Vietnam

We are smitten by the hardy gingers which we can grow and flower in our cold pocket garden and Cautleya is a genus that does just that. This species is a graceful member of the genus and ranges from Bhutan to Thailand. This collections hails from Vietnam and is often found growing on rocks, trees or rotting logs. This has the classic presentation for the species with clear yellow flowers and red calyces. We suggest mulching for winter.

Staggeringly impressive recent introduction of this Solomon Seal species from - wait for it - Vietnam. This is similar to our favorite Polygonatum huanum (formerly as kingianum) but is just more of everything that is good. Large red flowers snug the whorled leaves on stems which reached 15' tall this year in the garden, and which remain green for us until temps drop below 20F. These are young plants but worth the wait!

A collection from northern Vietnam of this rare gesneriad by intrepid plant hunter Steve Hootman. This has vertical branches on a small shrub clad in dark green ranked leaves evocative of boxwood but that similarity is quickly dispelled when the tubular flame red flowers appear. The flowers are followed by interesting narrow and thin almost bean pod-like seed capsules dangling from wiry pedicels. Best grown frost-free, this likes an acid, free-draining soil as it is often epiphytic on trees or rocks. Excellent container plant which can be moved inside for the winter or simply kept as a houseplant as this is the same genus as the familiar Lipstick Vine. Steve, in addition to his mandated world-class expertise in Ericaceae, has in recent years developed an unprofitable but deeply personally rewarding interest - some might say obsession - in the Gesneriaceae and we are happy beneficiaries of his collecting prowess and now the trickle down effect has trickled further to you.

Asian terrestrial orchid shared with us years ago by Adam Black at Peckerwood Botanical Garden with caveats as to species ID. It could be sinense or ensiformis or a hybrid of the two. Does well in the Southeast but protect from extreme cold there. We have not flowered this clone.

A collection from northern Vietnam of this evergreen epiphytic species which is hardier than supposed as the similar subspecies tonkinensis has been fine in our garden. Chubby white bells cluster like piglets in the leaf axils and are followed by reddish fruit. Very, very rare and adds a bit of cocky plantsmanship to the garden. This was collected nearly 1200' higher than the FMWJ 13066 collection we offer.

This blueberry relative was an exciting find from a small mostly deforested limestone ridge in Vietnam. It was a small compact 12"-18" shrub growing both in the rocks and epiphytically with orchids on the few trees left. Evergreen with boss white tubular flowers and a red berry sheltered by 3 large red bracts. Edible. This will get larger with longer stems when growing in cushy cultivation.

Originally from Maurice Foster who is one of the UK's great plantsmen who would not gladly brook an inferior form. This can hit 10'+ in height with a narrow aspect and generally deciduous willowish or bamboo-like leaves. Small purplish flowers and outrageous jester's cap fruit with dangling orange arils. This used to be the variety quinquecornutus but that has been sunk. We've seen this various times in China and Vietnam and always get the same pleasant rush.

A collection of this rare and usually epiphytic evergreen Solomon Seal from Vietnam by Aaron Floden. This species has in the past been treated as a synonym of Polygonatum punctatum but Floden has determined it to be distinct and reinstated mengtzense as a valid species name. We love this kind of stuff! A small species less than a foot tall with small rounded white bells under the arching stem as the new shoot elongates and matures. These are flowering size and hardy to zone 8 for sure and no doubt can handle dips into zone 7. We have seen this in several areas in northern Vietnam and is always a treat to find. Our plant of P. mengtzense var. tonkinense is very similar and has handled short dips to 10F with no damage to its evergreen leaves and expect the same for this one.

Small winter-flowering species collected by Kettle and Wynn-Jones on Mt Fansipan in northern Vietnam. This is nice little ginger given varietal status due to its larger flowers and much larger sagittate anthers. Sagittate anther envy - it happens even in the plant world. Stems to 28" with very nice spidery white lightly scented flowers with reddish bracts. One of the evergreen species and best suited to frost-free conditions but does great in containers and easy to bring in during cold snaps - we keep ours just above freezing in the winter during the cold dips. Collectable rarity and worth trying indoors if you don't live in the Bay Area.

