Chicago Botanic Garden, Fall Visit Part 1; Non-Hardy Plants

For the first time since January 2011 I was able to make a trip to Chicago Botanic Garden. This was also my first trip during the growing season since 2006. You'd think a professional plant geek would make it to a great public garden that's only 100 miles away more than three times in a decade, but life in horticulture is always busy. As I'm hoping to have a little more time, garden visits should be more frequent.

After culling bad shots, duplicates, and name tag shots, I took 199 photos. I'll be breaking this up into 4 parts; probably Hardy, Non-hardy, Trials, and Bonus. I'm going to start with the non-hardy things and go from there. Chicago botanic is home to some really fantastic annual and tropical plants and many were still really shining this late in the year. 

Asclepias curasavica

 For us this milkweed is not hardy. But it's a great long-blooming addition to containers and annual plantings.

Begonia

My picture here doesn't do this combo justice. Juncus and Celosia. Celosia is one of those plants that I see in flats on the retail bench and don't think of as something I'd use. But every time I see them in a garden, they impress me. 

Centratherum punctatum

Centratherum punctatum

 Definitely and unknown plant to me, Centratherum punctatum ssp. punctatum was a neat enough plant. Apparently a tender perennial hardy to 25°F. Judging by search results, not common at all. Honey bees seem to like it.

Chrysanthemum 'Saga Nishiki'

Chrysanthemum 'Saga Nishiki'

Mums were in full force in the gardens, though maybe not quite used as much as the average fall display. If you know me, you know I'm not a huge fan of typical seasonal fall mums. But there are definitely exceptions. 'Saga Nishiki' is absolutely one of those exceptions. Broom-type mums are rad!

Chrysanthemum 'Gum Drop'

 I sometimes forget that cascade mums exist. This trip was a good reminder of that fact as they had a few varieties throughout the gardens. 'Gum Drop' was the only one I took a photo of. These fall into the category of typical fall mums that I don't love, but I understand their use and realize people like them. I'm not sure why these aren't used in hanging baskets rather than a normal garden mum. Maybe I should try it and see what happens.

Coleus 'Glennis'

Coleus 'Glennis'

 Many coleus were still looking great. This one was in a planter indoors and looked particularly attractive. Oddly enough it's the only one I specifically took pictures of.

Colocasia 'White Lava'

 This was the only Colocasia that jumped out at me. Probably because I love this variety but haven't had the chance to grow it yet.

Cortaderia

 Cortaderia probably falls in the hardy plants category for many of you. It might even be somewhat usable in Chicago. I'm pretty sure these were just seasonal display, and it's not hardy here for us. Really very pretty, but I'm somewhat glad it's not hardy here.

 I took photos of a few Dahlias that I liked, but didn't look for the tags. There were many more, some I didn't like and some I just didn't take pictures of.

Euryale ferox

Euryale ferox

Gorgon plant, Euryale ferox, is the closest relative to lotus of the genus Victoria. Leaves are 3' wide and have a quilted texture. Stems and seed pods are spiny. Flowers are a beautiful purple and white bicolor but the plant here wasn't in bloom. I need one!

A lotus from the genus Nelumbo and some tropical water lilies. This trip strengthened my desire for a tropical pond. 

Tropical water lily

Tropical water lily

Tropical water lily; this was in bloom on our way out but I didn't stop for a picture as it was much more crowded at this point.

tropical water lily

A very beautiful lotus

Thalia gemiculata ruminoides is a great, large, tropical water plant that looks a little like bird of paradise or canna from a distance. The bright red stems are amazing in the sun.

The finely textured flowers are unobtrusive from a distance and are a nice texture contrast to the broad foliage. 

As you get closer, detail starts to come into focus. 

Man are these cool flower stems! Really a neat up close feature of Thalia gemiculata ruminoides

Hairy Balls!

 Gomphocarpus physocarpus, the hairy balls plant, is a tropical milkweed relative that has started to get some attention recently for it's neat seed pods that look like; well... hairy balls. Monarch caterpillars do eat this, but there is some research out there that finds it isn't really a suitable food. Plant this for the neat balls, plant Asclepias for the butterflies!

Helichrysum and Verbena was a classy combination. A little past prime, but still looks good.

Kochia scoparia is coming back into use. It's historically been fodder for livestock but makes a nice textural accent.

Leonotis menthifolia

 One of the nice things about visiting botanic gardens is seeing things that maybe aren't offered by typical garden centers. This Leonotis menthifolia falls into that category. If only more head growers visited botanic gardens.

