Spring 2010 Plant List I--O
Iris 'Black Gamecock'
'Black Gamecock' Louisiana Iris
N. America, z. 6-10. One of numerous recent hybrids among several southeastern native species (including I. fulva and I. versicolor)
collectively known as Louisiana Irises. ’Black Gamecock’ is a robust, spreading 2′-tall plant bearing striking 4″ flowers
of an electric blue-violet with gold crests in early summer. A real knockout! Grow in moist to wet, acidic soil in full sun
to part shade. $6.00
Iris cristata
Dwarf Crested Iris
N. America, z. 4-9. An exquisite native Iris, only 4" to 8" tall, with typical Iris foliage that spreads slowly to form a
solid mat and charming blue-violet flowers carried above the foliage in mid-spring. As tough as it's beautiful, it will tolerate
sun or shade, moist or dry soil. $5.00
Iris tectorum
Roof Iris
China, z. 4-10. A lovely, late-spring blooming Iris with wide fans of pale green leaves and large, rather flat, frilled flowers
in shades of soft blue. A low-growing Iris, only 12”-16” tall, it will nonetheless form large clumps at the front of a border,
and can also be naturalized in sun or part shade and average to moist soil. Tough as nails, but much prettier! $6.00
Iris tectorum 'Alba'
Roof Iris
China, z. 4-10. A pure white Roof Iris with a gold-marked crest, less commonly seen than the blue form but equally lovely
and just as tough. Roof Iris is surprisingly drought tolerant. $5.00
Iris versicolor
Blue Flag
N. America, z. 3-8. This fine native Iris rises to 4' with graceful, sword-like foliage and elegantly shaped and veined blue-violet
flowers in early summer. Happy in shallow standing water or merely moist soil in sun to part shade, it will slowly spread
into large clumps. A superb choice for rain gardens, stream/pond edges, or borders and a lovely cut flower, too. $7.00
Jeffersonia diphylla
Twinleaf
N. America, z. 4-9. The leaves are the thing with Twinleaf. Although it produces pleasant, fleeting white flowers in early
spring, its real attraction is the unusual leaves, each cleft almost in two and borne on its own wiry stem. A mature clump
looks like a flight of green butterflies with maroon edges to their wings. Enchanting! The seedpods are also unusual: miniature
canisters with pop-top lids. A lovely plant in colonies in a partly to fully shady spot with moist soil. $6.00
Kirengeshoma palmata
Yellow Wax-bells
Japan, z. 5-8. An elegant oriental perennial, 3'-4' tall and eventually as wide, the mature leaves of Kirengeshoma are nearly
round, palmately lobed, and a lovely pale green. The soft yellow flowers open in late summer in loose clusters carried well
above the leaves on slender stems. An exotic, beautiful specimen for moist, acid soil in partial shade. $6.00
Kosteletzkya virginica
Seashore Mallow
N. America, z. 6-10. The only difficulty with Seashore Mallow is spelling its scientific name; apart from that it's a charmer.
A relative of the Mallows (Hibiscus spp.), it is a tall—to 5'—airy plant which in late summer produces many 2" pink or occasionally
white flowers with prominent, bright yellow stamens. Occurring naturally along beaches and marsh edges, it is a good waterfront
or rain garden plant, but is also quite at home in average garden soil in sun. $6.00
Lilium canadense
Canada Lily
N. America, z. 3-8. This exquisite and rarely available native grows to 3' or more, with a single slender stem surrounded
by whorls of dark green leaves. The stem provides a standard for a spectacular summer display of yellow to red-orange, pendant
bells with flared petals—looks like something that should be carried aloft in an exotic ceremony. Canada Lily requires consistantly
moist, acid soil, sun to part shade, and may need protection from deer and voles. Order early for spring shipment, since
by late spring it is too tall and slender to ship without breakage. It can also be shipped as a dormant bulb in the fall.
$12.00
Lilium superbum
Turk's Cap Lily
N. America, z. 4-9. The commonest wild Lily in Maryland—if any can be called common these days—is this magnificent plant.
