Strange name for this Camellia. The flowers are decidedly fresh pink, and vivid but not burgundy. It could refer to the new growth which arrives with a raspberry tints. Either way it is one of the best Sasanquas I have grown. A dense upright shrub with smaller upturned deep green foliage. To 8′ x 6′ in 7 years . In October to December a continuous display of vivid double pink flowers. They are about 2.5″ wide and profuse. They open over several months and if the open flowers are spoiled by a freeze this will cause a rapid re-bloom with a thaw. Full sun, including hot locations to part shade. Less flowers and lankier growth in more shade. Water regularly for the first several years and then it can get through summer with 2 – 3 deep soaks. Mulch with bark. Not as good a candidate for espalier as this cultivar is dense and somewhat tear drop shaped and wide. Rich soil with mulch for the first several years. Excellent screen or hedge. Takes pruning well, which should be done after flowering has ended and into spring. Very dependable variety with weather resistant flowers – a good performer in our climate. Long lived, cold hardy to near 0ºF.
Foliage Season: Evergreen
Exquisite October to December blooming Sasanqua Camellia with fully double, large flowers for a Sasanqua, 3″ of rich pink. It is a seedling of a more famous cultivar C. s. ‘Showe No Sake’ . To me this seedling is a deeper and richer pink. The substantial flowers have great weather resisitance and the large flowers are prolifiic. A handsome shrub with slightly smaller deep green foliage. Moderately fast growing evergreen shrub for FULL SUN to very light shade. Sasanqua Camellias love full, hot sun. They will grow in shade as well but flowering is much less profuse. This gorgeous shrub is a great candidate for training as an espalier. The large double flowers are quite a display on a single branch. Rich soil with regular summer water to establish, then about once every two weeks to a month after several years. Summer water speeds growth. To 7′ x 7′ in 8 years. Attractive as a large, fall blooming evergreen hedge. Very easy to grow Sasanqua Camellia with exceptional flowers. Excellent hardiness to cold. If blooms are frozen it will also spur this shrub to open flowers like crazy when a thaw arrives. Very long lived.
Fascinating and cold hardy Bromeliad relative from the cooler and wetter parts of Chile. It forms large 2′ wide grassy rosettes of leaves, After a year each large rosette blooms in the middle and the results are spectacular. The center of the rosette hosts a dozens of turquoise blue flowers set tightly together. At the same time the innermost leaves become a brilliant scarlet red. This happens in our climate in late spring to summer but the red leaves remain showy long after the flowers are spent. Excellent plant for a rock garden in gritty soil with regular irrigation. In containers it excels as well as long as its very large-at least 20″ across. REGULAR irrigation through the summer, let it dry between watering. Full sun with protection during the hottest parts of the day. The first winter in the ground cover it with a cardboard box if arctic air – sub 20ºF, threatens. Remove with a thaw. Excellent tilted into rock walls and with regular irrigation it will adhere to the small areas of soil. After blooming each rosette dies and is replaced by new pups, remove the spent rosettes with a quick brush of your hand, they will detach with a light tug. Very easy and hardy greenhouse plant. Protect containerized plants from prolonged temps below 20ºF. Limited quantities.
A hybrid between two southern California shrubby Salvias has yielded an amazing plant for our gardens. The parents of this hybrid are S. clevelandii ‘Alpine’ x S. pachyphylla and it continues the amazing foliage fragrance of Salvia clevelandii and the deep blue flowers in purple bracts echo pachyphylla. A shrub/ sub shrub for the very warmest parts of the garden. Against a south or west facing aspect. This Salvias parents come from poor, mineral soils and eventually the pale blue foliage builds to a 30″ x 4′ evergreen shrub. It loses some leaves in harsh winters . In mid to late summer upright stems support whorls that emit striking long deep blue flowers, these are held in a dark purple calyx – the each whorl is dark purple and showy before and after bloom as well. Takes the hottest locations and appreciates it. Strategically placed among large boulder that radiate heat is also useful as is in Hell strips where heat builds. The stems elongate in bloom up to 2′ and are lined with mutiple whorls. Perhaps no animal loves this sage or Salvias in general more than hummingbirds. And the radiant blue tubular flowers are perched just for them. Long blooming aromatic drought adapted sub-shrub. Good drainage, full sun, and regular water to establish, let it dry between watering during summer. Mix with Manzanita, Epilobium – Zauschneria, Grevilleas. Do not cut back until new growth begins in mid spring. Beautiful in bloom. Excellent with a gravel mulch and on south facing slopes. Protect from prolonged temperatures below 15ºF, cover with a cardboard box or a tarpaulin. Naturally drought adapted.
