Category: Collector Plants
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Jubaea chilensis
The Chilean Wine Palm is endangered in the wild and rarely grown in Australia for sale. Understandably considering that the seed can take more than two years to germinate and the plants that I have at the nursery in 10″ pots are at least six years on from germination! I have done the hard work
Stephen Ryan
Corylus avellana ‘Contorta’
The Crazy Filbert has to be one of the best conversation piece plants you could have in your garden especially for its winter effect. It will eventually become a large shrub and its main claim to fame are the twisted contorted branches which in late winter are festooned with pale yellow catkins. No one can
Stephen Ryan
Edgeworthia chrysantha
The Japanese Paper Daphne as it is commonly called is a deciduous shrub to a couple of metres with clusters of scented yellow flowers with white furry outsides to the trumpet. It is a dome shaped shrub for light shade or morning sun in well drained soil and looks a treat with dark Hellebores, Trilliums
Stephen Ryan
Acer palmatum dissectum ‘Orangeola’
Weeping maples of all sorts add beauty and an oriental look to any garden without the need to install a Japanese lantern or a statue of Buddha! Most are grafted onto standards of various heights and don’t usually grow much taller. Usually ending up like a large open umbrella. They make great tub specimens, look
Stephen Ryan
Araucaria araucana
The Monkey puzzle tree is one of the worlds most easily spotted trees with its dark prickly foliage and very symetrical form. It was well loved as a new novelty in Victorian times and seems to have recently come back into fashion. I put it down to the discovery of the Wollemi Pine which made
Stephen Ryan
Chloranthus fortunei
This amazing woodland perennial from China came into my collection via an importation I did years ago from Crug farm in Wales and what a great plant it is. It comes up in spring with almost black stems and leaves and as the foliage matures it turns green whilst the stems stay black. It grows
Stephen Ryan
Lamium orvala
Most of us are familiar with the slightly weedy ground cover Lamiums and their close relatives and may well know them as Aluminium Plant. This species however makes neat clumps to about 30cms of rich green heavily veined leaves in the axils of which it produces Salvia like dusty deep mauve-pink flowers in spring. It
Stephen Ryan
Epimedium ogisui
No garden can do without these stunning woodland plants with their beautiful leaves and sprays of tiny spurred flowers at this time of the year. Most are fairly hardy and make lovely clumps under any deciduous tree or shrub. I keep collecting different species and forms and this one I originally imported from England and
Stephen Ryan
Asarum magnificum
The wild gingers as they are called are fabulous clumping or ground cover plants and in the case of this one it has large glossy evergreen leaves often well marked with white. Under the leaves it produces stranger black and white flowers well worth looking for in late winter and spring. This one makes a
Stephen Ryan
Agapetes serpens
This Himalayan shrub can be used in so many ways. It will make a great pot or hanging basket subject and is almost impossible to root bound it due to its small epiphytic root system. Its weeping arching habit makes it ideal as a weeping standard. If left untrained it will grow to about 1.5 metres.
Stephen Ryan