Tasmania

Very hardy winter blooming shrub from Tasmania which Seattle's gardening guru Ciscoe Morris proclaims as his favorite plant of all time or at least until he talks about the next plant. We agree though - this plant totally rules. No problems whatsoever but little or no fertilizer as it dislikes phosphorous. Buff orange flowers in late winter into spring. This is a shorter and broader selection with larger flowers than typical. There is gorgeous 5' tall by 8' wide plant on F Street here in town which grows outside the fence above a rock wall and gets no water or attention plus get the full brunt of winter winds and looks fabulous all the time.

Riverine Tea Tree. This uncommon to cultivation Tasmania endemic is often found along stream banks in its native setting so can take moister conditions than some other species. White flowers on an evergreen shrub with good flaking bark and getting to 8'-10'. Deer proof as well.

They say everything in Australia is out to kill you, and the fern enthusiast may just die without this beast in their collection. Jurassic-looking fronds up to 4' of a lustrous dark green, finely lined and so thick and rough as to almost seem plastic. It's difficult to imagine a fern more tall, dark, and handsome. Which I guess means now is a good time to talk about the fertile fronds, think a taller slimmer version of the gorgeous sterile fronds painted with the dark sori underneath. Perfect for a rich, wet corner of your private fernery, where you spend sweet life-giving time with your precious Pteridophytes.

Alpine Water Fern. Found at higher elevations in Australia's New South Wales and Tasmania growing in grasslands, moist rock crevices and sphagnum bogs. A stalwart fern and go-to evergreen low groundcover because it looks great despite your prolonged attention lapses from Netflix binge-watching.

One of the hardiest Leptospermums, this creeping form is from the alpine areas of Tasmania and has grown for many years at the Arboretum in Seattle. Evergreen leaves with small white flowers, this would be a shame not to have it in the rock garden and a greater shame not to have it spilling over a wall.

Myrtle Beech. This evergreen Tasmanian tree is infrequently seen in cultivation in North America. Our friend Steve Hootman's seed collection of this species will help put right any wrong in that arena. Small leaves adorn the branches - great for bonsai. Gets to be a large tree especially in warm temperate rain forest settings which in Tasmania can mean a 150' tree while up at tree-line, this same species is reduced to 3' tall.

Pencil Pine. Very interesting conifer from the highlands of Tasmania where it is threatened due to fires and degradation of habitat from grazing and too many Eucalyptus. The leaf scale are tightly appressed to the stem so the green branchlets do look very pencil-like. A moderate grower with old-growth trees 30'-60' but you won't have to worry about it - it takes a while.

A unique evergreen member of the Myrtaceae family native to moist, rocky areas within alpine and subalpine regions of Australia. This forms a dense mound with arching branches, 3ft by 4ft with early summer small white flowers en masse. Diminutive leaves become coppery in winter, smelling lovely when crushed. Appreciates some summer water during dry spells.

Butterfly Iris. Described by Sarah in our mail order dept as "super precious" which is spot on. In the Iris family from Tasmania and New South Wales, this makes a substantive clump of thin evergreen leaves with tall wiry stems holding enchanting white flowers well above the leaves. Grown for decades in the Seattle garden of Jeanette Kunnen.

Typically a white-flowered Tasmanian native evergreen tree, this pink version was found in 1984 by Ken Gillanders. Must have been jaw-dropping as the plant was 65' tall although the tallest in cultivation is perhaps 25'. Serious authorities have it hardy zones 7-10 but we'll say Z 8-10 and best sheltered from freezing/drying wind. Bees love this adding kinetic beauty plus the species accounts for the majority of honey production in Tasmania.

Grass Trigger Plant. Gorgeous and fascinating perennial found in Tasmania and Australia. Tidy perfection of evergreen grassy foliage speaks to a refined distillation of Aloe and Agave and the unexpected flamboyant spike of multitudinous pink flowers is over the top. There are sticky hairs under the flowers which can trap gnats and absorb those tasty insect nutrients. The pollination mechanism is fiendish. The stamens are cocked behind the flower and when an insect attempts to feed on the nectar, it trips the trigger, whipping the stamens forward resulting in the pollen-loaded anthers delivering a sucker punch to the insect, showering it with pollen. Can tolerate dry conditions and happiest in good drainage.

This is the first introduction in the US of this selection. We got cuttings from a friend in The Netherlands who is a rabid collector and he was very excited to send us cuttings. This is a hardy Tasmanian species that has a hint of pink in the flowers and dark pink new growth.

Nomenclature. Kew retains the genus Blechnum while others accept the newer Austroblechnum and at this point, we're not changing it back to Blechnum! This small form of the subspecies was shared with us by the Fern Madam, Judith Jones of Fancy Fronds Nursery. Excellent dense groundcover fern for moist spots. Can take full sun in cool sun areas if moist.

Tasmanian Blueberry Vine. Very cool evergreen vine from Tasmania with tubular greenish white flowers in May and June followed by very showy violet non-messy berries which depending on the weather, can persist through the winter. One of the finest small vines.

We saw this at the O'Byrne's in Eugene and Plant Lust caused our pollen to shed and our stigma's got a bit sticky. It is so embarassing but Ernie and Marietta are used to it. Completely hardy here and clothed in small white crinkled fragrant flowers in Apr-May. Yes. Yes. Yes! Yes! Yes!
(photo thanks peganum Wikipedia Commons)

This clone of an already hardy bottlebrush species has been hardier than the typical offering by a few degrees and personally, our most grievous losses have been by a few degrees. This is likely from a higher and more exposed location in Tasmania as it is also more compact than typical and has handled one winter where it went into single digits. This is the PNW so that sort of thing doesn't last long but still, pretty damned good. Cream flowers and bark that gets white and corky with age and hey, the deer don't like it! Thanks to Ian at Desert Northwest for sharing this one.

Guitar Plant. Choice evergreen Tasmanian Proteaceae family member whose vaguely guitar shaped flower buds open to a wild riff of white flowers that will have you playing the air trowel. Hardy to a normal zero degrees and drought tolerant when established. Needs no fertilizer.