Fruits & Herbs

The rich-purple tubular flowers arch outward from the center of the ball like clusters of buds that are perched atop sturdy stems and are produced for weeks in summer often lasting into fall and attract hummingbirds and larger butterflies. Purple Rooster Bee Balm, a selection of the native Monarda didyma, has outstanding disease resistance as well as some of the deepest purple flowers among its peers. This is a slowly spreading, winter deciduous, herbaceous perennial that will prefer a moist, well-drained, fertile soil in a full to mostly sunny site for optimum vigor and flowering. Purple Rooster won high marks in Monarda trials at Mt. Cuba Center, the headquarters for the American Horticulture Society. Item# 12317

Rounded clusters of raspberry colored buds open to 2" long tubular, nectar rich, raspberry wine colored flowers in summer. Raspberry Wine Monarda is a disease resistant selection with strongly fragrant, deer and rabbit resistant foliage that can be used to flavor teas. Bee Balm is a clump forming, slowly spreading perennial well suited to moist, well-drained soils in a sunny garden setting whether in the herb garden or in mass as an informal groundcover. Item# 11400

Producing larger than normal white and purple flowers that are self-fertile and produce medium-sized egg shaped red fruit filled with juicy tangy tropical flesh surrounding the black seeds. Red Rover Passion Fruit, a Patrick Worley hybrid reportedly from a cross between the Yellow and Purple Passion Fruit (Passiflora edulis f. flavicarpa x P. edulis f. edulis), that is reported to be a good producer with moderate vigor and does not require a pollinator for fruit set. The fruit can be eaten fresh or juiced. Provide a full sun to partly shaded site, midday shade is often recommended for hot summer climates, in a fertile, average moist, average to well-drained soil for optimum vigor and fruit production. The Passion Fruits can be planted out in areas that experience mild winters like zones 9-10 but may need protection during hard freezes. Red Rover Passion Fruit can also be overwintered as a container plant if provided with a warm sunny location. Item# 12751

Spikes of 1" long deep rosy pink tubular flowers emerge from dark purplish pink calyces beginning in spring and continuing until fall. Rosie Posie Agastache develops into a dense rounded mass of fragrant foliage that is topped by the long-lasting dispaly of colorful flower spikes. The tubular flowers attract hummingbirds, butterflies, and other pollinators. The neat habit of this Agastache lends it to use as a container plant as well as in gardens and landscapes. Provide a well-drained soil in full to mostly sunny conditions for optimum vigor and flowering. Image courtesy of Walter's Gardens, Inc. Item# 11910

The fragrant pendant flowers of the Rosy Passionfruit are composed of green reflexed petals and sepals lightly to heavily speckled with burgundy and a large corona of deep purple filaments and the flowers are subtended by light green bracts that will create a balloon like effect when they enclose ripening fruit. The seeds of the round ripened fruit are surrounded by grape-flavored flesh. The Rosy Passionfruit is a tropical naturally evergreen tendrilled vine that may be best grown on a pergola or arbor where the dangling fragrant flowers can enjoyed throughout the growing season. Can be enjoyed as a container plant where not hardy. Item# 11625

The large deep purplish red petals of Ruby Glow Passionflower are topped with a halo of deep bluish purple filaments. A heady sweet fragrance fills the air when this beautiful passionvine is in flower and it may produce very large, up to 3"W x 5"L, yellow tropical fruit if the flowers are cross pollinated by another species, cultivar, or seedling passionflower. Ruby Glow is a vigorous growing, heat loving tropical vine that can reach 20'H under good conditions. Item# 631.

Produces medium-sized yellow to bronze tinged, pear-shaped figs with a sweet rich, amber flesh and a closed eye making it resistant to spoiling in areas with high rain fall. LSU Scott's Yellow Fig, a.k.a Brandy, is a selection made by Dr. O'Rourke of LSU. It produces both a good breba crop on well-established plants as well as a large early season crop. Considered to be sweeter and a better producer than LSU Gold by some accounts. Fig trees grow best in a full to mostly sunny site with a fertile, well-drained soil with average moisture. Item# 12693

Shiro Bana is an unusual white flowered selection of the Five-leaf Akebia,Akebia quinata. The spicy scented white flowers are born in early spring on this vigorous, semi-evergreen to deciduous vine. The flowers may be followed by 3-4" long purplish fruit. For the best fruit production it is best to plant two different varieties or seedlings and some recommend hand pollination to ensure fruit set. This woody twining vine is adaptable to a variety of site conditions and is pest and disease resistant. Item# 1079.

The Smith Fig is an heirloom Louisiana variety that was introduced by Becnel Nursery near New Orleans, Louisiana. It produces large yellow fruit with a sweet red flesh. A drop of honeydew exudes from the eye which minimizes spoiling and makes Becnel's Smith Fig a choice variety for southeastern gardens. Image courtesy of F. Carter. Item# 9910.