Nerine sarniensis?

 I didn't look real close at the label for this, thinking at first it was a Lycoris radiata then I noticed a label that said Nerine. I should have looked closer. Oh well.

 It was nice to see an old-fashioned plant like morning glory in use. 'Flying Saucers' and 'Heavenly Blue' were both still in full bloom.

One of many great planters. 

AAS Salvia trial

 Despite a large number being in trial, I've included all the non-hardy salvia here. The above AAS trial may actually be perennial but since I have no idea what it is and many other non-hardy Salvia were represented in their perennial trials, it's included here.

Salvia 'Betsy's Choice'

Salvia 'Betsy's Choice'

Salvia guarantica 'Argentina Skies'

 Salvia guarantica and guarantica-like varieties were well represented. I love these types of Salvia and they need to be more readily available here where they're not hardy!  I've been meaning to dabble in hybridizing them as well, and I think crossing this 'Argentina Skies' to 'Black and Bloom' would be a neat start. Can you picture that light blue with a dark calyx?! Maybe next season.

Salvia leucantha 'Midnight'

Salvia madrensis 'Redneck Girl' from Plant Delights, I need this in my life!

Salvia mexicana 'Lollie Jackson' or maybe 'Limelight'; the two are apparently terribly confused, or maybe synonymous. Lime green calyx and purple flowers when in bloom. Really beautiful at both stages. 

Salvia oxyphora

Salvia oxyphora

Salvia oxyphora is from Bolivia. It's another one that I definitely need in my life. Fuzzy flowers? Yes please!

Salvia puberella is similar to S. oxyphora

Salvia regla 'Jame'

Salvia splendens 'Dancing Flames' I'm undecided if I actually like this. It was really cool looking, but the first plant in the area looked more like virus than variegation. This one looked good though.

Salvia splendens 'Van Houttei Peach' Was a great looking peach color, but none of us like it with this orange mum. 

Salvia splendens I didn't take a shot of the label so I dont' remember which variety.

Salvia 'Wendy's Wish' is another one that I love!

Vigna caracalla 'Thomas Jefferson'

Wollemia nobilis

 Wollemia nobilis was only known from fossil records until 1994 when it was rediscovered alive in New South Wales, Australia. Neat looking, but obviously not hardy for us.

A monarch and Painted lady were feeding on this pink zinnia. 

Monarch

Painted Lady

A monarch and Painted lady were feeding on this pink zinnia. 

That's it for the non-hardy plants. I'll hit up the hardy plants next! Stay tuned!

New Project: The Heuchera Tome

In my last post I mentioned that I have some projects I'd be working on. One of those projects is a reference site for Heuchera, Tiarella, xHeucherella, and a few other saxifragaceae members titled The Heuchera Tome. This certainly isn't a unique concept; there are other "Heuchera encyclopedia" sites out there if you look. So why am I doing this? For a number of reasons.

Heuchera 'Georgia Peach'

1. I'm becoming an avid collector of Heuchera and am starting my own hybridizing program. That means I'm doing research off and on and taking pictures. I like to share what I find and this is a good way to do it. If you've been paying attention to this blog, you know I'm also a huge collector of Hostas. The Hosta Library is a massive pictorial reference site for that genus, and I want this to be similar.

Heuchera 'Spellbound'

2. Not all of the sites out there are easily browsed. Some don't have a good index, some don't have adequate information about growing them, some are nursery catalogs, some only use marketing pictures, etc. I want this site to be easy to search, easy to browse by variety, easy to browse by newest added, and I don't want people to have to look at sales pages to do that. Yes, I run a nursery and this site is attributed to Botanophilia LLC at the bottom and I may add an active link to our offerings in the future; but each listing won't be a pitch to sell you plants. (Nothing wrong with nurseries that are great Heuchera references! But sometimes they're tough to wade through). I also want pics to be representative of actual plants. I will probably include marketing pictures, but I also want to include pics from garden situations of collectors. Right now they're just my pics, but I will probably add a contribute link at some point.

Heuchera 'Caramel'

3. To educate. Despite their popularity and a number of sites promoting them, these plants are still misunderstood by so many gardeners. I want to help educate people about them and spread awareness about them as garden plants. Tiarella especially seem to STILL be flying under the radar here in the USA.

