Vietnam

This is likely the first introduction to cultivation of this curious Theaceae or Tea family member from our collection just north of the Vietnam border in Guangxi Province. This is serious 99% pure Plant Crack and even we have to cut this stuff to be able to function well enough to do things like buy groceries. An evergreen shrub to 10' in the wild with long, slightly drooping olive-green leaves prominently hirsute especially along the margins. Lamentably insignificant cream flower whose petals barely exert themselves beyond the green sepals whose reduced number and size places this as var. glischroloma according to the Flora of China. Look beyond the transience that is flowers, if this had any to speak of, and be wowed by what is really good foliage on a very handsome shrub that will mark you as an irredeemable plant nut. The flowers give way to small black fruit. No idea how hardy this is but we are thinking zone 8 as this mountain endured a serious cold and ice event in 2008 and we saw no evidence of damage to these plants in 2010. We returned in 2012 and it is this collection that is being offered.

This Vietnam collection of the Sour Gum tree leaves us shaking our heads in some amazement as we are awed by its vigorous growth with new foliage colored red-purple. Then we shake our heads in sadness as we are too cold to grow this - regrowing from the base doesn't count! Give it plenty of room - screen your neighbor.

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.

First US offering of this mind-melting mega must-have plant zombie drenched sheets fever lying about the price without a second thought to husband-wife-partner-mother forget to feed the dog dream Araliad. BIG leaves and sprays of snowball flowers. Go ahead, google it but don't say we didn't warn you. Young plants but will grow quickly. Tender but when has that stopped you?

A collection by Shayne Chandler from the Five Fingers mountain range in Vietnam. This zone 8b hardy shrubby gesneriad was first introduced by Steve Hootman over 20 years ago from China and it is good to have another collection from a new area. Tubular red-orange flowers and boxwood-like leaves.

Distinctive Asian conifer forming impressively large trees up to 100' and we've been very fortunate to see large specimens in Guangxi Province. The dense branchlets are flattened much like a Thuja and extremely handsome. Ours is thriving in full sun/wind exposure. Recently moved to Chamaecyparis and then back. Young plants. 

Species recently introduced from Vietnam and hardiness not known but warmer zone 8 and above is safe. Well worth taking a chance on as the lacecap flowers have that little sumpin' sumpin' that made this the staff favorite here. White sterile flowers surround fertile florets of pink to indigo depending on pH and clonal differences.

An exciting tender perennial Impatiens from Vietnam we brought in via the UK. Deep green leaves with magenta undersides on a stout 3'-4' upright plant are quite enough but add the late orange-yellow flowers with red lips and be ready for involuntary expletives and religious exhortations. We saw this in the wild and were blown away. We overwinter ours in a cool greenhouse. Far Reaches Botanical Conservancy Collection

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.

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.

A Hinkley collection from Vietnam of this stunning foliage species whose bullate rumpled leaves are covered in imposing bristle-like hairs. A gorgeous container plant or if you live where the frost is light and infrequent - and you know who you are and just so you know, we hate you - then this is fine out in the garden. Flowers white if memory serves.

A Schefflera of smaller stature with a need to please. This flowers when quite young with spherical clusters of creamy-white flowers followed by even showier balls of black fruit. Self-fertile, this handles the reproductive function nicely on its own which is all the rage in this era of the pandemic. A Far Reaches Botanical Conservancy Offering. Nice gallon size. Of narrow habit, this is a good choice for smaller, mild gardens.

Collected in northern Vietnam at Lao Cai, Y Ty at 2340 meters. This, like most Clethra, will make a nice deciduous shrub that is open in habit when young and like a small tree when mature. Scented mid to late summer white flowers that individually are larger than usual for Clethra. This has done well in a colder garden in Sequim and certainly good in Zone 8 if not colder. This has become a favorite here at the nursery.

This is a remarkable species in the Theaceae or Camellia family, Native to Yunnan, Myanmar and Vietnam with this collection hailing from the latter. Evergreen trees rarely reaching 50' or more but doubt if you will have to contend with that eventuality! Large white flowers with yellow anthers occur in late winter and early spring. Suitable only for very mild gardens and worth trying on a wall.

A Far Reaches Botanical Conservancy Offering. Our collection of what we presume to be this species although given the distribution from Nepal into China and Vietnam, we wouldn't be shocked to see this species broken into varieties or subspecies. If it is this species, give it some room as it can hit 40' tall as a venerable old-growth specimen but expect much less in the garden. Upright evergreen with pale butter-white flowers and blue-black fruit. Young plants of this rarity and hardiness unknown at this point.

Our selection of an exceptional seedling from a Vietnam collection. Typically green-leafed, this one has lustrous red new growth looking pretty amazing spring through fall and darned good in winter too since it is evergreen. We haven't flowered it yet but expect creamy yellow flowers in summer. Young plants, cutting propagated. A tip of the hat to our staff wit Yvonne for coming up with the perfect name.

It's difficult to talk eloquently let alone persuasively about a plant newly collected and how it will appear in the various seasons and how well it will perform in the garden. We don't know a lot about this November 2011 collection from a shrub at Lao Cai, Above Silver Waterfall, Vietnam at 2150 meters. We can say it won't grow in Des Moines, Iowa or Black Duck, Minnesota but it will likely be happy as a clam in Seattle. These are young but sturdy seedlings which will really need greenhouse overwintering this first winter.

At this young stage, they bear resemblance to Schefflera alpina and S. chapansis but since they were collected by Aaron Floden, we're smart enough to know that if he doesn't know than we don't know. It's kind of like that Donald Rumsfeld thing where there are known knowns and known unknowns and if we know we don't know than we know more than those who don't know but know they do. Generally I found little palatable about him but I did find myself defending him over this quote as it made perfect sense to me. Somehow seeing it in print makes it seem less defensible and my veracity more questionable.

An extremely difficult day on one of the highest (9,793') mountains in Vietnam. A 9 mile hike with a 2 mile motorcycle ride to the trailhead and then all-day steepness climbing up red clay landslides then rocky scrub in rain arriving at dark to collapse in collapsing tent on wind-blasted ridge. These should be a thousand dollars each. A Far Reaches Botanical Conservancy Offering

From the Yunnan-Vietnam borderlands, this small-leafed evergreen dogwood makes an attractive tree. Flowers not seen but if anything like the red fruit when ripe, then boom-shaka-laka! Even if the flowers are not as hoped, what a gift to focus on its many attributes and the modern plague of unrealistic expectation. Gallon pots. A Far Reaches Botanical Conservancy Plant