This is from a Floden-Mitchell-Wynn-Jones 2011 collection in northern Vietnam which they thought was H. tengchongense, but upon flowering proved to be H. spicatum which was not known to occur in Vietnam. While it would have been great to have the tengchongense, H. spicatum is a better garden performer here being reliably hardy. Unscented spidery white and coral flowers that turn into brilliant red seed pods that are arguably the showiest in the genus.

This subshrubby gesneriad from Yunnan-Vietnam border region is in a favorite genus and we have yet to see a Lysionotus that we don't like.  Evergreen foliage on semi-woody stems with creeping creeping stems which help to solidify its grip on the mossy trunks of trees or on rocky outcrops.  Long wiry pedicels hold oversized tubular white flowers nicely appointed in longitudinal pink stripes.  Best frost-free.

An awesome species from Vietnam which we grew from wild-collected seed from the FMWJ collection in in 2011. This selected plant has lovely burnished new growth. Large late winter white flowers like a big single Camellia are stunning. Wish it was hardier - for mild gardens.

Collected by Floden-Mitchell-Wynn-Jones at Lao Cai, Vietnam at 2050 meters. This rare species is best suited for the naturalistic or wild garden as this makes a large shrub with the branchlets tipped in fingers of small and admittedly insignificant pale white flowers which contrast with the reddish stems and textured rich green leaves. From a purely foliage and stem standpoint, this may be the best in the genus and has good fall color to boot but is still a shrub best suited for botanic gardens or dedicated Asian flora plantaholics. Hardy to zone 8b.

This clone came from a knowledgeable plantsman in Vietnam and no data as to whether it was from a wild collection or a cultivated plant originating from China. Evergreen Solomon Seal relative with white bells under upright and slightly arching stems clad in alternate green leaves. Hardy in Kansas.

A lovely shrubby epiphytic Indochina gesneriad in the same genus as lipstick vine. That comparison made, this should be an excellent houseplant although we speculate that it ought to take a brief light frost. A lot of the exposed limestone ridges radiate heat away at night making them colder. Red tubular flowers. Airy crumbly soil. A Far Reaches Botanical Conservancy Plant

A collection by Hinkley from Vietnam of this smaller form of Ypsilandra with narrow leaves in a rosette and smaller compared to Y. thibetica. Ypsilandra are great woodland perennials and we have most often seen them in the wild growing on shaded moist rocks. The usual short magic wand of white flowers in spring. Recent molecular work has moved the Asian genera of Ypsilandra and Heloniopsis to Helonias but we think since these genera diverged from the single line 20 million years ago and have been evolving and speciating ever since, with the only Helonias being in eastern North America, the case for retaining the three genera is pretty good. They will have to pry Ypsilandra from my cold dead fingers.

This collection by Crug Farm from Fansipan in Vietnam of this very distinctive clumping grass is especially yummy with showy pink flowers in this form. The evergreen leaves are bold, broad and lightly pleated with the flower heads mingling among the upper reaches of the leaves. Solidly dramatic!

Excellent lily species from Vietnam collected in 2011 and original seed sent to us by expedition member Aaron Floden. This has sizeable flowers on 2'-3' stems with strongly recurved tepals that vary from white to yellow overlaid on the face with ruby from light speckles to nearly solid. This has proved quite easy in cultivation.

F2 plants from the original wild collection of this rare species. This is a very handsome thing with superb glossy textured leaves and showy displays of red fruit. Just looking at it, we thought - bummer, can't possibly be hardy but heard from one of the collectors that it handled zero Fahrenheit so woohoo! We later saw for ourselves the reason why as we climbed on Mt Fansipan, "The Roof of Indochina' and saw this growing near the summit. A portion of the proceeds goes to support the mission of Far Reaches Botanical Conservancy.

Great foliage on this Wild Ginger from China which keys most closely to the species caudigerellum. A mist of white spray droplets on the leaves is especially vivid on the young foliage making this very desirable. Small tan to soft red flowers are a welcome addition. We have seen nice clumps of presumably this species in Vietnam looking fabulous on the forest floor among the bright buff trunks of Camellia trees.