Heirloom Plants

2-1/2" wide, miniature Amaryllis-like flowers are white heavily blushed with pink toward the ends of the recurving petals. A wonderful and easy bulbous perennial, the Pink Rainlily or Brazilian Copper Lily flowers on and off from mid spring to fall and the flowers are held well-above the narrow, strap-like foliage. Item# 783.
 

2-1/2" wide, miniature Amaryllis-like, white flowers are heavily blushed with pink toward the ends of the recurving petals. A wonderful and easy bulbous perennial, the Pink Rainlily or Brazilian Copper Lily flowers on and off from mid spring to fall and the flowers are held well-above the narrow, strap-like foliage. Item# 9541.

Deep rosy pink widely flaring flowers 3-4" across pop up above the deep green narrow grass-like foliage after summer rains. This is the Rainlily my grandparents grew and cherished and maybe yours too! A beautiful and easy perennial bulb that quickly multiplies into dense clumps that can be added to the perennial garden, strewn along the edges of walks, added to the lawn, or even enjoyed as a container plant. Tough durable and reliable just plant it and wait for the rains to begin! Multiple plants per pot. Item# 10926.

2" deep purplish-pink double rose-like flowers with yellow stamens are born in summer on this unusual Cactus species. Rose Cactus is probably the least cactus-like Cactus with it's broad rounded semi-succulent foliage on a shrub-like plant. An easy and rewarding plant for indoors or out. Item# 9924.

Large often pyramidal sprays of small rose colored flowers are produced from spring to fall on mature plants and are held against a foil of medium green heart-shaped foliage. The flowers are in constant use by honeybees and occasionally by butterflies. The Rosa Montana or Coral Vine, Antigonon leptopus, is a tendriled, tuberous tropical vine that is evergreen in frost free regions but acts like a die-back perennial in areas that experience freezing temperatures returning from the tubers in spring. As a perennial vine, it typically remains in the 8-15' range but can exceed 40' high in tropical regions. Provide a full sun to mostly sunny site in a well-drained, average moist, fertile soil for optimum growth and flowering. Easy to grow with moderate drought resistant once well-established, though this may reduce growth and flowering. In areas where hard freezes occur, plant out early in the growing season and no later than by midsummer to help insure winter survival. Item# 825

Masses of lightly fragrant, white, double starry flowers accented with a touch of rose pink on the outer petals are produced in mid to late spring to early summer nearly covering up this easy to grow heirloom. The Pride of Rochester Fuzzy Deutzia, a selection of Deutzia scabra or sometimes D. crenata, is an easy to grow and low maitenance medium to large growing deciduous shrub with a fountaining habit growing to about 6-10' high and wide. It gets nice yellow fall color even here in the southern US and has reddish to orange exfoliating bark adding to its interest in winter. The Fuzzy Deutzia is moderately drought resistant once fully established and seems to be fairly pest and disease resistant when grown in well-drained soils. The Pride of Rochester Deutzia is an RHS Award of Garden Merit selection. Item# 795

Primrose yellow, trumpet shaped flowers to 2" across are often blushed on the outside of the flower with peachy pink. The Primrose Yellow Rainlily produces its flowers singly on sturdy stalks over a long period beginning in late spring and may last into fall. This is an easy to grow and drought tolerant perennial that readily multiplies from offsets as well as seeds. Multiple plants per pot. Item# 10395.

The large and elegant, perfectly formed, purplish-red flowers are accented by strong purple tones and veining, especially in cooler weather, and are produced over a long period from early to late season, or December to March. Purple Dawn Camellia, a.k.a. Mathotiana, is a highly sought after, heirloom, large flowered Japonica type with a moderate rate of growth and dense branching habit developing into a large upright and rounded evergreen shrub to about 10' high and 6-8' wide. Purple Dawn or Mathotiana has been plied with a number of names over the years including: Julia Drayton, Mathotiana Rubra, Purple Emperor, Purple Prince, William S. Hastie, etc. For optimum growth and vigor provide Camellias with a fertile soil rich in organic matter, with average moisture, and an organic mulch. See our Camellia Growing Guide for in-depth planting and care instructions. Item# 892

An exceptionally cold hardy and easy to grow bromeliad! The Queen's Tears Bromeliad produces large arching stems covered in big showy pink bracts the last bracts on the stems open to reveal hanging clusters of green flowers with delicately recurving petals edged in deep bluish purple, contrasting bright yellow stamens along with matching pink calyxes. The tropical, nectar rich flowers are produced in mid winter. The blue gray rosettes of foliage provide excellent contrast for the brightly colored flower spikes. Queen's Tears readily multiplies by rhizomes creating a dense mass of foliage and can be grown in a well draining soil or as a semi-epiphyte on a board. Item# 11117

