Sequim Rare Plants, Plant List

Spring 2012 Plant List

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Eryngiums are also called sea hollies. They all have spiny, prickly leaves. The native habitat of some is at sea coasts, while others occur much farther inland. They come from both the Old World and from the Americas, with the ones from the Americas having long, sword-like leaves and the ones from the Old World with leaves that are not long and sword-like.

Although they are often treated like Siberian irises, to grow best and be long-lived Japanese irises require more frequent replanting than Siberian irises require. This is because a Japanese iris wants to grow too close to the soil surface, rather than wanting to grow deeper. So every two or three years it is best to replant it covered by a couple of inches of soil. Question: instead of replanting it would giving it a fresh covering of mulch every year be equally good ? As a temporary measure, the answer is "yes." But in the long run, replanting it deeper and feeding it with humus and organic fertilizer would be better. The roots do not want to dry out too much, and being deeper, they are less likely to. Its wanting to grow too close to the surface is an adaptation of it growing in overly wet ground in the wild. In a garden it grows equally well in well drained ground as long as water is offered regularly. Because it needs an acidic soil, be sure never to add lime to its soil.

   I have wondered how the word, parmentier, should be pronounced, as in French, or as in English, and what it means. There is a food dish named hachis parmentier, that includes potatoes in its ingredients. If you google it you can find several You Tube videos on making hachis parmentier. The one I like best (click here) is a short 3-minute video in French. If you listen closely towards the video's end, the word, parmentier is spoken once or twice. However, here is a link (click here) that explains it further. Hachis parmentier refers to someone's name, that of Antoine-Augustin Parmentier, who lived in the 1770's and introduced potatoes for human consumption in France. Before Parmentier, potatoes were thought to be fit only for livestock. The plant, 'Parmentier,' may be named for him or someone else bearing this name.

   To quote Alan Bloom in his book, Alan Bloom's Hardy Perennials, “Along with 'Percy's Pride' were two others of merit. One, which I named 'Shining Sceptre,' was a stately 1.2 m, orange gold, July - August flowering, which lacks nothing in vigour and has a wide poker head.” More info, click here. $10.95

Someimes you will see this plant named as Agave 'Spot,' because it is a close relative of agaves. However this is more deciduous in nature instead of being as evergreen as are agaves. Being deciduous helps it to survive colder winters.

'American Beauty' has flowers of clear red with white eyes, and fleshy green leaves. As with most of the auriculas, the height of the flowering stems is typically about half a foot. Cold hardy to −35 to −40°F, with protection such as snow cover. More info, click here. $8.95

The photo on the right is shown to give you an idea how to propagate this species of jovibarba. A group of the round, leafy rosettes are usually tightly clustered together, more tightly than you might expect -- and they generally do not produce long runners as Sempervivums do. So instead of simply pulling them apart as with other succulents you must cut them with a knife, as has been done with the plant in the picture. And it is important to let the freshly cut tissue air-dry for several days before replanting.

As is true for the other group of hardy succulents listed on this website, the jovibarbas, applies equally to the sempervivums, that showing each variety of these with a single photo is not completely accurate, because the colors change throughout the year. And sometimes the color change is dramatic. Not only do their colors change according to the season, but also according to how wet or dry they are grown, and also by how much sun or shade they are getting, and additionally they are affected by how rich or lean their diet might be. Here is a link to a group of photos (click here) taken April 8, 2010 for a side-by-side comparison.

We offer both large-flowered ones and small-flowered ones. In hot parts of the country the larger-flowered violas do not last long, and the smaller-flowered violas are the ones to grow because they can survive well with heat. The large-flowered ones are best left to the parts of North America where summer temperatures cool off at night. This one , 'Androse Gem,' along with several others listed here has smaller flowers. Many of the violas here are scented, although this one is unscented. Mature plants are cold hardy to USDA Zone 4. If the top of a plant freezes during a severe winter, the plant can recover from the underground rooted stems. More info, click here. $7.95