Fruits & Herbs

The dwarf form of it's much larger cousin and native to the sandy and sandy loam soils of much of the southeast US. The Dwarf Pawpaw produces 3-5" green-yellow elongated fruit that eventually turn brown to nearly black when ripe. It is reported to have a banana custard-like flavor, some say that fully ripe fruit of the Dwarf Pawpaw is equal to the Pawpaw, while others firmly disagree. Produces small maroon to greenish flowers flowers in spring. A small to medium-sized, spreading to upright, moderately slow growing, native deciduous shrub. A caterpillar host plant of the Zebra Swallowtail Butterfly. Seedling grown. Plant two for pollination. Item# 10232.

An RHS Award of Garden Merit selection. Grown mainly as a tough and disease resistant evergreen hedge adorned with a cloak of deep bluish-green to gray-green foliage with a contrasting silvery reverse but this is also an excellent shrub for fruit production for home use or leave it for the songbirds. Ebbinge's Silverberry is a hybrid Elaeagnus that is prized for its toughness and fast rate of growth as a hedge or screen. It can be maintained as small as 3'H x 3'W but is more commonly maintained at 5-6'H x 5-6'W or allow it to grow to its 10-15'H x 10-15'W naturally rounded mature size. In fall it produces fragrant but not very showy greenish to cream colored, 1" long tubular flowers that ripen in spring into 1" long cylindrical red fruit flecked with silver and with a large seed that is also edible excluding its woody exterior. The fruit is astringent and tart if eaten before being fully soft, deep red, and ripe at which point it makes a wonderful jelly similar to mayhaw or crabapple. Songbirds and small mammals are happy to assist with collection of the ripe fruit. Deer, salt, and drought resistant once well-established requiring mainly good drainage in a full sun to partially shade site for optimum vigor and growth. Item# 10695

Large whorled clusters of deep red tubular flowers with some pink undertones are held atop sturdy 2-3' high stems and are produced over a long period in summer drawing hummingbirds for miles around, Sulphur butterflies, and may stop nearby traffic. Fire Marshall Monarda is the result of a cross between what are considered two of the best Monardas, Jacob Cline and Marshall's Delight, made by Dr. Jim Ault of Chicago Botanic Gardens and Chicagoland Grows®, Inc. and the resulting hybrid has a midsized habit with disease resistant rich green foliage. This is a clump forming slowly spreading winter deciduous herbaceous perennial that will perform best in a moist to average moist, fertile soil in a full to mostly sunny site. Images courtesy of Dr. Jim Ault, Chicagoland Grows®, Inc., all rights reserved. Item# 12316

White petals alternate with lavender sepals that are topped by a wide corona of frilly white filaments that darken to purple. Frederick Passion Fruit is self-pollinating and the flowers are followed by large purple fruit with a sweet tangy flavor once fully ripe that can be eaten fresh or juiced. This is also considered to be one of the most reliably cold hardy Passionfruit varieties surviving well into zone 9. A vigorous dense and free flowering selection. Can be grown as a container plant where not hardy. Item# 11253

1 of only 5 Monardas to be selected as an RHS Award of Garden Merit winner, 1 of the top 10 in Mt. Cuba Center's 2014-2016 Monarda trials, and in the top 10 in trials at the Chicago Botanic Gardens in 1998! The extra large, 3-4" wide, clusters of 2" long, deep red tubular flowers are produced over an extended period beginning in late spring to midsummer, depending on your zone. Earlier in warmer climates and later in colder climates. Gardenview Scarlet Monarda or Beebalm, a hybrid selection of native US species, it is similar in many regards to Jacob Cline, still one of the most popular red cultivars, but has improved resistance to powdery mildew and a slightly more compact habit topping out at 3' high. This is a clump-forming, slowly spreading perennial  that enjoys ample sunlight in a moist but well-drained, fertile soil. Sure to be a hummingbird magnet! Item# 12818

Garlic Chives or Chinese Chives are similar to Society Garlic in foliage and durability but with a slightly lower growth habit and producing flat-topped clusters of white blooms from summer to fall. The nectar rich flowers are seemingly constantly abuzz with mainly smaller pollinators.The mildly garlic flavored foliage and flowers are widely utilized in Asian cuisine. Multiplies readily and may also reseed under good conditions. Provide a full to mostly sunny position in average to well-drained soils. Each pot contains multiple plants. Item# 3084

