China

Yes indeed it is a hardy Begonia. Hardy if you plant it in the ground - it won't be happy with you if you let it freeze it in its pot. Good soil that retains moisture in shade to filtered light and everyone will be happy. Dormant in winter and coming back from tubers in early summer.

A collection from Asia from an area rarely visited by westerners. This rhizomatous species has leaves variably marked in pale patterns topside and varying shades of red beneath. Upright stems to 10"-18" with pink flowers. Hardiness unknown yet but the mantra of "grow until you can split it then try outside mulching like heck for winter" applies. Thinking maybe mellower Zone 8b.

One of the very best woodland plants from China. This Ranunculaceae Family memeber has evergreen rounded glossy leaves evoking some exotic wild ginger. The plant forms a tidy dense clump with lots of comparatively tall stems bristling with puffs of white flowers. Moist soil is best.

Young plants of a rare offering of this graceful woodland species from the borderlands of China and Vietnam. Upright plants to 10' that rarely branch with expected Schefflera - we mean Heptapleurum - green leaves. Umbels of black fruit in a raceme. Hardiness unknown but let's start with not very. A Far Reaches Botanical Conservancy Offering

Our collection from an area little visited by Westerners and part of our ongoing effort to collect and grow comparative specimens from across its range in Vietnam and China. Same genus as Lipstick Vine, this shrubby gesneriad has proven hardy in mild gardens here in western Washington. Tubular red-orange flowers. Often epiphytic or lithophytic, this requires good drainage. Great container plant which allows for moving inside during serious winter blast. A Far Reaches Botanical Conservancy offering.

This choice Tongue Fern is notable for the yellowish variegation on its evergreen 12" long leaves, and is likely conspecific with the clone sold as 'Variegata', Pyrrosia are easy but require great drainage and unless you are planting it in a stumpery, rockery or slope, you will need to seriously amend with gravel, bark or assorted detritus of life. Nice divisions from our stock plants.

Cannot ship to DE, MA, ME, NH, RI, WV. This was collected by Dan Hinkley on the summit of Emeishan in Sichuan in 1996. In his 2000 catalog he says with some embarrassment that he collected it as a scandent Hydrangea but that that it is Ribes henryi. Delving into Flora of China, everything about Ribes henryi is bristly and glandular so it is definitely not that species. (This muddle of plant identification is all too familiar. Pity the poor nurseryman trying to find time and focus to properly research a plant for what appears to be a seemingly orderly and bucolic nursery is really an out of control daycare on the verge of a cacophonous rebellion.) What it does key to is Ribes davidii var. davidii. This will be a low - 18"-30" tall - spreading evergreen shrub with greenish yellow flowers and favoring a moist, lightly shaded position. We've seen this species often in China and it favors growing on mossy rocks or outcrops in higher rainfall areas. Cannot ship to DE, MA, ME, NH, RI, WV.

This is very close to 'Kaleidoscope' and comes from the same Japanese nursery from which a plant was purchased and patented in this country as 'Kaleidoscope'. One has to wonder how a plant already in the trade on an international basis can be patented but that is a discussion that can run long into the night. 'Galaxy' is nearly indistinguishable from 'Kaleidoscope' and may well be a sister seedling or another selection in Japan. Lightly hairy stems hold the pale green leaves with their radially symmetrical chocolate splotches. Red flowers held beneath the foliage but who cares, really? It's all about the leaves. Moist shade and be prepared to be envied.

This is related to Corydalis temulifolia 'Chocolate Stars' and has a similar, if smaller, above-ground bulbous rhizome and tons of flowers on long, lax stems The flowers go through color phases of white, pink and dusky purple appearing concurrently during a long flowering period of spring through summer. A remarkable plant. Thanks to Magnus Liden for ID help. Our clone of this has not produced seed so these are from division.

Crazy fern that takes away the need to fuss of growing this from spore, as it makes a multitudinous panoply of ready-to-go plantlets on the leaves that will soon have you owning the corner in your 'hood dealing in fern babies. Remember, if it's a kid, the first one is free. Warmer gardens or indoors, mulch protect in zone 8 winters.This is often seen as W. orientalis in the trade but the pterido-prophets say the signs point to prolifer. 

Choice species (as seen in our shade garden) collected by NW Plant Wunderkind Riz Reyes on Mt Emei in Sichuan. This species is often confused with Corydalis elata in the trade. This selection is quite vigorous with red highlighted new growth and spires of icy blue flowers. Moist.

A proven species for the garden, this Primula from China is in the Cortusoides section of the genus as evidenced by the broad, soft hairy leaves reminiscent of Primula kisoana but without the groundcover proclivities. A good display of pink to rose-pink flowers on 12"-16" stems in late spring with sumptuous leaves in attendance if given light shade and a moist, organic-rich soil. Our seed came from a most discerning Scottish grower.

Our China collection of this most remarkable species. Favoring rich, moist areas which is required to pump up the nearly 6' in length frond volume. These fronds extend out laxly horizontally which assists in their asexual reproduction from plantlets developing from the little furry balls - careful! - at frond's end. Mulch crown in cold winters.

A very uncommon plant in North America - we have not seen it listed elsewhere - and one we brought across the pond from the lamentably late Michael Wickenden of Cally Gardens in Scotland. This is a much smaller version of this cold hardy species with dense low foliage of nicely deeply lobed leaves. The leaves take on fall color before dormancy and the early spring white flowers are welcome indeed if they escape being frosted.

An introduction to the US by Asiatica Nursery from Japan, this stands out for the foliage which have broad centers of lime green in shade to yellowish in brighter light. Quite a good thing. We find this hard to distinguish from D. longistylum but are calling it bodinieri based on its shorter height and despite lacking a creeping rhizome. Evergreen in mild climates.

Our collection from an area of extreme resource exploitation in Sichuan. Normally we don't collect much in this group but this was huddled out of harm's way on a cliff face playing the sympathy card which coupled with unusually glossy leaves and showy red fruit, we relented. Multi-stemmed to 8'-10' +. Deciduous. Every time we look at Viburnum in Flora of China to key this out and see the 115 taxa, we get easily distracted.

Our collection of this small Roscoea species where it grew in alpine turf. This sports wider leaves than R. scillifolia and with flowers of similar size. I realize this only helps if you are familiar with that species but the muse has disabled the backspace button. A 2020 study by Chinese researchers proposed that this be split from R. tibetica into a new species, R. lingbaoshanensis but we have not seen any formal description and this name has not been currently accepted. A hardy tuberous Asian genus in Ginger Family, Zingiberaceae, this will self-sow if allowed, to create a small turf itself.

A fine foliage plant in the family Urticaceae and it is easy to see the family resemblance in it's cousin the nettle. But no worries, this is a venomless pussycat making a clump of tall stems with dangling panicles of tan flowers. Great texture for the moist shade garden. From China/Korea.

This Strawberry Saxifrage has rich colored leaves quite maroon underneath and intricately marked in silver on top. This sends out runners like a strawberry which makes new plants at the tips & makes a great groundcover for moist shade. Dandy and delicate white/pink flowers on 18" stems. This has proved itself in our shade garden.

A jolly plant indeed introduced by Heronswood from Sichuan. This has evergreen foliage springing from new growth that looks to be a bamboo until it leafs out. Small creamy white flowers in early summer and blue-black fruit held well into winter if the cold doesn't knock back the 6' + stems. Cut back old stems in spring if you were lucky enough to have a mild winter and it remained evergreen.