Large clusters of long-lasting, light lavender, mauve, to purple calyxes serve as the backdrop for the contrasting deep red, 1" wide, butterfly shaped flowers that are produced throughout the warmer months of the year, as early as midspring to about mid fall. The Red Bleeding Heart Vine, Clerodendrum x speciosum, is a naturally evergreen, heirloom, twining, tropical climber that is one of the better and more reliable flowering vines for shaded areas, although it can also take *full sun, if acclimated, where it may be even more floriferous, and it attracts butterflies and likely hummingbirds. I have always found it interesting that many of the butterfly and moth pollinated species in the genus Clerodendrum appropriately have butterfly shaped flowers. The colorful bracts have the deepest purple coloration in full to partial sun conditions. Provide the Red Bleeding Heart Vine with a moist to average moist, fertile, average to well-drained soil for optimum vigor and flowering. This is a hybrid of the White Bleeding Heart Vine, C. thompsonae, and the Flaming Glory Bower Vine, C. splendens. Item# 599

Clusters of deep red, long-lasting, saucer-shaped calyxes are centered by deep red, 1" long, slightly curved tubular flowers and are produced along the arching stems beginning in late summer and early fall just in time for the fall hummingbird migration. Flowering may continue throughout winter and into spring in warm winter climates or will continue until the first hard frost or freeze in colder winter regions. The Red Chinese Hat, a relatively rare color form of Holmskioldia sanguinea, is a naturally evergreen, arching or scandent, tropical shrub growing to about 6-8' high and up to 8-12' wide, even as a dieback perennial in our zone 8B garden. It can utilized as a specimen planting, as an informal hedge, espalier it along a fence or on a trellis, and even as tree form or standard. Provide the Chinese Hat Plant with a full to mostly sunny site, in an average moist, fertile soil with average or better drainage for optimum vigor and flowering. See our Growing on the Edge Growing Guide for more on growing root hardy tropicals as perennials in the garden and landscape. Item# 11486

The Red Firecracker Fern produces loads of 1" showy red tubular flowers that are born in large loose clusters along the arching ferny stems throughout the warmer months of the year or nearly year round where winters are mild. Excellent for Hummingbirds! This is a durable and long-lived, clump forming perennial that requires little additional care once well-established. The Firecracker Fern has excellent heat and sun tolerance as well as moderate drought resistance once well-established. It is even listed as being suitable for xeriscaping. Firecracker Fern, Russelia equisetiformis, is listed as a Texas A&M Outstanding Coastal Plant as it has excellent resistance to soil and wind born salts, though it could use some protection from harsh, drying winds. It is also an RHS Award of Garden Merit selection. It can be used as a low informal hedge, allow it to spill over walls, enjoy it as a hanging basket, window box, or container specimen, as well as in mixed container gardens. Item# 417

It's hard to beat Turk's Cap for sheer flower power! From summer to fall the brilliant red flowers just keep coming. Red Hot, a.k.a. Red Spreader, is a lower growing and more spreading form of Turk's Cap with slightly larger red flowers that was selected by plantsman Greg Grant who also developed Pam Puryear's Pink, and Big Momma. Greg says that Red Hot has a more noticeable lower and spreading habit when grown in full sun. Excellent for Hummingbirds and Butterflies, especially the Sulphurs. Item# 9726.

A seemingly continuous display of upright to arching spikes composed of large showy maroon bracts from which the individual pink lipped tubular flowers emerge from spring to fall to year round under warm tropical conditions. This plant has exceptional flower power and makes a beautiful display as a container plant specimen and in mixed container gardens as well as in the garden and landscape. The common Red Shrimp Plant, Justicia brandegeeana, is a heat loving, naturally evergreen, bushy, tropical plant with dark olive green foliage and grows to about 24" high by about 18" wide. It is both full sun and bright shade tolerant but tends to have the densest branching habit where it receives at least 4 hours or more of direct sunlight. Provide an average to well-drained, moderately fertile, average moist soil for optimum vigor and flowering. Attracts hummingbirds and the occasional larger butterfly and is an RHS Award of Garden Merit winner. Caterpillar host: Cuban Crescent, Texan Crescent, White Peacock, and Malachite. Item# 620

A wonderfully colorful fall suprise, the Red Spider Lily produces neatly rounded clusters of deep red spidery flowers atop sturdy 12-18" high stems in late summer and early fall before the blue-green narrow straplike foliage emerges for winter. The nectar rich flowers attract larger butterflies and the large yellow Sulphur butterflies seem to be especially attracted to them. This heirloom pass-a-long multiplies readily to create a dense clump of offsets that can be divided in summer. Each pot contains 3 medium to large flowering size bulbs that can be planted anytime of year from containers. Work them into garden and landscapes but they can also be allowed to naturalize in the lawn. Item# 9338

A multitude of upward facing, sleepy, scarlet blooms are born among the soft, dark green foliage from late spring to frost. A hardy and long-lived, spreading to upright perennial, Turk's Cap is an easy to grow heirloom that will flower in sun or light shade. An excellent nectar plant for hummingbirds as well as butterflies. Caterpillar host: Glassy Winged Skipper. Resistant to browsing by deer and moderately drought resistant once well-established. The ripe fruits are readily consumed by birds and other wildlife, along with the occasional curious human. Item# 691.