The fragrant very large 5" wide cupped flowers, when pollinated, produce the largest fruit of any of the Passion Fruits and mature to be 5-6" wide and 8-12" long (wow!). The Giant Granadilla, Passiflora quadrangularis, is a vigorous tropical vine with winged square stems and large oval leaves. It prefers a deep, well-drained, moist to average moist, fertile soil and a full to partly sunny position. High humidity and temperatures of 60^oF or more are required for fruit set and pollination. The Giant Granadilla is considered to be self-sterile and so it requires another species or a different clone (ours are clonally propagated), like Passiflora phoenicia 'Ruby Glow', for cross pollination. Item# 11818

The medium-sized purple, red, brown to near black figs have a thin skin with a  juicy, mildly fruity flavored, sweet flesh that ranges from deep amber or orange to a near strawberry heart typically ripening in September. Grise Olivette Fig is a French fig whose name translates to "gray olive". Expect it to be a smaller plant as this variety tends to have lower vigor which may lend it to use as a containerized plant. Item#13016

Dense clusters of dainty white to lavender tubular flowers top the hairy blue-green to green fragrant foliage in summer. The small nectar rich flowers of Hairy Mountain Mint attract a wide variety of pollinators, and are especially important to native bees. This is a rhizomatous native perennial that will readily spread especially in moist soils. Hairy Mountainmint, Pycnanthemum verticillatum var. pilosum, is native to the northcentral US, mainly Illinois, Missouri, Indiana, Arkansas, eastern Tennessee, eastern Kentucky and as far south as northern Mississippi. It is typically found in moist, calcareous soils but can tolerate drier sites where it is less likely to spread aggressively. Item# 11763

Large, 1-2" long x 3/8-1/2" diameter, shiny black mulberries with a very sweet flavor are produced in spring and are basically seedless. Fruit can be eaten fresh as well as to make jelly, jams, and even wine. The Illinois Everbearing Mulberry, a highly popular hybrid of Morus alba and the native M. rubra, reliably produces large crops at a young age and is self-pollinating. These are fast growing, medium sized trees with a natural umbrella to rounded shaped mature habit to 30-40' high and wide. Songbirds love the ripe fruit and waves of Cedar Waxwings come through annually to feast on them. Mulberries make an easy and low maintenance fruit tree for homes and gardens. These are cuttings grown from our own tree. Item# 1000

Large, 1" long mulberries, with a very sweet flavor. Mulberries are typically fast growing, medium sized trees with a natural umbrella shaped mature habit to 40' high and wide. Good crops, usually, if you can beat the birds, and do not get a late freeze. Our Mother tree had a bumper crop in 2010 after the very harsh winter here. These are grown from cuttings from our own tree.  Item # 9378.

How can you improve on Celeste, the Honey fig? Well here you go, Improved Celeste produces good crops of very sweet, small to medium sized light violet to violet-brown fruit with reddish amber flesh. It may produce a light breba crop but the main crop produces a large yield of delicious fruit. The tightly closed eye makes it resistant to spoiling and so it is a good choice for the Southeast. Ripens with Celeste in June. A small productive and hardy tree. Item# 9033

Ischia Fig is a heavy producer of small to fairly large fruit that ripens to greenish yellow and has a rich flavor. It is well suited to container culture.  For the best growth and largest crops, provide your figs with a well-drained, moderately fertile soil in a full to mostly sunny position. Images courtesy of Agristarts, Inc. All rights reserved. Item# 11267

Jacob Cline is one of the more reliable selections of Scarlet Bee Balm producing large clusters of brilliant red tubular flowers atop sturdy 3-4' stems in summer. Considered to be one of the most vigorous and disease resistant cultivars available. A clump-forming, slowly spreading winter deciduous perennial that enjoys moist but well-drained soils and ample sunlight. A hummingbird magnet! Item# 10541.

One of the top performers in Mt. Cuba Center's Monarda Trials! The dense whorled, almost ball-like clusters of 2" long tubular, fuchsia flowers are subtended by darker fuchsia and purple bracts. The flowers are supported on tall sturdy stems to about 40-48" high beginning in late spring to early summer and attracting hummingbirds, larger butterflies, hummingbird moths, and bees. Judith's Fancy Fuchsia Beebalm, a likely an offspring of a promiscuous Monarda didyma and M. fistulosa, is a taller growing cultivar that has proven to have excellent resistance to powdery mildew. This is a slowly spreading hardy perennial that generally prefers a moist to average moist, fertile soil, optimally in full sun with good air circulation. The seeds are also enjoyed by songbirds. Item# 12952

Kadota produces heavy crops of medium sized flattened green figs that ripen to a yellow green color. The fruit has white flesh and an amber pulp with small seeds and excellent to fair flavor. Good for fresh eating and drying and LSU says it is an excellent choice for preserves. The open eye is filled with honeydew which prevents souring. Kadota ripens in mid season and is considered to be the most widely grown commercial cultivar in California. Item# 9501

