Dendropanax trifidus

Dendropanax trifidus

Underused cold hardy evergreen tree that has fascinating and handsome foliage and tolerates full sun to total shade as well as summer drought. Umbrella shaped tree with glossy large triple lobed leaves that become entire on adult foliage. Slow growing to 17′ tall and half as wide. Attractive pale tan bark. Very tough and adaptable small tree. Green flowers in summer become black berries by autumn but are almost always stripped by birds. Great branching structure and form in time. Very cold hardy and deer resistant. Flowers attract bees and beneficial wasps. Rare but stately evergreen tree. A member of the Aralia family from SW China. Moderately fast growing with supplemental summer water. Excellent small evergreen tree for courtyards.

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Cyclamen hederifolium 'Xera's Silver'

Cyclamen hederifolium ‘Xera’s Silver’

Our seed strain of the fall blooming ivy leaved Cyclamen. After 15 years we’ve separated the best all silver leaf forms. Most have white or light pink flowers that appear from late summer through mid-autumn. In time the corms become enormous and they will seed with a large majority revealing silver or heavily silver marked leaves. Great plant for competition with dry tree roots or anywhere that is dust dry in summer. Leaves appear after blossoms and are showy all winter before going spring/summer dormant. Deer resistant. Excellently adapted to our climate. Mediterranean.

Xera Plants Introduction. 

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Cyclamen coum

Winter Cyclamen is a fantastic adaptable bulb that will form impressive colonies in time. The fabulous leaves are marked with silver and deep green designs. This form is known as the ‘Christmas Tree’ for its shape on the rounded leaves. From January to March small nodding purple/pink flowers form groups in concert with the foliage. A tonic for winter. To just 4″ tall in bloom and each corm gets bigger and bigger as years pass. Ants spread the seeds far and wide and new plants appear quite a distance a way. If you begin with a fancy leaved variety chances are most of your seedlings will mimic the parent. Part shade to shade in rich, well drained soil. Goes dormant and can tolerate completely dry conditions in summer. Excellent companion for winter Crocus, Hellebores, Snow drops.

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Cupressus sempervirens 'Swane's Golden'

Cupressus sempervirens ‘Swane’s Golden’

The golden form of Italian Cypress which is a very useful plant for bright vertical effects in gardens. Fast growing fastigiate tree to 18′ tall and just 18″ wide. Full sun and average to poor soil with little to no summer water. If it becomes disheveled in ice or snow simply give it a good hair cut and a denser form will emerge. You may also cut the top to limit size and a new vertical leader will quickly form. Deer resistant. Avoid overly enriched soil and shade or growth will be rank and unkempt. Grows about 2′-3′ in an average year.

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Coronilla glauca var. valentina

Coronilla glauca var. valentina

Demure winter blooming shrub that produces whorls of pea shaped flowers from January to March and sporadically through the rest of the year. The divided leaves are edged in cream making a great backdrop to the soft yellow fragrant flowers. Open lax habit to 3′ tall and 4′ wide for a protected location in full sun to light shade. Great winter container plant and thrives in conservatories where it will bloom non stop. Well drained soil  with light summer water. Site out of subfreezing winds- a west or south aspect.

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Clematis cirrhosa 'Wisley Cream'

Clematis cirrhosa ‘Wisley Cream’

Winter doesn’t end the Clematis season and this variety delights from November to February with masses of small cup shaped cream flowers. A very vigorous evergreen vine that prefers part shade to full sun and a large support system. To 15′ tall very quickly. Rich to average well drained soil. Visited by Anna’s hummingbirds. The delicate appearance of this vine belies its vigor. Nice looking glossy foliage. Flowers are cold hardy into the low 20’s and if open flowers are frozen more buds will be waiting for milder weather. in summer this plant goes into a kind of drought dormancy. No water is necessary, the leaves droop and may drop. This is totally normal. This winter growing vine will wake up quickly with the first cool rains. Excellent up a large tree or along a pergola. It may be pruned hard in late summer. Blooms on both old and new wood. Mediterranean.

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Cistus x crispatus 'Warley Rose'

Cistus x crispatus ‘Warley Rose’

A fantastic low growing Rockrose with superior pink/purple (Pinkle?) flowers for an extended period in May-July. To just 18″ tall it spreads to 3′ wide in average to enriched soil in full sun. The crinkled sage green foliage emits a sweet perfume, especially if you stick your nose right up to it- but mostly it is noticeable on warm days. Its spicy and sweet and adds to the good feelings this very cold hardy selection gives gardeners. One of the last plants to be marauded by deer it makes a great border shrub for rural areas as well. Drought adapted when established, give it one or two good soaks in summer to keep it fresh. Well scaled plant that seldom requires pruning. This selection has survived 0ºF with minor leaf burn and a full recovery by bloom time. Flowers that each last one day come in a weeks long promenade. Rock gardens, hells strips.

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Camellia x lutchuensis ‘Cinnamon Cindy’

She’s a great girl this Cindy. Small semi-double flowers open blush and change to sugar white. Intimately, they have the spicy sweet fragrance of cinnamon – especially on the warmest winter days. A profuse bloomer that grows as an open small tree in time. The handsome deep green semi-glossy foliage is good looking at all times. Before the flowers discolor they drop cleanly to the ground. Blooms late December to March. To 6′ tall and 3′ wide in 5 years. Average to rich, well drained soil with light, consistent summer moisture. Easy to grow wonderful fragrant reward of winter.

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Callistemon (Melaleuca) pityoides ‘Mt. Kosckuisko’

Dwarf alpine Bottlebrush that we like most as a clipped hedge. Dense rounded shrub composed of fine olive green needles. To 3′ x 3′ in time. Full sun and very little water when established. It can also tolerate regular summer irrigation. Sporadically, in late spring starry cream colored bottlebrush flowers appear. Extremely hardy to cold and very deer resistant evergreen. Alpine Australia. This durable shrub with a fine texture makes a fantastic clipped hedge. It can be trained as one solid shrub or separated into spheres. Pruning is done just once a year in early summer. This can sacrifice blooms but the effect is striking for a small cold hardy, drought tolerant, low prune hedge. In time it blooms more heavily. Give it a few years. The starry white stamens are tipped in yellow for a light yellow overall color. Highly deer resistant shrub. Great year round appearance.

 

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Callistemon (Melaleuca) pityoides ‘Wetland’s Challenged Mutant’

A great introduction from the Sequim, WA nursery Desert Northwest. Incredibly showy in bloom this easy to grow shrub produces 4″ long 1″ thick  soft yellow colored sweetly scented brushes in late spring and early summer. Moderately fast growing shrub to 7′ tall and 3′ wide in 6 years. The pretty, fine foliage is handsome ochre green and contrasts beautifully with the light taupe colored bark.This is an exceptional shrub out of bloom as well and has a very upright, tidy habit for this genus. From a distance a mature shrub appears like a Podocarpus. Full sun and average to rich soil with light but consistent summer water. Drought adapted. Considering the size of the brushes this is an exceptionally hardy Callistemon taking 5ºF when established. If there is any confusion about which species this appears to be- the foliage is unlike C. pityoides but the large brushes are dense and fragrant just like that species. A hybrid is likely. This very upright shrub would make a fantastic informal hedge/screen with minimal pruning. Great shrub. Pollinated at night by moths who will literally glue themselves to the brushes for hours. Fascinating shrub.

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