January 31, 2021 by IG
Wish List Plants
‘Tis the season for filling up our on-line shopping carts with seeds and plants. I struggle with this every year. There are just so many beautiful plants I want. While some people may ignore the numerous colorful delights of the English garden in favor of “sensible” vegetable seeds, window sill sized succulents, or a single specimen plant, I have no such restraint. Yet, even with my obsessive Internet searches (it’s fine, it’s not a problem), there are plants I haven’t been able to source.
One of these plants is a clematis I fell in love with at Wollerton Old Hall Garden. Clematis ‘Mary Rose’ has very full double purple flowers on graceful vines and I can’t find a single supplier for it in the US.
Another plant I’ve long coveted is a collarette dahlia called ‘Appleblossom.’ I was finally able to order this hot potato of a tuber last fall before it sold out. I like just about any flower with the name Appleblossom, descriptive of the soft pink and yellow blending into white. In fact, I’ve already got ‘Maverick Appleblossom’ Pelargonium and Antirrhinum ‘Twinny Appleblossom’ in my seed pile collection.
Knowing that I’m not the only one with an insatiable plant appetite, I asked other Garden Revival members for examples of plants they have on their wish lists. Here’s what they said:
Xerosicyos danguyi
I first saw it in a tiny store in NYC and I regretted not getting it. It’s a rare plant that looks like a silver dollar, flat and smooth leaves on a vining plant.
Oxalis Triangularis
I previously had this plant for eight years but it slowly died due to overwatering and root rot, not dormant. DEAD. So, I need a replacement for it.
Nepenthe ‘Maxima’ or ‘Miranda’
I want a nepenthe that will be inside during winter, but outside during summer. Frucht suggested the type that’s best for a beginner in the care of neps.
— Ilbloccocreati
Stachys byzantina (Lambs Ear)
It is fuzzy and adorable, I am obsessed with finding it but can’t find it in any garden centre. Why? It literally looks like…lambs…ears…Who wouldn’t want that!
— Den
Dioscorea elephantipes
One plant I wish to have is another Dioscorea elephantipes. I currently own one and it is a very fascinating plant to keep. The vines grow quickly and vigorously, with large heart shaped leaves that have a bluish tinge. The caudex is much slower, but is gaining in width and developing its characteristic deep fissures. However, my reason for wanting another isn’t only because I enjoy these plants so much. D. elephantipes is dioecious, so each individual plant can only produce male or female flowers. Without a mate, my plant can not reproduce as cuttings and divisions don’t work on the species. I hope to get both male and female plants to maturity so that I can produce my own seedlings of these slow growing and uncommon plants.
— Rat Dictator
Aeonium ‘Kiwi’
One of the top plants on my wishlist is an Aeonium ‘Kiwi’. I used to have a very pretty one which I dubbed “Kiwi.” Though, after having it for a couple weeks it eventually croaked. I later learned it was the lack of light that led to its demise. It would be great fun to have another in the near future.
— Bubbles
Amelanchier alnifolia
Amelanchier alnifolia is also known as “Saskatoon Berry” or “Service berry” in some places. I grew up eating these, they grow wild on my parents’ and grandparents’ properties. We used them for everything, pancakes (in them and as syrup) muffins, dried as a snack…we’d eat them dried off the bushes in the woods even. They don’t have a commercial presence, and I just miss them terribly. The shrubs are heavily productive and I’d love to start introducing others to them via farmers markets or something one day.
I’ve moved down from far Northern Alberta to WA state and they’re supposed to be native/local…but I never see them. Blackberries have killed them off, I suspect.
— TimmaDoodle
Hibiscus sabdariffa
My dream plant is roselle, which is a type of hibiscus. I learned about it while watching the Self Sufficient Me YouTube channel. The flower has a fleshy calyx which can be dried and used in foods and drinks.
I love hibiscus tea and the Mexican drink “Jamaica”, which is also made from hibiscus, so I decided I wanted to grow it. I’ve recently been able to source three different types of roselle and plan to start the seeds soon!
— Alysylum
Castanea spp.
A blight-resistant chestnut tree, because I want to help plant and take care of a network of chestnut trees large enough to serve as a substantial food supply for the whole region, and mature chestnut trees can yield 60-100kg of nuts per tree per year. there’s a big effort to plant millions of chestnuts that’s just getting started: https://buildsoil.net/. My “more than one plant” answer is literally a whole food forest.
— Aspen
Heptacodium miconioides ‘Temple of Bloom’
The Temple of Bloom Heptacodium is a very versatile plant. It can be trained into a bush, or even a small sized multi-trunk tree. This incredible plant, which I unfortunately do not have yet, has interest invested in all four seasons. In the summer time there are beautiful deep green glossy leaves, while in August it puts on it’s wonderful show of showy white five-petaled flowers with a sweet smelling scent. Not too long after the flowers die and fall off another beautiful flush of color is introduced in the form of calyces. A beautiful pinky red covers the tree where the past white blooms resided, kind of resembling a Crape Myrtle. Finally in winter, when everything is not as bright and fun for some, this small tree provides much needed excitement in the form of peeling bark. The bark peels back in the winter time which instead gives us texture and something to look forward to when everything is all done. Finally this absolutely wonderful plant not just provides beauty but attracts beneficial pollinators to your garden, which is always a plus.
— Admiral Raddish
Hypericum perforatum
One of my wishlist plants would be St. John’s Wort, an easy perennial to grow that doesn’t need pruning and has no serious pest or disease problems. It spreads by rhizomes like mint and also self seeds. It has yellow star-shaped flowers that bloom in the summer. I also want to grow this plant because I’ve used the pills to combat my anxiety, both social and general and believe it can help other people deal with mental health issues. My other wish list plant would be any variety of opuntia I’ve never seen before.
— PutridYeast
What plants are on your wish lists? Let us know in the chat.