We love cold hardy plants in the Protea family, not only do they have exotic flowers, they can sport foliage that is just as interesting , Hakea nodosa is another shrubby Hakea that is known as yellow Hakea. Multiple fine stems emerge from the ground and are staunchly vertical. They have few side branches and each stem is clad in slightly swollen blue phyllodes, these are not prickly and are about 1 cm long. In spring, very small yellow flowers crowd the leaf axils on older wood.- not conspicuous but hummingbirds find them. An upright small shrub to about 6′ tall and 2′ wide. Pollinated flowers produce large seed pods that can cause the stems to nod, not sure if this is what the specific name refers to. Moderately fast growing in native, un-amended soil that drains, including clay soils that dry in summer. Water to establish then extremely tolerant of drought. A wonderful textural evergreen that we love at Xera. An excellent companion to Grevilleas, Ceanothus, Halimium, Arctostaphylos.. Fulll sun to very very light shade. This form has been cold hardy below 10ºF in western Oregon with a probable lowest temperature around 5ºF. Native to areas of South Australia into Tasmania. Ours are grown from high elevation, cold hardy seed from Tasmania. Lovely soft, rare shrub . Pronounced HAY- kee -uh. But with an Australian accent. Well adapted to the Oregon coast and can be cultivated on sand. Deer resistant, but protect newly installed plants from rabbits. Very easy to grow, a natural with ornamental grasses and large hardy succulents, Cactus, Agaves. Not prickly but rather soft.
We selected this Abutilon from a seed batch eons ago and it still holds up as one of the best. Upright growing sub-shrub to 6′ tall in a season. Profuse bloomer produing ginger / parchment colored pendant flowers from a contrasting russet/ beige calyx. This incredibly unique flower color mixes with a huge range of hues. It can even hold its place with bright red flowers. Everblooming, rich soil, and regular water with several handfuls of organic fertilizer scratched around the base of the plant- 2, 3 times per growing season. Surprisingly cold hardy its spring appearance would not lead you to believe that. In a normal winterF – above 15º, it will likely freeze back by 2/3rd below that it will die to the ground. Spring recovery is a combination of all organic ferilzer and water and warmth. Seemingly from dead sticks life will emerge and if you are consistent with water recovery and bloom is fast , usually in bloom by June and continuing until frost. Excellent container plant and it may act as a seasonal plant that way. Loved by hummingbirds and butterflies. A wonderful, blendable, sophisticated flower color. Mulch for its first winter to protect the base. Full sun to part shade. Naturally fine branching with large arrow-shaped mid green leaves. Protected location. 3′ x 4′ in a season.
Xera Plants Introduction
A form of evergreen Huckleberry that is found on the north and central Oregon coast. The leaves are slightly longer and curve a bit and have a fine but noticeable serration. This is a slightly bolder form that is very handsome and somewhat formal in appearance from the species. Forms a shrub with large canes that grow in earnest and then arch.. White flowers are slightly larger than normal and appear in spring form slightly larger than normal black sweet fruit, about the size of a caper. Plant more than one shrub to increase pollination and fruit set. Full sun to full shade in humus rich, highly organic soil . Mulch for the first several years. Irrigate to establish for the first year or two then it should have a large enough rootball to resist summer drought. Otherwise light summer irrigation speeds growth. New growth is salmon orange and turns to shades of yellow before settling to dark green. Very pretty native shrub that demands more irrigation and mulch in full sun. Makes a wonderful informal hedge in time. This form has a pronounced arching shape. Excellent hedge material as this is cutting propagated and will maintain a uniform habit. Wonderful form from the northern Oregon coast. To 8′ x 8′ in 10 years. Prune if needed in Autumn. Oregon native plant.
