EXOTICS

Tender plants for those wanting to try something different. Some of these plants will survive outdoors in protected sites.

All plants offered are grown at the nursery and details can be given with regard to their cultivation requirements.

Not available mail order.

Agapanthus comptonii
Evergreen strap-like leaves and beautiful pale blue flowers. Best in a terracotta pot as will require dry conditions in winter (cold greenhouse or porch). Plants flower best when rootbound. Height to 1m.

Agave americana
Spiny thick-leaved succulent. Happy in terracotta pot. Overwinter in cold greenhouse or porch where it can be kept dry. Has potential to get very big!

Agave parryi
As above, but smaller and hardier. Will still need dry conditions in winter. Can flower quite freely when mature. Height 50cm. Spread to 1m.

Canna indica –Indian Shot
Bold green leaves and small bright yellow and red flowers. Requires tender care over winter. This far north it is best to overwinter in a cool room as for pelargoniums, keeping compost quite dry. In spring water and feed well once weather warms up. Needs sun and a sheltered spot. Feed generously. Happy in a large pot. Good conservatory plant. Height 1 – 1.5m.

Also offered Canna altensteinii (apple green leaves and apricot flowers) and Canna warscewiczii (dark purple flushed leaves and red flowers).

Cordyline australis – New Zealand cabbage palm
Striking evergreen perennial with tough strap-like leaves. When older is extremely hardy, but in its early years needs protection from winter wet. Can be grown in a pot or planted out in a sheltered site. Likes full sun and rich well-drained soil, tolerates wind and salt but avoid excessive wet entering the crown during the winter. Can be cut down once a trunk has formed and it will then send out numerous crowns! Height – as a small tree.

Cordyline australis var. purpurea – New Zealand cabbage palm
Half hardy perennial with strap-like purple-brown leaves. Best grown in a container and given shelter from winter wet in a cold greenhouse. Likes full sun and a sheltered position. Height will be restricted by the container but if potted on regularly can become very impressive.

Dahlia 'Bishop's Children'
Dark foliage and bright flowers in a mix of colours. Excellent for pots and bedding. Lift tubers after first frost and store in a dry frost-free place. Re-pot in spring as shoots begin to show on tubers. Height to 90cm.

Dahlia 'Diablo'
Dark foliage and bright double flowers in a mix of colours. Excellent for pots and bedding. Cultivate as above. Height to 50cm.

Dicksonia antarctica – Australian tree fern
Spore raised young ferns for indoor plants or outdoor patio plants during summer. Long fronds emerge from stem thickly covered in ginger hairs. Needs shade and moist compost. Maintain humidity around plant, especially when outside, by placing near water. Requires overwintering inside. Cut old fronds back to stem.

Eccremocarpus scaber – Chilean glory vine
Vigorous climber with finely divided ferny foliage. A profusion of small tubular flowers borne during summer. Colours available are red, orange or yellow. Climbs by means of tendrils, these are tenacious once established but in windy sites may need help to initially cling on. In sheltered areas on free-draining soils it may be hardy. Otherwise grow in a container, cut down, and put under glass during cold, wet weather, keeping compost quite dry.

Fatsia japonica (syn Aralia sieboldii)
Bold evergreen shrub with glossy deep green lobed leaves. Hardy but needs a sheltered site, tolerates sun or shade. Happy in large container and can be sheltered in cold greenhouse over winter. Height and spread, dictated by container, can reach 2m plus.

Musa basjoo – root hardy Banana
A herbaceous perennial that can be easily grown in a pot provided there is somewhere sheltered to put it during the winter. Large leaves from a stout stem. Adds WOW factor. Cut off leaves in winter, at first frosts, and store in greenhouse or shed – somewhere frost free. Keep compost dryish. In late spring bring out and fleece if temperature drops at night. Can be grown in a conservatory, if you have the room! If it gets too big cut back hard, new growth will come from suckers. Feed generously during the growing season. This banana is growing outdoors at the nursery.

Musa ensete – Abyssinian banana
As above but with bright green leaves with a red midrib on mature leaves. Seed grown. Good pot plant, later patio plant as it gets bigger!

Passiflora caerulea- Blue passion flower
Fast growing, evergreen, glossy leaved climber with white, blue-flushed flowers. Not as tender as is assumed – has flowered and survived outdoors in Golspie. Best given a sheltered position in full sun in fertile, well-drained soil. Happy in a generous pot and can therefore be given winter protection in cold areas (tolerates being cut back reasonably hard). Can also be grown in sunny conservatory – jungle knife may be needed!

Passiflora caerulea 'Constance Elliot'
White flowered form of the above.

Phormium tenax – New Zealand flax
Sturdy, architectural, clumps of broad strap like leaves. Enjoys sun and reasonable soil in a sheltered site. Established plants will send up a tall flowerspike. Older plants are hardier than younger plants. Protect young plants during periods of intense cold and wet. Height and spread 2m.

Phormium tenax purpureum
Purple-leaved form of the above. Not as hardy. Can be grown in a generous container. Older plants will withstand colder conditions provided they are given a sheltered site.

Ricinus communis var. gibsonii – Castor oil plant. POISONOUS
Beloved of Victorians for bedding, this plant produces strong stems of dark red and large palmate leaves flushed bronze- red. Not hardy. Treat as an annual. Sun and generous feeding for an impressive result.

Salvia blepharophylla
Oval dark leaves on slender stems bearing brilliant scarlet flowers. Tender but easily grown in a pot or suckers potted on and overwintered in cold greenhouse. Enjoys sun. Height and spread 30cm.

Salvia involucrata
Shrubby, sturdy perennial with striking bright pink flowers freely borne at the end of strong stems. Hardy in sheltered sunny free-draining sites, given some protection during very cold, wet spells. Otherwise easily grown in a pot and overwintered under glass. (Cut back and keep compost fairly dry). Height and spread 1m.

Salvia lycoides x greggi
Bushy salvia with brilliant blue-purple flowers. May survive outdoors in sheltered well-drained sites otherwise grow in a container, and overwinter under glass, as above. Height and spread 50cm.

Salvia patens
Beautiful deep-blue flowers borne freely on strong stems bearing soft oval green leaves. Not fully hardy but can be grown in a pot and overwintered in a cold greenhouse provided compost allowed to dry out. Bring into growth with sparing applications of water once shoots appear in spring. Likes sun and a sheltered spot where you can admire the flowers. Height 60cm, spread 40cm.

Zantedeschia aethiopica 'Crowborough' - Arum lily
A plant for pond margins, can be grown in a pot in a saucer of water. Likes sun and sheltered site. Keep root bound to encourage flowering. White flowers in summer. Will die back in winter. Protect corms from frost either by covering with water or placing within a cold greenhouse. Height 60 - 80cm.

Last updated: 31 March, 2006