Clusters of 1" orange tubular blooms are born throughout much of the year where protected from frost and freezes or it acts as a die-back perennial in the northern portions of its range. Shade and drought tolerant, deer resistant, and a favorite of Hummingbirds, how can you go wrong with Spicy Justicia? It flowers in sun or shade, though plants may be healthiest and most floriferous when grown with afternoon or midday shade, in well-drained, average moist, moderately fertile soils. Item# 654.

The Strawberry Fig produces large crops of medium to large dark green rounded to flattened fruit that may be blushed with purple and has a medium, open eye. The flesh is white with a dark purple pulp of excellent flavor and the fruit can be eaten fresh, dried, or preserved. Excellent quality and a good choice for drier Southern and Southwestern climates as well as cool climates as the fruit is only somewhat resistant to spoiling. Item #1008. 

4-6" wide, primrose yellow petals surround a deep burgundy eye and emerge in clusters and at the leaf axils in the upper portions of the plant throughout the summer months. The Sunset or Sweet Hibiscus is normally a single stemmed upright growing tender perennial with deep green palmate foliage and much of the plant is covered in fine hairs and tiny prickles. The leaves, flowers, and roots of the Sweet Hibiscus are edible. Provide a full to mostly sunny location and a well-drained soil for the best results. It may be a short lived perennial to annual but is easily grown from saved seeds. Item# 11286

If pollinated, the exotic white and purple flowers produce tangerine sized, large golden yellow fruit with a sweet and tangy but acidic tropical tasting orange flesh that surrounds the small seeds. Sweet Sunrise Passion Fruit is a vigorous growing selection of Passiflora edulis var. flavicarpa. and the ripened fruits can be juiced or eaten fresh. Provide a full to mostly sunny site for optimum vigor and flowering in a well-drained fertile soil. The nectar rich flowers attract larger bees for pollination like bumblebees and carpenter bees. Two different cultivars are required for cross pollination. Item# 11812

The Sweetbay Magnolia or White Bay is an upright to pyramidal generally small to medium-sized native tree typically found growing in baygalls as well as along small creeks and streams in nearly every state bordering the Atlantic Ocean including the Gulf Coast. In midspring, mature trees produce fragrant white flowers to about 4" across and are followed by typical Magnolia cones whose seeds turn a bright orangey-red when mature in fall and winter and are utilized by songbirds as well as other wildlife. Magnolia virginiana is sometimes used as a caterpillar host by Tiger Swallowtail Butterfly, Palamedes Swallowtail Butterfly, Spicebush Swallowtail Butterfly, and the Sweet Bay Silk Moth .The deep blue-green to green foliage has a white reverse and can be used in the place of the unrelated Bay Leaf which is also known as Sweetbay or Laurus nobilis. Prefers average moist to moist to boggy to swampy acidic soils and is tolerant of clay soils. Item# 11713

see # 666 for the cooking Bay, Laurus Nobilis.

Spikes of deep orange tubular flowers tower over the fragrant gray foliage of this compact free flowering Agastache from late spring to fall attracting hummingbirds, butterflies, and bees with its nectar rich rewards. Tango Hummingbird Mint is a compact growing and exceptionally free flowering Agastache or Mexican Hyssop well suited to any sunny well-drained garden or container combo. Excellent drainage is key for winter survivability. Item# 11187

The Roselle that we grow is definitely Hibiscus sabdariffa var. sabdariffa of the race ruber that is known for its large, thick, deep clear wine red, crispy, sweet, cranberry flavored calyxes.A vigorous annual to tender perennial, Roselle Hibiscus prefers a warm, mostly sunny position in a well-draining, humus rich, moderately fertile, sandy-loam and free from competition. All parts of the plant are edible including the roots. Item# 10717

A cold hardy, productive fig producing medium-small, dark black to purple, pear shaped figs with a rich sweet, strawberry-like flavor and a dark red-purple flesh and an open eye. Valle Negra Fig, which translates to dark valley, is a vigorous and reliably cold hardy fig selected from a tree in the Alps of Italy in the central portion of the Camonica Valley (Val or Valle Camonica). It was discovered and introduced by an Italian botanist who was, and maybe still is, reportedly in search of good quality cold hardy figs and it appears Sergio hit the jackpot with this one. It is considered by some to be one of the better figs for the Northeastern US. 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# 12923

A dense evergreen ground-covering perennial with pink, green, and cream variegated foliage. The tender spring growth is a relished vegetable in many parts of Asia. Withstands a wide variety of soils and thrives in boggy areas. Item# 713.