"New" Heirloom Plants
Showing 25–32 of 36 results
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Polemonium brandegeei Brandegee’ Jacobs-ladder, Yellow sky pilot Z 4-8
Hanging, tubular yellow, sometimes white blooms over frilly foliage, May-July
OUT OF STOCK
Hanging, tubular yellow, sometimes white blooms over frilly foliage, May-July
Size: 8” x 10”
Care: sun to part shade in very well-drained soil
Native: CO, NM, SD, UT, WY
Wildlife Value: attracts bees, butterflies & mothsCollected by Townshend Stith Brandegee in the ‘Valley of the Rio Grande, on the Los Pinos Trail’ c. 1870. Brandegee then sent it to Harvard botanist Asa Gray who identified and named it to honor its collector.
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Rudbeckia subtomentosa ‘Henry Eilers’ Z 4-8
These Rudbeckias tower above basal leaves on rigid, branching stems forming clumps of sun yellow petaled flowers surrounding a raised, brown dome of disc flowers. But instead of flat petals, the petals are rolled into narrow tubes, looking like many spokes of a wheel blooming from mid-summer into fall.
These Rudbeckias tower above basal leaves on rigid, branching stems forming clumps of sun yellow petaled flowers surrounding a raised, brown dome of disc flowers. But instead of flat petals, the petals are rolled into narrow tubes, looking like many spokes of a wheel blooming from mid-summer into fall.
Size: 3-5’ x 1-2’
Care: sun in moist well-drained soil
Wildlife Value: attracts butterflies, deer resistantHenry Eilers discovered this cultivar while scouting a southern Illinois prairie. Here’s his story.
Henry Eilers, born in 1934, long-time nurseryman, had introduced selections of different ornamental plants that he found growing at his nursery. But Rudbeckia subtomentosa ‘Henry Eilers’ is different. Henry worked tirelessly for decades to preserve Illinois plants and their diversity. In the early 1980’s while scouting a prairie remnant near Witt in Montgomery County IL he spied a small clump of uncommon Black-eyed susan. Instead of the usual broad, flat petals, this one has narrow, quilled petals. He dug it and replanted it at his nursery where it grew on. It still grows in his wildflower garden. He decided to name it Rudbeckia ‘Montgomery County.’ In the 1990’s Henry took it and other native wildflowers to a native plant sale at the Shaw Arboretum, Missouri Botanic Garden. He and another nurseryman, Larry Lowman exchanged a few plants, one being this Rudbeckia. Several years later he found it for sale in the Plant Delight’s Nursery catalog, renamed Rudbeckia ‘Henry Eilers.’ Over time the plant appeared in gardening magazines and mail order catalogs. It now grows in the entrance planting at the National Botanic Garden in Washington, at the Missouri Botanic Garden and the Brooklyn Botanic Garden. A nurseryman from the Check Republic told Henry he had been growing it! -
Sambucus canadensis syn. Sambucus nigra var. canadensis. Elderberry, American elderberry Z 3-9
In late spring to mid-summer lavish, fragrant flat-to dome-shaped clusters of flowers bloom above this arching, multi-stemmed shrub. Late summer into fall the multitude of flowers turn into purple-black, edible fruits, up to 2000 per cluster!
In late spring to mid-summer lavish, fragrant flat-to dome-shaped clusters of flowers bloom above this arching, multi-stemmed shrub. Late summer into fall the multitude of flowers turn into purple-black, edible fruits, up to 2000 per cluster!
Size: 5-12’ x spreading quickly by suckers 5-10’ Best to grow as hedge, along a roadside, fence-line or forest edge, not within garden. It can form thickets.
Care: sun to part shade in moist to well-drained soil
Native: Americas east of Rocky Mountains south to Bolivia. Wisconsin native
Wildlife Value: branches and leaves make nesting sites and give cover for birds. It is a source of pollen for numerous bees and other insects. Many birds (including, Pheasant, Bluebird, Cedar waxwing, Cardinal, Mockingbird and others) as well as some mammals eat the sweet, but slightly bitter, fruit.Collected before 1735. Native Americans made extensive use of this, Cherokee used it topically for boils, burn and infections and internally for rheumatism, fevers, a diuretic, dropsy, and of course ate the berries. Costanoan made its hollow twigs into pipes, flutes and shafts for arrows. Several Natives infused the flowers and foliage with hot water to make steam baths. And many natives ate it, boiled it, jammed it, and added the fruit to cakes. Today people eat them in jellies, jams, pancakes, pies and wine and make homeopathic medicine from it.
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Sanguinaria canadensis f. multiplex Double-flowered bloodroot Z 4-8
Snowballs of pure white open to dozens of petals atop unfolding, glaucous, grey-green mitten-shaped foliage in early spring. By late spring it recedes into the earth and goes dormant. Inside its roots are same red sap as in the single form. It is sterile and can only be propagated by division.
OUT OF STOCK
Ephemeral- Available for purchase in spring only
Snowballs of pure white open to dozens of petals atop unfolding, glaucous, grey-green mitten-shaped foliage in early spring. By late spring it recedes into the earth and goes dormant. Inside its roots are same red sap as in the single form. It is sterile and can only be propagated by division.