Heuchera 'Midnight Rose'

There are other reasons as well, but those are the big ones. The site is still in its early stages and I have many more varieties to add. But I've gotten a start and wanted to start sharing the site with all of you. Please check it out, I'm always happy to hear feedback about what could make it better. For the time being it's hosted here on blogger. I may move it in the future if needed and will almost certainly get a custom domain once it's big enough. https://heucheratome.blogspot.com/

Heuchera americana 'Green Spice'

News and Happenings

I've been an awful blogger this year. I haven't posted since February, mainly because life has been crazy busy! Sadly a lot of the craziness the last few months could have been good post topics, but there just wasn't time to even take pictures for posting later.

So what's been going on? Spring was crazy as it always is; that's the reality of working in horticulture so nothing new there. But immediately after spring we got some news. My wife was getting a new job. 200 miles away. 200 miles NORTH, to Rhinelander, WI. It will be a grand adventure living in Z4a instead of Z5b and having a 25 day shorter growing season. You will hear about it.

I spent the early part of summer removing the gardens and seeding grass. This may sound familiar, as I did this same thing 4 years ago in 2012 to try and sell the house only to refinance and put the gardens back in during late 2013. My plant collections have all been dug and potted and will be over-wintered with our sale stock on the farm. Interestingly I think most of my plants will survive just fine in their new location. But maybe I'm just being optimistic.

We also had to finish up a few home renovation projects. In late winter we started doing some projects that included new flooring and some bathroom updates. Those were done just in time for my wife to start her job in late July. I finished up my nursery day job on September 2nd but because of the plants being here and the house not being sold yet, I'm still living here part time. September is time for getting the growing house reorganized and get the plants cleaned up, weeded, and inventoried before cutting them back in October and getting the house ready for winter. I have lots to keep me busy before I officially move!

So what does this move mean for me and for the future of Botanophilia? In spring we will (hopefully) have a new property and the business side of things will move along with the plants. I have the opportunity to work only for myself and concentrate on growing the nursery and getting some more great new/unusual plants added to the catalog! Hopefully we'll be able to have some open retail days in the future as well. I'll be able to travel to more events for vending and/or speaking. And attend more garden related gatherings. It also means I will have more time for writing and other projects. I'm excited to do all the things!

Sadly my admission that I've been a bad blogger has become a common phrase here. Hopefully that will change. I'll certainly have plenty to write about once we have a new property and start installing gardens. This winter I may still be an infrequent blogger. I do have a few projects planned to share with you though, so stay tuned!

Pasque Flowers - Pulsatilla

I like pasque flowers, I always have, but it seems largely ignored here for some reason. Pulsatilla is closely related to Anemone and there are about 33 species in the genus. They typically like well-drained (but not necessarily dry) soils in partial to full sun and they are primarily spring bloomers. Flowers come in a range of colors including white, yellow, pink, red, lavender, purple, blue, and near black. Foliage of most species is finely cut and ferny. Flower buds and foliage both emerge with silky hairs in spring. Seed heads are very silky and ornamental in their own right. Plants are usually small, growing under 12" tall and only 15" or so wide.

Pulsatilla vulgaris 'Papageno'

Pulsatilla vulgaris 'Papageno'

Most commonly used here in the US is Pulsatilla vulgaris which has many color forms and is quite easy to grow in average soils. I currently grow 'Papageno' which is a double flowered form that comes in mixed colors, my specimen happens to be purple. I used to also have an nice single red form, 'Rote Glocke'.

Pulsatilla vulgaris 'Papageno'

Pulsatilla vulgaris 'Papageno'

Pulsatilla vulgaris 'Papageno'

Pulsatilla vulgaris 'Rote Glocke'

Probably the second most common species here is Pulsatilla patens (still often sold as Anemone patens) which is native to the US. I typically encounter this as a white form in the trade around here, but it is often lavender and can be found in pink or even yellow forms.

A friend from Europe was kind enough to send me seeds of Pulsatilla alpina var. apiifolia and various Pulsatilla albana forms in 2013. The P. alpina did not do very well, despite having a large amount of seed which germinated well; I believe the seedlings remained too wet. I have one very small specimen in the garden yet, if it survives this winter. The P. albana forms all germinated in 2014 and bloomed in 2015. Pictures don't capture the colors well, some are much more yellow, I will shoot more pics this year in hopes of better color.

Pulsatilla albana

Pulsatilla albana

Pulsatilla albana

Pulsatilla albana

Pulsatilla albana

If you come across Pulsatilla in the garden center, don't pass it up. Even if it's not blooming, young plants grow well and are great in early spring planted in masses. They are fairly small plants that don't take up much room, so plant a bunch of them.