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Pretty cool and needless to say, rare rhizomatous evergreen perennial taxonomically wandering among genera from Tupistra to Campylandra to currently Rohdea which we have written in pencil. This has proven nicely hardy here in the PNW making a statement with elegant narrow green leaves with a muted amber central stripe. Flowers curiously interesting. Sure, this could be damning by faint praise using classic nursery merchandising deflection and obfuscation but the flowers are curious. And interesting. This is from a Quarry Hill Botanic Garden collection which they shared with us. We saw this species growing among bamboo and mixed shrubs on the slopes of Luoji Shan in Sichuan and it was like unexpectedly running into a friend, a brohdea, so to speak.

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Rosa sericea subsp. omeiensis f. pteracantha was the name when we collected this stunning form of the Winged Rose in 1997 in Yunnan.  Perhaps the best form of this variable species  (horticulturally, we like the useful distinctions of physiology such as f. pteracantha denoting the larger prickles, botany-speak for rose thorns) which has very large blood-red prickles - sometimes literally blood red if admirers are too closely ardent. These glow like stained glass when backlit and are much larger than the form commonly circulated in cultivation. Other differences are the single white flowers are larger and the narrowly flask-shaped orange hips are shaped different as well.  This is very robust and a 15 year old plant is 10'x 15'+ in our hedgerow bed.  The thorns turn shades of gray-brown with age and when the wind blows, they chatter against each other like the teeth of unseen creatures at night when you are lost somewhere you shouldn't be.  We liked it so much we gave it the name 'Red Menace'.  These are seedlings so technically we can't call it Red Menace but they come true and they don't root or graft well so Red Menace it is!  If the size is intimidating, many gardeners coppice the species, cutting large plants back hard in early spring to force a thicket of vigorous new growth sporting flamboyant prickles.

We have not named many plants despite many opportunities to do so but this is one we are fairly puffed up about. We love Roscoea for their durability in the garden and their exotic, almost orchid-like flowers. We were pleased to offer the famed red-flowered Roscoea purpurea f. rubra known as 'Red Gurkha' for the first time in the US whose flowers are indeed luscious and our only quibble is that the plant is a bit short. We wanted to get the vibrant red tones of Red Gurkha carried on into a sizable flower on a taller plant with ideally some color to the foliage. We cranked up the in-house hybridizing using a number of parents and one cross in particular showed excellent promise.

The next year saw us focus on replicating that cross with good success and the resultant seedlings were lined out in our trial bed two years later. We were able to judge that bed with a dispassionate and calculating eye when every plant came into flower and the resultant evaluation received a positive check mark on the new category we had to create of Hell, Yeah!!! Vigorous plants with foliage variously shaded in coppery hues and flowers that defy easy description. The flowers in mid to late summer bewitch with prism jewel tones of ruby and amethyst which shimmer with an entrancing depth of color. This is a seedling group and not clonal so there is some small variation but pretty darned consistent. We hope to sell enough to defray chiropractic shoulder treatment from repetitive injuries stemming from patting ourselves on the back.

A behemoth of an introduction from our friends at Celestial Dreams Gardens. Stoutly stocky with an implacable confidence that only comes from knowing you are the apex Roscoea in our large school of species and cultivars. Thick stems hold big white flowers whose beauty fills the mind, preventing any ear-worm memory of the 'Jaws' music to intrude.

The Harvington name comes attached to excellent British cultivars of a variety of plants most notably Hellebores and refers to those plants developed in the village of Harvington by nurserymen Hugh Nunn. We got these via John Massey of Ashwood nurseries, another name of which there is little doubt when it comes to quality. All this to say this is an excellent Roscoea selection with deeply purple flowers centered by a white spot like a star in the night sky. Though you might be better off with a hand lens rather than a telescope for this sort of stargazing.

We sourced this from Edrom nursery in Scotland amidst our quest to attain Roscoea world dominance. Large soft yellow flowers sub in for the usual dark purple, which in all honesty pairs better with the rosy blush of the peduncle, shame that's one letter too many for Scrabble excellence but learning for the sake of learning I guess.