceae)

(TP) to 4′. Chinese Plumbago. West China to Tibet. Deciduous shrub. Leaves lanceolate to obovate. Slender angled stems are tinged purple and bristly. Dense terminal heads of five-lobed, pale blue flowers, white centres, and red-purple corolla tubes. Foliage turns a beautiful tinted red in autumn. Sun/partial shade. 3 & T2