China

Chinese May Apple. This is an impressive plant - truly one to give the shade garden some visual impact. Big leaves get up to 18" across with bizarre clusters of red flowers held beneath which are followed by bunches of green cherry tomato-like fruit ripening soft yellow.. Rich moist soil in shade to bits of sun.

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 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.

You simply cannot run awry with any of the Roscoea humeana types and the eponymous 'Long Acre Sunrise' from Nigel Rowland of Long Acre Plants, England, is no exception. Our importation from the UK features the expected large flowers held proud above the nascent leaves. In this selection, a clear, soft yellow that will win over a good share of those who "don't do yellow".

Our collection from an end-of-day hunch-driven venture up a nondescript dirt track into forested hills which remains one of the best two hours we have ever spent in the field. A deciduous species with upright fronds 20"-30" tall on plum-colored stems (stipes and rachis). Texturally, graceful and light. Spore-grown by us. Tolerates deep shade and rabbits.

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.

Chinese version of this species which gets into the Himalaya as we've seen in Arunachal Pradesh. Softly banded in mocha as the new green leaves emerge, the white flowers show nicely below the expanding leaves. Late summer, round orange fruit appears. A different collection from what we've offered previously.

Three year old bulbs of this grand show-stealer. From near the eastern edge of this species described range, this was growing above a stream in the bright dappled light that filtered through the leaves of a panoply of deciduous and broadleaf evergreen trees and large shrubs. This collection has very rounded leaves.

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.

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.

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!

Our collection of this exceptional form of this distinctive vining species of Monkshood from the wooded slopes of Longshou in Sichuan. It was an overcast day on this our first day in the field in the fall of 2012. The summit of Longshou was completely socked in which is frustrating to a plant hunter aside from missing out on spectacular views. As we made our way down the mountain, we got below the clouds and exciting plants started to pop out - Schisandra in full red fruit, 5' tall Arisaema, Vaccinium delavayi and off to the right, a flash of bright color. We hurried over and it was an climbing Monkshood in full bloom with eye catching reddish-purple flowers. The excitement turned to lamentations as it was in bloom which meant there was no seed which was a total downer. The lamenting turned to exultant whoops as we noticed this species had aerial stem bulbils in the leaf axils which are even better than seed. We think this is quite superior to other color forms of this rare species and have given it the name 'Monk Gone Wild' because it is a pretty crazy color for a Monkshood plus this monk managed to remain technically celibate yet still have lots of children via these stem bulbils.

Vigorous plants and our hybrids with mainly delavayi as the parent showing more vigor and variation in shape and color than what we associate with known delavayi of wild origin. Whatever the parentage, (I sometimes wonder about my own) these are arresting shade plants for rich moist soil. Red flowers are amazing surprises under the leaves. Persistence of patterned markings are variable and expect fading to varying degrees as the leaves mature. These are all unique individuals which we would be happy to have in our garden. We have offered these earlier as presumptive hybrids and we presume no longer. We will jump on the Dysosma instead of Podophyllum wagon soon.

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.

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.

Chinese Mayapple. One of the great shade plants with just outrageous new growth when the bold and distinctly lobed leafed are colored in ochre velvet with complex dark patterns like something seen during guided psychotropic therapy. Broadly rounded and lobed leaves shield the red flowers beneath. Rich moist soil and avoid direct sun. This a shorter plant and more richly colored overall than the delavayi we offer as a presumptive hybrid. We will soon adopt Dysosma as the genus - maybe in the winter when we can make all the database changes.

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.

Second generation plants from our collection from along our way up the mountain to Tianchi Lake in Yunnan. We found this Lily relative (which has been called N. forrestii) growing in a wooded copse with Sorbus reducta. Likes a good moist soil and can have 7-10 flowers per stem in our experience when it gets some age. Pretty much awesome. These are nice, blooming size bulbs and a must-have for cool northern woodland gardens. If you garden in Kansas, Texas or most of the Southeast for example, it is probably better to just enjoy the photo. These survived the brutal 2013-14 winter in Wisconsin at a customer's garden as newly planted bulbs in the fall which is impressive considering the ground froze 5' deep. Hardy to zone 5 if not zone 4.

Grown from a seed collection in China by the brilliant plantsman Bjornar Olsen, this is an easy and very pleasing lily. Turk's cap style flowers are predominately in shades of pink, varying in intensity. The recurved tepals are pale white on the margins and speckled with deep carmine spots. Spreads fairly fast, making a lovely patch.

This compact gem with large, lovely pure white flowers is one of our most favorite plants and we have A LOT of plants. Unlike the solitary and territorial avian Snowy Owls, these flowers bloom in clusters, showing off en masse while happily mingling in the garden. Named by Nigel Rowland of Long Acre Plants, who is someone we have not met but know has exquisite taste.