New for 2025! This Texas Superstar® selection produces large, two-toned intense red and gold pink flowers from spring or early summer until frost, to potentially year round in frost free climates, attracting a variety of pollinators but especially bees. Rio Grande™ Citrus Crush Purslane, a.k.a. Portulaca, is a low growing, well-branched, vegetatively grown selection of this succulent annual with a slightly more compact habit meaning that it isn't apt to open up in the middle like older varieties thus providing a fuller look throughout the growing season. Its exceptional flower power, larger and intensely colored flowers that remain open longer, and a neater habit make this Purslane an excellent choice for low maintenance sunny containers, whether in hanging baskets, as specimens, or as a spiller in mixed gardens, or utilize it for the front of the garden and landscape as a sunny groundcover. Provide a full sun to partly sunny site in a well drained, average moist, fertile soil and allow the soil to become slightly dry between waterings. Images courtesy of Ball Horticulture, all rights reserved. Item# 13503

New for 2025! This Texas Superstar® selection produces large, two-toned magenta and pink flowers from spring or early summer until frost, to potentially year round in frost free climates, attracting a variety of pollinators but especially bees. Rio Grande™ Frosted Strawberry Purslane, a.k.a. Portulaca, is a low growing, well-branched, vegetatively grown selection of this succulent annual with a slightly more compact habit meaning that it isn't apt to open up in the middle like older varieties thus providing a fuller look throughout the growing season. Its exceptional flower power, larger and intensely colored flowers that remain open longer, and a neater habit make this Purslane an excellent choice for low maintenance sunny containers, whether in hanging baskets, as specimens, or as a spiller in mixed gardens, or utilize it for the front of the garden and landscape as a sunny groundcover. Provide a full sun to partly sunny site in a well drained, average moist, fertile soil and allow the soil to become slightly dry between waterings. Images courtesy of Ball Horticulture, all rights reserved. Item# 13502

New for 2025! This Texas Superstar® selection produces large, deep golden yellow flowers from spring or early summer until frost, to potentially year round in frost free climates, attracting a variety of pollinators but especially bees. Rio Grande™ Yellow Purslane, a.k.a. Portulaca, is a low growing, well-branched, vegetatively grown selection of this succulent annual with a slightly more compact habit meaning that it isn't apt to open up in the middle like older varieties thus providing a fuller look throughout the growing season. Its exceptional flower power, larger and intensely colored flowers that remain open longer, and a neater habit make this Purslane an excellent choice for low maintenance sunny containers, whether in hanging baskets, as specimens, or as a thrilling spiller in mixed gardens, or utilize it for the front of the garden and landscape as a sunny groundcover. Provide a full sun to partly sunny site in a well drained, average moist, fertile soil and allow the soil to become slightly dry between waterings. Images courtesy of Ball Horticulture, all rights reserved. Item# 13501

Large rounded to pyramidal clusters of lightly fragrant, bright purplish-pink flowers that are produced atop the sturdy stems attracting mainly butterflies. The show begins in early summer and lasts for several weeks and potentially longer if plants are deadheaded. Robert Poore Garden Phlox, a Mississippi selection of Phlox paniculata, is a disease resistant, clump forming, upright growing, herbaceous, native perennial growing to about 3' high and 1-2' wide. Garden Phlox will do best in an open, full sun to partially shaded site, with a well-draining, rich and fertile, acidic soil with average moisture and an organic mulch is highly recommended. Robert Poore is one of only a handful of Garden Phlox cultivars recommended for southern gardens by noted Texas plantsman Greg Grant. Item# 10161

Dainty, double, 1/2" wide flowers in varying shades of light to medium pink, and sometimes with hints of lavender, are produced throughout the growing season on this truly miniature heirloom rose. Rouletti Rose, considered by some to be a selection of Rosa chinensis var. minima, is a densely branching, dwarf plant slowly building to about 2'x2'. Its small size lends it to use as a container plant, as a specimen near the front of the garden or in a sunny border or landscape, and has the potential for use as an informal groundcover. Provide a full to mostly sunny position in a moderately fertile, average moist soil for optimum vigor and flowering. Item# 13474

Strongly fragrant 1" white star-like blooms in clusters of 3-12 are produced on new growth from spring to fall. The fragrant white waxy flower petals are used to flavor Jasmine tea and Jasmine rice. An evergreen twining climber or arching shrub growing to 8' high if left to its own devices but it can certainly be pruned to keep it in bounds. Grow it as a container plant, as a hedge, an espalier or even as a small tree form. Item#11743