16-24" high spikes of red orange buds open to pastel orange 1" long tubular flowers that fade to a light lavender pink as they age creating the soft multi-color ambrosia-like effect. Another excellent dwarf Agastache, Kudos™ Ambrosia Dwarf Hummingbird Mint develops into a mound of gray green rounded fragrant foliage from which the numerous spikes of flowers emerge beginning in spring and lasting well into fall. The nectar rich flowers attract a seemingly endless array of hummingbirds and larger butterflies. The compact habit of this Agastache lends it to use in containers where the pollinators can be drawn in close or add it to the garden and landscape in small groupings or in mass for a continuous show of color. Periodic removal of spent flower spikes will help to keep the plants looking clean and fresh as well as to help make way for new flower spikes. Image courtesy of Terra Nova Nurseries, Inc. www.terranovanurseries.com. Item# 11650

Spikes of orange tubular flowers tower over the fragrant gray-green foliage of this compact free flowering Agastache from late spring to fall attracting hummingbirds, butterflies, and bees with its nectar rich rewards. Kudos™ Mandarin Dwarf Hummingbird Mint is a compact growing and exceptionally free flowering Agastache well suited to any sunny well-drained garden or container combo. Excellent drainage is key for winter survivability. New for 2017! Item# 11265

Intense true red 1" long tubular flowers adorn dense 12-24" high spikes atop the gray green fragrant foliage of this dwarf Agastache beginning in spring and continuing well into fall. Kudos™ Red Dwarf Hummingbird Mint is a true hummingbird magnet and the compact habit of this Agastache lends it to use in containers where you can draw these aerial acrobats for up close viewing as well as in the garden and landscape. Provide a full to mostly sunny location in a well-drained soil for optimum health and flowering. Periodic removal of spent flower spikes will help to keep the plants looking clean and fresh as well as to make way for new flower spikes. Image courtesy of Terra Nova Nurseries, Inc. www.terranovanurseries.com, all rights reserved. Item# 11649

Sunny yellow 1" long tubular flowers adorn dense 18-24" high spikes atop the gray green fragrant foliage of this dwarf Agastache beginning in spring and continuing well into fall. Kudos™ Yellow Dwarf Hummingbird Mint is a true hummingbird magnet and the compact habit of this Agastache lends it to use in containers where you can draw these aerial acrobats for up close viewing as well as in the garden and landscape. Provide a full to mostly sunny location in a well-drained soil for optimum health and flowering. Periodic removal of spent flower spikes will help to keep the plants looking clean and fresh as well as to make way for new flower spikes. Image courtesy of Terra Nova Nurseries, Inc. www.terranovanurseries.com, all rights reserved. Item# 12050

From near white to lavender to rich purple long-lasting bracts subtend the whorls of tubular white, lavender, to purple nectar rich flowers beginning as early as late spring and continuing well into summer and into fall under good conditions. The stems are adorned with lemony to bergamot scented narrow foliage. Lemon Beebalm is a moderately drought resistant native annual species found throughout much of the central and eastern US. It readily reseeds on exposed soils and makes a good addition to naturalized areas like meadows, prairies, and roadside plantings. The tubular flowers attract a variety of bees, butterflies, as well as hummingbirds. Plants typically die after flowering and seed development is complete. Deer, rabbit, and pest resistant. Item# 11730

An impressively cold hardy fig producing medium-sized amber, brown to near burgundy colored fruit with rich sweet amber flesh. Letizia Fig is sometimes compared to Chicago Hardy with which it shares exceptional hardiness into zone 6 but the fruit may be slightly smaller. It is also known to produce a breba or early crop along with the typical main fruit crop. This is an heirloom Italian fig that was brought from the Marche region of Italy in the early 1900's by the family of Steve and Peg Castorani and was named in honor of Steve's mother Letizia. Steve's family has grown and fruited this plant in Hockessin, Delaware since about 1965 and Steve brought cuttings to their North Creek Nursery near Landenberg, Pennsylvania where it apparently has done well in a semi-protected 'hot garden'. Burpee suggested that they name it and propagate and it quickly sold out. Provide a full to mostly sunny site in a well-drained, average moist, fertile soil for optimum vigor and fruit production. Protect young trees for the first few years especially in zones 8A and colder while they become established. Item# 12727

Considered to be one of the best flavored Passion Fruit varieties that gets four stars for flavor! This is a popular Hawaiian variety and Lilikoi is the Hawaiian name for "purple passionfruit". This tropical climber is a very easy and strong-growing, perennial vine with dark glossy green foliage and dark purplish green stems and petioles and produces exotic white and purple flowers which are followed by purple, rounded fruit, about the size of tangerines. Item # 9168.