Usually found near water, a mature bulb produces 5'-6' stalks bearing a dozen or more large flowers whose strongly reflexed
petals range from orange to cinnabar red with a yellow throat and maroon spots. Definitely a showstopper. Although they
take time to mature they will thrive and spread in moist to wet soil in full sun to part shade. As with L. canadense they
should be ordered early, or in the fall. $12.00
Lindera benzoin
Spicebush
N. America, z. 5-9. A fine woodland shrub, 5'-12', with an open, spreading habit. One of our earliest spring bloomers, it
bears many clusters of tiny, greenish-yellow flowers, lighting up the gray-brown of the woodlands. In fall it bears oval scarlet
berries which birds feed on and its foliage turns an exceptionally clear yellow even in deep shade. A host plant for the Spicebush
Swallowtail butterfly, its name comes from its strongly aromatic twigs, leaves, and berries, which give off a tangy, lemony
scent when crushed. Likes moist soil in partial to full shade—best fruiting with some sun. $9.00
Lobelia siphilitica
Great Lobelia
N. America, z. 4-8. Similar in form to Cardinal Flower but a stouter, larger-leaved plant, with spikes of clear blue flowers
in late summer. Sun to partial shade in moist/wet soil. Popular with bees and butterflies and an excellent, long-lasting
cut flower. $5.00
Lonicera sempervirens
Trumpet Honeysuckle
N. America, z. 4-9. A woody vine growing up to 15' with support, Trumpet Honeysuckle produces clusters of orange to red flowers
whose narrow trumpets seems specifically designed for hummingbirds, who love them. It tolerates part shade but blooms better
and longer in full sun, and is an excellent choice for growing up a trellis or over an arch. It has no scent, but is otherwise
a much showier and much better behaved vine than the pestiferous Japanese Honeysuckle (L. japonica). $8.00
Lonicera sempervirens 'John Clayton'
'John Clayton' Trumpet Honeysuckle
N. America, z. 4-9. Trumpet Honeysuckle is normally coral red, but the blooms of 'John Clayton' are a rich apricot. Otherwise
it's the same fine woody vine, growing to 15' with support and delighting hummingbirds—and gardeners. Sun to part shade and
average soil. $8.00
Maianthemum (Smilacina) racemosum
False Solomon's Seal
N. America, z. 3-9. A very desirable woodland native better known to British gardeners, which shouldn't be the case. Smilacina's
creeping rootstock puts up graceful 1'-3' stems clothed in neatly alternating spear-shaped leaves. In spring the stems are
tipped with a plume of creamy white flowers, followed by showy clusters of berries speckled with purple all summer before
turning translucent red in late fall. A slow spreader once established, it likes part shade and moist, humusy soil; tolerates
dry shade. $7.00
Mertensia virginica
Virginia Bluebells
N. America, z. 3-8. One of our most beautiful woodland natives, Mertensia's plum-purple shoots push up in earliest spring,
expanding into glaucous leaves of a peculiar smoothness—like a baby's skin. The 1" flowers hang bell-like from nodding stalks
and are pink in bud, becoming a very pure sky blue as they open. A marvelous if short-lived display: by early summer the plants
go dormant and disappear until the following spring. Mertensia prefers a moist, humus-rich soil in partial to full shade.
$5.00
Mitchella repens
Partridgeberry
N. America, z. 3-8. An exquisite little creeper with rounded glossy leaves, pairs of tiny white flowers in late spring, and
bright red berries in the fall. The creeping stems cling closely to the ground and one plant will slowly carpet a 1'-wide
area. A beautifully textured plant, excellent with ferns, and a good rock garden or trough plant. Likes a well-drained soil
in partial/full shade; tolerates dry shade. $5.00
Morella (Myrica) cerifera
Wax-myrtle, Southern Bayberry
N. America, z. 7-9. A large—10'-15'—finely textured shrub with glossy, olive-green leaves that are evergreen down to about
0°. The leaves are aromatic, as are the small, frosted blue berries which birds favor. An excellent landscape plant which
can be pruned as a hedge or limbed up to make a small tree if desired, it adapts to wet or dry soils, prefers sun but tolerates
part shade, and is very salt tolerant. It is also very resistant to deer browsing. Plant several for best fruiting. $8.00
Onoclea sensibilis
Sensitive Fern
N. America, z. 2-9. A rather tropical-looking fern with boldly cut, light green fronds to 2' in height. The spore capsules
are borne on separate stalks and look like clusters of little brown beads; they look interesting all winter in the garden
and are very good for dried arrangements. Sensitive fern is a spreader and a good deciduous groundcover for moist to very
damp soil in partial to full shade; also good under bare-legged shrubs. $6.00