China

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 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.

A charming little evergreen Lysimachia with lovely dark rounded ovate leaves on slightly kinky stems.  Probably kinked stems would be more accurate but kinky sells. Small yellow flowers are borne over many weeks and all is in a harmonious scale.  Growing with Disporopsis aspersa, Mahonia, Ligustrum, and Ophiopogon which are all hardy here in zone 8a so we will say the same for this without outside trials.

If Thomas Hardy had written a book based on this plant, he would have tiltled it "Fusca the Obscure". Or Poe "Descent into the Plant Maelstrom". BIO -Botanical Interest Only. If you buy this we're doing an intervention on you and get you into the Plant 12-Step Program. You need help.

Our collection of this clumping species growing in open glades among towering virgin old growth Cryptomeria and Podophyllum pleianthum on Tianmushan in Zhejiang. Fleshy fairly wide strappy leaves to 18" with erect 18" scapes holding aloft clusters of black fruit. Flowers not seen but will be white or lavender.

Here's something good for zone 9 or a conservatory or a move in and out plant. This is a very fun Gesneriad from northern Vietnam collected by Josh McCullough from an area that likely sees some frost although we wouldn't put it to any severe test! This has late season large trumpets (if trumpets had an inflated tube) of pink/white flowers. Glossy green foliage, this would be a classic epiphyte growing on mossy or humus covered boulders and even in trees. This has been very easy for us in our cool greenhouse kept just above freezing in the winter, This would love the Bay Area!

This is a collection by Wynn-Jones in 2000 from near Baoxing Sichuan who thought at the time it was an unusual form, but it is well within the gradient for typical Reineckea carnea. This is a must for the shade garden along with every other one Reineckea you can lay your hands on! Good to zone 6 and likely 5.

Superb blue-green leaf selection of this exceptionally ornamental evergreen Himalayan Blueberry. We saw this in western Arunachal Pradesh in 2003 at 10,000' and discovered an eastern range extension of this in Sichuan in 2006. This is a superior form to both populations and likely has its origins with Barry Starling, UK Ericaceae expert. Fruit is edible but very tart, good only for special preserves and you might be better served eating the birds that came to eat the berries. Not that we would. Or do.

Diminutive member of the true Ginger family, this little tuberous jewel makes up in volume what it lacks in size. Exotic small orchid-like flowers of soft pink. These increase by offsets and self sow making a grand little patch time with loads of the intricate little flowers.

A deciduous shrubby Cotoneaster collected in Asia by Arlen Hill who owns one of our favorite nurseries, Keeping It Green. This was a scrambler on a rocky cliff but will be a small shrub in the garden. Such a varied genus from groundcover to small trees with the shared attributes of pollinator-irresistible white flowers and red fruit for fall and early winter interest. Someday in our dotage when discretionary time is abundant and we tire of whittling to fill the hours, we will fire up Flora of China online and puzzle through the key to a proper identity for this species.

Neat species widely distributed from Thailand to China and into the Himalaya to Bhutan. This has stout stems that can reach 4' on old large bulbs with many leaflets arrayed like the spokes of an umbrella. Large green flowers often tinged with purple followed by red fruit. With such a broad range, there is variation in the species but a constant seems to be consistently good growers in the garden. Ours often don't appear above ground until early June so be patient! These are medium-sized bulbs and yes, we agree with you that we should have these sized by centimeters.

This erect, flirting with fastigiate, species comes via a collection by Canadian plantsman and author/auteur, Grahame Ware, from the turgid waters of the Minyong Glacier at 13000' on Kawagarbo Mountain, in the Meili Snow Mountains of Yunnan, as part of a Kunming Botanic garden expedition. Small leaves and white flowers followed by reddish fruit on a narrow and distinctively upright shrub to 7'+ so far.

Lives up to it's common name of Felt Fern. Felty-soft, three to five-lobed fronds stay evergreen and have coppery undersides. Growing as an epiphyte in its native range, this prefers good drainage and a partly shady spot.  Spreads very slowly, but definitely worth the wait. What we are selling here is a predominantly 3-lobed form that is going around incorrectly as P. hastata.

A very fine form both in habit and flowers which was collected at 2000m on Emeishan in Sichuan China.

We briefly offered this as Plectranthus but Cody, our taxonomist fixed that. From a meadow area at 10,000' in Sichuan with companions of Reineckea, Paris, Roscoea, Aconitum and Salvia. This mysterious beguiler will have small rounded hairy leaves with many stems and myriad motes of lavender-white flowers.

Our collection from Asia of what is likely the first introduction of this exceptional form of this equally exceptionally rare variety. Attractive leaves that are terminally cleft into bilateral lobes. The 12" long hanging panicles of white flowers are the finest in the genus, holding their own among the best of flowering trees. So much better than the straight species. Young cutting-grown plants which will grow fast. Who's your plant daddy!!!!! Photo credit to Steve Hootman. Proceeds from this offering go to support the mission of Far Reaches Botanical Conservancy.

This is indeed the king. One of our most coveted plants, this is an especially fine form from our friend Philip MacDougall. This beauty can reach 12' tall with subtle hooks on the leaf tips to help it hang onto neighboring plants. The best thing is the ORANGE flowers in abundance in the leaf axils. Swoon City.

This Chinese woodland Peony is one of the few species blooming and thriving in full shade as well as sun. Nicely dissected ferny foliage and slightly nodding single pink flowers, 2-3 per stem, makes this distinctively beautiful. We had a rare trip in the spring to Yunnan and Sichuan in 2006 to see plants in flower and this was one of the standouts. Later to make growth in the spring than some of the other species so don't panic. This has been a stalwart in our shade garden for many years and is an ideal candidate for those of you with late hard freezes as this breaks growth later in spring than the other species we offer. These are seedlings so it will be a couple years before you see blooms. The biggest problem with peonies is planting them too deep so just cover the red growth buds no more than an inch or two. These need a cool to cold winter dormancy so not a plant for LA.

Chinese Bleeding Heart. While we miss Dicentra, we do enjoy this new name and the "ichtyo" reference to the fishtail flowers. This clone probably hails from a Sichuan Mt Emei collection by Don Jacobs. This is a vigorous and impressive plant growing in shaded moist sites in the wild. Taking that into account, that is where we grow it here in our shade garden where it grows under an Ilex fargesii with the odd Lilium nepalense poking through. Broad leaflets on 20" tall foliage with large palest yellow flowers. In exceptionally rich moist soil this can really get a head of steam going and perhaps be too much of a good thing but in our shade garden we have been nothing but happy for the seven years it has been growing.

Fun newish selection of the recently moved to Bistorta from Persicaria with softly golden foliage which is a great backdrop for the 24"-36" flower stems bearing spikes of flowers the same color as Dorothy's ruby slippers. Easy, hardy, bright shade and gangbusters in rich moist soil.