LIMITED QUANTITIES AVAILABLE, LIMIT OF 1 PER CUSTOMER PLEASE
Size: 6” x 12”
Care: part-shade to shade in moist well drained soil. Mark its location so you don’t forget in September and dig into it.
Native: mutation of native American single-form
Wildlife Value: deer resistant
Awards: Royal Horticultural Society named this one of the top plants of the last 200 years Award of Garden Merit; Great Plant Pick 2004Discovered by Guido von Webern growing in a clump of single Bloodroots in the 7 acre plot he recently purchased at the corner of North Main St and Turner Rd in Dayton OH in 1917.
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Scrophularia macrantha syn. Scrophularia coccinea Redbirds in a Tree, Mimbres figwort Z 5-10
This sub-shrub blooms from early summer until frost with white-lipped cherry-red, tubular flowers that look like a flock of inch-long, baby birds with open mouths waiting for food, each topping short stems along the branches. The margins of its oval green leaves are toothed.
This sub-shrub blooms from early summer until frost with white-lipped cherry-red, tubular flowers that look like a flock of inch-long, baby birds with open mouths waiting for food, each topping short stems along the branches. The margins of its oval green leaves are toothed.
Size: 2-4’ x 18”
Care: sun to part shade in well-drained to moist well-drained soil. Little to no fertilizer.
Native: Three mountain tops in southern New Mexico (high elevations make it hardy to cold regions)
Wildlife Value: Its nectar is one of the best feeders and attractors for hummingbirds. Pollen and nectar also attract butterflies and bees.
Awards: 2008 Plant Select WinnerFirst collected on the Mexican Boundary Expedition by Charles Wright (1811-1885) and John Bigelow (1804-1878), “at the base of a rocky ledge near the summit of a mountain . . .a truly handsome species.” Described by Asa Gray, Torrey, John ed. Report on the United States and Mexican boundary survey Vol. 2 p. 111 (1859)
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Scutellaria altissima Somerset skullcap Z 4-10
In early summer masses of upright stems bearing bi-colored, bluish-purple and white, snapdragon-like flowers, the hood being bluish-purple and the lower lip white. Flowers grow on one side of the spike. This will re-bloom if you cut the flowers.
In early summer masses of upright stems bearing bi-colored, bluish-purple and white, snapdragon-like flowers, the hood being bluish-purple and the lower lip white. Flowers grow on one side of the spike. This will re-bloom if you cut the flowers.
Size: 24-36” x 18-24”
Care: sun to part shade in moist well-drained to well-drained soil
Native: central & eastern Europe
Wildlife Value: pollen and nectar attracts bees and butterflies1st described and named in 1700 by Joseph Pitton Tournefort, French botanist.
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Scutellaria diffusa Turkish skullcap Z 5-10
Small snapdragonish violet flowers with white markings on two adjacent lower lips looking like an open book in summer along short stems. Flower clusters top tidy mounds of sage-colored, oval, hairy leaves.
OUT OF STOCK
Small snapdragonish violet flowers with white markings on two adjacent lower lips looking like an open book in summer along short stems. Flower clusters top tidy mounds of sage-colored, oval, hairy leaves.
Size: 4-6” x 12”
Care: sun in well-drained soil
Native: Turkey, Lebanon and Syria
Wildlife Value: deer resistantFirst published by Swiss botanist A.P.de Candolle in Prodr. 12: 421 (1848)
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Symphoricarpos albus Snowberry Z 3-7
Clustered spikes of tiny, bell-shaped, watermelon-pink buds open to blush-toned flowers in the leaf axils of arching stems in early to mid-summer. Flowers are followed by clustered spikes of round berries (drupes) that start pale green, ripen to clean snow white with a waxy skin by late summer looking like big pearls. Fruits remain on the leafless winter stems showing off until spring.
OUT OF STOCK
Clustered spikes of tiny, bell-shaped, watermelon-pink buds open to blush-toned flowers in the leaf axils of arching stems in early to mid-summer. Flowers are followed by clustered spikes of round berries (drupes) that start pale green, ripen to clean snow white with a waxy skin by late summer looking like big pearls. Fruits remain on the leafless winter stems showing off until spring.
Size: 3-6’ x 3-6’
Care: sun to part shade in moist well-drained to well-drained soil
Native: Novia Scotia to British Columbia south to New Mexico on the west, Virginia on the east, Wisconsin native
Wildlife Value: Deer resistant, flowers attract hummingbirds, numerous bee species and moths. The shrub is habitat for several bird species. The drupes provide food for Grouse, Pheasant, Prairie chicken, Quail, Robins, Cedar waxwing, and Grosbeak.Many Native Americans put the Snowberry to numerous uses. The largest number of tribes made preparations of different plant parts for skin such as a wash for injuries, burns, chapped skin, cuts, sores, “truthfulness” (Nitinaht of British Columbia), deodorant, itch, rash, sores and antiseptic. Next most common use, Natives remedied sore eyes. Several groups used it to counteract difficulty urinating for people and horses. Uses for Snowberry contradict one another. Several tribes considered eating the drupes as poison while others ate the drupes as food, an antidote to poisoning, and to “clean out” a new mother after giving birth.
**LISTED AS OUT OF STOCK BECAUSE WE DO NOT SHIP THIS ITEM. IT IS AVAILABLE FOR PURCHASE AT OUR RETAIL LOCATION.
