Rare for a Reason

Ok, now that some of us have lost ourselves to specialty plant sites/catalogs maybe it is time to fess up that a big part of the attraction to the term *rare* is basically we have been show off’s since early childhood and are likely to hold on to this trait until our dying day. If we are honest with ourselves the thrill and rush of being the first one on the block to own a never before heard of plant to our friends and neighbors is what compels us to buy some very *interesting* specimens. I found myself at one of my favorite sites almost pushing the *add to shopping cart button* for a plant that was described as follows;
Hibiscus purpureus 'Variegatus'
The foliage on this Hibiscus stopped us in our tracks. Cream to white margins edge crisp green centers enliven the summer garden. The wine-purple flower buds of this 'Rose of Sharon' never quite open which actually add to its charm. 6-8'.
Now come on kt, a Hibiscus which has flowers that never quite open…add to its charm?? I thought it might be fun to have a place to post descriptions of those *rare* plants that might not be show off material after all. kt

I have a young one like that. It's only 3 ft tall and has a deep deep purple flower. This year it flowered but the flowers didn't open all the way. First year to flower BTW. LOL. I bought 3 of them for $6 so I don't care that much but I really hope they open all the way next year. That may be the reason they were so cheap though.

Runk:

What a segué! Segway? Still a great idea...

How'd you know I just spent a dreary rainy weekend (best central KY could muster to match a Cape Cod nor'easter sans snow and wind) poring over 100+ nursery catalogs?

Do I ever have some to add to the thread.

Callicarpa mollis 'Variegata'
Habit: bushy
Foliage: medium green leaves splashed with yellow variegation to 5" long, densely hairy beneath; deciduous
Flowers: purplish rose, June
Fruit: violet-purple, July-Oct, not as profusely as others

Morus alba 'Itsoguma' ('Nuclear Blast')
Habit: Upright forming a loose round crown
Foliage: long dark green leaves with finely cut and twisted leaf segments that curl creating a contorted look; deciduous
Flowers: not ornamentally important

Albizia julibrissin 'Shidare'
Habit: weeping with an upright central leader and weeping branches
Foliage: medium green leaves to 18" long with 40-60 sickle shaped leaflets; deciduous
Flowers: fragrant pink flowers to ½" across in spherical terminal clusters with numerous thread-like 1" long pink stamens creating a bottlebrush-like effect; May-August
Fruit: light golden yellow to gray brown pod to 7" long and 1" wide. September thru winter.

Must-haves to plant in groups of three or five for appropriate landscape balance.

Albizia julibrissin 'Shidare' ??? Shidare happens....


Morus alba 'Itsoguma' ('Nuclear Blast')? Maybe it will self-destruct, in 5, 4, 3, 2, ... One can hope.

These two make me want the Callicarpa out pity, like an unwanted puppy or something

Well,

I try to forget these kinds of plants as soon as I see them but there were a few that I couldn't resist photographing. Juglans nigra 'Laciniata' at the Morton Arb http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c16/erniew/plants/JuglansNigraLacinataFoliage.jpg I am debating a clandestine chainsaw mission to remove it from the gene pool. Well, not really but it was a thought. Also, Pinus strobus 'Porcupine.' That's right, the 1-needled white pine! So thin and straggly I had to take a picture because I knew that I could poke fun at it somewhere, sometime. Variegated Emerald Arborvitae also a very poorly thought out introduction. Camera tried to refuse to take the picture but I persisted and won. I dare not post it lest some crazed conifer collector be inspired. Back to photoshopping plants of fine character and not these genetic curiosities.

Regards,
Ernie

You should've posted the walnut yesterday, as a birthday present to Lucky.

Ernie, what are you talking about? Those pines are highly prized as Charlie Brown Christmas trees! LOL

You should be glad you're not into "Rare" Orchids...