Xera Plants Introduction
A fantastic, tough and exotic looking evergreen (conifer) that is striking and easy to grow. To 4′ in 10 years, a slow growing shrub that is often as wide as it is tall. The scale leaves are deep glossy green liberally splashed with cream. The large leaflets protrude from a single trunk and is layered like a gigantic moss. The foliage is glossy on the surface and dull beneath. Wonderful specimen or even small hedge. Scaled very well for large rock gardens. This is a very rare form of this enchanting species native to Asia. Full sun and water to establish, let it dry between irrigating, then in a year or two it can survive on natural rainfall alone. Very cold hardy and takes the subfreezing wind from the east with no damage. Excellent in the Columbia River Gorge. Not bothered by deer,and likely not bothered by rabbits, but we are not 100% sure, but its worth a try. Good appearance year round.
Rough leaf Aster or also referred to as False Aster. The description of a rough leaf is apt and you can immediately identify this inhabitant of dry woods throughout western Oregon and north more sporadically into Western Washington by a rub of the scratchy leaf. It even makes an appearance in the Ochoco Mountains of Central Oregon. My experience with this sprawling, late blooming perennial was as an under story component of black and White Oak woodland in the southern Willamette Valley. At higher elevations it can be found in Fir/Pine woodlands. It is a profuse follower of fires and will quickly occupy recently opened space. Simple white minimalist daisy blooms appear in large clusters from August to October. An established plant is incredibly drought adapted as long as it is out of full sun. The scratchy leaves become smaller near the flower truss . To about 2′ tall but decumbent (trailing) in most circumstances, Adaptable to clay soils that dry in summer. An excellent late season pollinator plant for shade/dry shade. Water regularly the first season in sightly enriched soil in part shade to high overhead shade . Not the showiest perennial but it does its job well. Hardy perennial . Does not compete well with invasive grasses -protect. Best with clumping native grasses primarily California Fescue Festuca californica . Expect this semi-evergreen to flop and accomodate that- 2′ x 2′ but never full. Very easy to grow. Plant with Symphyotrichum hallii Hall’s Aster’ and and Achillea millefolium ‘Willamette Gray’ in a dry understory. Accepts regular summer irrigation as well. Oregon native plant
The all time record breaking heat of June 2021 when Portland reached 108ºF, 112ºF, 116ºF on three consecutive days ended up eclipsing the old all time record by an amazing 9ºF- A heatwave that is considered to be one of the most extreme heatwaves ever recorded and the most severe ever to be centered north of the 45º latitude. Many plants were fried outright and the damage lasted for months. It also killed my large Grevillea miqueliana var. moroka- a true alpine shrub it had no adaptation to those extremes. Grevilleas bloom heavily on the interior of the shrub, though not very noticeable it drops a continuous pile of seeds at the crown. So I was not surprised when three seedlings popped up in the following autumn where the parent had perished.. We experienced a normal winter 17ºF and two of the seedlings survived. They have steadily grown and in 2024 they experienced 13ºF and 50 mph winds during a flash freeze in January. The small 2′ seedlings had a little leaf burn but survived. One of the seedling is an exact replica of its seed parent. The other has a conspicuously different very upright almost fastigiate habit . It also possesses much smaller nearly round leaves. Its a very different look for this species. The chains of pendant flowers emerge light red and change to orange and yellow as the flowers yawn open. They appear from Nov. – June in a massive display on the outside. The interior flowers are always present blooming and dropping seed. Based on its growth so far which has been vigorous it should be an upright shrub to 6′ tall and 3′ wide- estimate. Full sun in a protected warm location with average, un improved native soil. Do not add compost. Best on a slope where water never pools. Water 2 x per week the first season and let the soil dry between irrigation. Compact dense habit and smaller foliage makes the flowers more conspicuous. Loved by hummingbirds. Should have excellent adaptation to the Oregon coast and can be grown in sandy soils. In subsequent summers its best to give it a good soak once a month based on aridity. Pretty shrub. Protect with a cardboard box the first winter in the ground if arctic air , sub 20ºF threatens. Remove the box with the thaw.
Xera Plants Introduction
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