Tender plants

I don't propagate a lot of indoor plants but this year I seem to have raised quite a few almost by accident...

Begonia soli-mutata

A gorgeous Brazilian species grown mainly for its deeply textured richly coloured foliage (it also has pretty white flowers) Not difficult as a house plant as long as not dry. Regular misting helps.
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Drymonia chiribogana

A bushy gesneriad from Latin America with dark lustrous leaves and silver veins. The flowers are pale lilac. A plant for a terrarium or tropical greenhouse. It survives as a houseplant but really needs good humidity. Not at all difficult given the right conditions.
£8

Crassula streyi

A tender South African species with 2in wide broad glossy leaves – dark green above, slightly marbled in silver, and intense wine red under.

Like many plants with red leaf reverses, this is an adaptation to growing in shade, which makes this an excellent choice for a sunless windowsill and irregular watering – the ideal houseplant in many ways. The flowers are small and off white and produced in branching sprays in spring.
£6

Cobaea pringlei

A hardy herbaceous perennial relative of the familiar cup-and-saucer vine, C.scandens. Having white flowers, it's not as spectacular as its tender purple-flowered relative but still a lovely thing. I grow it in a sunny spot on a well-drained but rich soil, with a thick strawy mulch in winter just to be on the safe side. It dies down completely in winter.

Once it gets going it's a big plant capable of covering quite a large area in a single season so make sure you put it somewhere where it can roam free. It tends to start late and flower late too so provide warmth and shelter.

Despite the bindweed-like roots it does not spread vigorously and can be slow to propagate. As a result I never have enough of these to satisfy demand so please enquire.
£12

Herbertia lahue

A gorgeous little summer flowering Iris relative producing attractively marked violet flowers on short stems just above the ground. Although this is widely distributed in the USA it’s of doubtful hardiness and may need protection, but I recommend trying it in short turf – a technique that works remarkably well with many ‘tender’ bulbs

£6

Sida hermaphrodita

A tall leafy mallow with clouds of small pure white hibiscus flowers.

An easy hardy prairie perennial for any good soil

£8

Dichroa febrifuga

An attractive but tender evergreen woodland shrub with conspicuous heads of pink (or on lime-free soils, blue) star-shaped flowers followed by metallic vivid blue berries - overall very like Hydrangea macrophylla but without the sterile florets.

Apparently most of the plants in cultivation are hybrids between the true Dichroa and Hydrangea macrophylla, but none of the Hydrangea's cold tolerance seems to have found its way into the progeny. Strictly speaking should probably be classified in Hydrangea

Sadly not hardy enough for most UK gardens but worth a try in very mild sheltered sites and will regenerate from the base if cut down by frost - probably not soon enough to flower though. Otherwise a splendid plant for a cool greenhouse
£16

Silphium

A great genus close to the sunflowers that, although often very tall, produce a very compact rootstock and are best displayed among low-growing plants.

Silphium terebinthinaceum

This and S.laciniatum produce among the biggest, most luxuriant leaves of any hardy border perennial.

In this case they are huge and heart-shaped (like a Colocasia or Anthurium?) to 12ins across.

The flower stem is more slender and smooth than laciniatum.
£9

Silphium simpsonii

A smaller species with simple green leaves and golden flowers
£8

Silphium laciniatum

Leaves to 2ft long and impressively lobed, like some huge tropical fern. The stiff bristly upright flower stem is a bonus.

Easy in any fertile, retentive soil, and best at the front of the border where its stature can be appreciated. Perfect for prairie-style plantings.
£9

Mirabilis longiflora

A glorious night-scented species - the fragrance redolent of tropical evenings. (The very long-tubed white flowers are typical of plants pollinated by moths.) A low spreading perennial with rather sticky green foliage.

I originally assumed it would need a dry winter but it is hardy and vigorous in the border at the nursery. In colder, wetter climates it would also be fabulous in a big terracotta pot on the patio, right next to where you sit of an evening, where you can enjoy the scent with your prosecco and BBQ.
£8

Iochroma australe

A vigorous and tough South American shrub with nodding funnel shaped flowers in various shades of purple and also white.

Seems remarkably hardy in many parts of the UK, given a sheltered sunny situation and can make a very big vigorous shrub against a warm wall. Hard pruning after flowering is recommended.

This has had quite a few scientific names including Acnistus and Dunalia.
Please let me know which colour you'd like
£15

Sandersonia aurantiaca

An exquisite diminutive relative of Gloriosa with delicate orange or yellow lantern-shaped flowers in summer on slender semi-climbing stems.

From southern Africa, this is very nearly hardy given a dry winter and a warm sheltered spot. Otherwise an easy pot plant for a frost-free greenhouse.
£10

More Euonymus

Euonymus occidentalis

A modestly sized species with rich red/maroon flowers and good quality deciduous foliage. The fruits are pink capsules with orange seeds.

I've been very impressed with the quality of this American species - perfect for mixed woodland plantings.
£16

Euonymus obovatus

Another North American species - this time a low and creeping, with pale greenish pink flowers followed by pink warty capsules opening to reveal orange seeds
£10

Euonymus clivicola rongchuensis HIRD 103

A very slender graceful evergreen Asian species related to cornutus with delicate brownish flowers giving way to strange narrow lobed fruits holding the usual orange seeds.

An easy and fairly vigorous woodland species
£15

Lindelofia anchusoides

Or L.longiflora - the naming of this plant seems very confused. Anyway, an unaccountably little grown Cynoglossum-like plant with intense azure flowers over dense clumps of leaves. Not at all coarse

Hardy and easy in a sunny well-drained place

£8

Spiraea hayatana

A pleasing medium-sized species with strongly red tinged new growth and heads of white flowers tinged pink at the centre in June.

Like most Spiraea it is easy and hardy.
£12