One last diversion from my Photoshop ball and chain:

Fort Ann White Spruce- One that gets planted at the back of the arboretum. http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c16/erniew/plants/PiceaGlaucaFortAnnHabitPortrait1.jpg

Lucky, belated happy birthday and please accept my Walnut picture as a real feel-better gift. Is there an inside joke I'm missing btw?

GW- Charlie Brown is right!

Regards,
Ernie

Ernie,
I prefer the *daydream* of leaving the frank review/what were you thinking note slipped under the door of the arboretum, park, private residence to the whir of the chain saw...but the chain saw does eliminate hours of subjective debate... I think your on to something. kt
As I continued to peruse the catalog/web sites today I noted some pretty telling adjectives that are usually a good clue as to why this plant is *rare*. I have started a list and will post as time goes by. kt

Hey, no fair picking on Charlie Brown tre's . That what my Christmas tree looked like for the past 30 years. LOL For real.

I must admit I am one of them people's that really used to fall for the "rare" word in descriptions. If was rare, I wanted it. if it was rare I wante d to have it to preserve it. Took me several years and one hybridizers funny comments about what most terms in ads meant before I finally got wise to the tricks some people use to sell their wares.

Hate to think of soem of the stuff I bought because I thought it was rare only to find out after purchasing and googling that the only place it was rare may have been in their block and the rest of the populations had thousands of them.

I wish I could find that commentary. Mayeb at some point I wil come across it again. I laughed for days.

Kt,

I completely missed your objective in this thread, instead hijacking it with pictures of wierd plants. Sorry about that. I too, have become skeptical of descriptions and will see if I can conjure up some "good" ones. To the opposite extreme, are the guys who blatantly make fun of the plants that they sell which makes it fun to read the descriptions. The names of such vendors escape me now.

Regards,
Ernie

Egads! That J.nigra 'Laciniata' looks like hell! I'd never even seen photos of it before.
I tried grafting it a few years back(no takes), and ordered scionwood again this year from the NCGR. I'm not so sure I want that sucker, after all.
Looks sort of like what I anticipated out of the 'Nuclear Blast' mulberry.

I looked at a nice sized J. nigra 'Laciniata' at the U W arb (Longenecker?) last fall that I thought was kind of elegant. Of course, that same day I was also smitten with a Kalopanax pictus in full flower, so what do I know. The finely cut foliage of the Black Walnut gave a lacy/airy feel to the tree, which had a nice spreading form to it. I actually tried to track one down after seeing it up close. I've never seen one offered at the retail level though, so I'm probably in a distinct minority on this one.

Malusman,
Inside joke? Kinda maybe.
I guess I'm noted, by my friends, for my obsession with nut trees, and my extreme aversion to Liquidambar.

Ernie,
Loved your photos and particularly the very scary Ft Ann. I thought maybe that one would make a great focal point in a Halloween display. I thought of you today when I stumbled on to the Plant Delights web page (I don't know how I have missed this one before). They seemed to take great *delight* in writing a spoof nursery advertising page, listing plants with hilarious descriptions. As much as this faux ad is very funny I am beginning to think that truth might be stranger than fiction when it comes to *rare* plants. Here is a link to the Plant Delights spoof page.
http://www.shadydealsnursery.com/

*gasp* I a'most peed my pants!! The book list was ridiculously hilarious too.

....and I almost wet my plants!!!!! What a hoot! Thanks so much for bringing this to our attention. Can't wait to order!

I read about this plant in an e-mail newsletter this morning, it is a grass but I thought I would share it's special attributes here, italics are mine.

Melica aff. ciliata Silky-spike Melic Grass

A delightfully showy clumping cool-season grass, it has bright, fluffy white seed panicles in late spring. By mid-summer the seed heads have been shed and the plant stops growing in the summer heat.

I came across this plant this past summer and can't think of a better description than "balding". I wonder how they describe it in catalogues.

This message was edited Jan 10, 2007 2:06 PM

Hey! I love my Melica ciliata!

That is pretty Leftwood. You know I love ornamental grasses. Maybe it was just my mood, when I read that description, it struck me as odd.