Heirloom Plants

A streak of clear bright white adorns the starkly contrasting brilliant true red flowers of this compact China Rose. Chi Long Han Zhu Rose, which roughly translates to White Pearl in Red Dragon's Mouth, is an easy to grow heirloom garden rose and was among the first repeat flowering roses exported out of China. A densely branching shrub rose with red to bronze new growth with good disease resistance and excellent flower power. Chi Long Han Zhu can flower for 10-12 months a year and in the coldest winters it may take a brief respite only to show off again in mild winter weather. Compact enough for container culture and smaller garden settings it can still hold its own in the garden, mixed perennial border, and landscape. Item# 11701

An uncommon color form of the Rose of Montana producing large often pyramidal sprays of lacy white flowers 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 'Album', 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# 826

Large dense panicles of 1" long, pure white, foxglove-like flowers are held atop upright to arching, 24-36" high stems and are produced beginning in mid to late spring and may continue well into summer attracting bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds. This wildflower's popularity for bouquets has made it nearly endangered in some areas. White Wand Penstemon, Penstemon tubaeflorus var. tubaeflorus, is a rosette forming, herbaceous, native perennial whose rich green foliage often exhibits deep maroon tinges, edges, or the entire rosette may be maroon during portions of the year. The small black seeds may be utilized by smaller songbirds and small mammals. Provide a full sun to partly shaded site in well-drained, average moist to dryish, fertile soils for optimum vigor and flowering. White Wand Penstemon is a component of the Tall Grass Prairies and makes an easy addition to naturalistic settings like roadsides, meadows, and prairies as well as in the perennial garden or landscape. Item# 9542

In late summer and fall loads of dainty 1/2-1" wide white daisies, with yellow centers or disk flowers that age to red-purple, literally cover the plants for weeks and offer nectar and pollen to a variety of smaller pollinators. The White Wood Aster, Aster divaricatum now Eurybia divaricata, is a medium-sized bushy, shade and drought tolerant, vigorously spreading rhizomatous, native perennial common throughout the Eastern US. This is one of the earliest Asters to begin flowering in late summer and can even be utilized as a mum replacement in containers if desired. The White Wood Aster may be best suited to semi-shaded to shaded, naturalistic areas where it will readily colonize eventually creating a groundcover-like mass of offsets. Provide a partly shaded site in average to well-drained soils with average to dryish (once well-established) moisture conditions. Images courtesy of North Creek Nurseries, all rights reserved. Item# 12991

Deep wine-red cupped flowers with contrasting creamy white stamens cover this durable native groundcover in spring with flowering often continuing well into mid-summer and flowering again in fall. Winecups make excellent choice where it can be allowed to naturalize or where it can be enjoyed spilling from large containers or over a wall. This tough native tap-rooted perennial reliably returns year after year and has been selected as a Plant Select® Award winner. Provide a full sun to partly shade site and Winecups are adaptable to soil types but prefer average moisture. Item# 9232

From flattened iris-like bluish-green fans emerge spikes of deep coral 1" wide flowers that have a contrasting splotch of dark orange-red at the base of the three lower petals that acts as a 'bee guide' and the flowers are produced over an extended period in late winter, early spring, to spring depending on your zone. Woodland Painted Petals or Flowering Grass, Freesia laxa, is an easily grown cormous heirloom perennial and RHS Award of Garden Merit winner which readily multiplies via seed to make a loose groundcover. Provide an average to well-drained soil in a full to partly sunny site for optimum vigor and flowering. Freesia laxa is suitable for container culture as well as in the garden and landscape. Naturally winter dormant. Typically 2-3 or more bulbs per pot. Item# 12370

Light blue narrow rays surround the eye of contrasting yellow disc flowers sit atop the neat mounds of foliage beginning in late summer and continuing into fall. The nectar rich flowers attract a variety of smaller pollinators. Wood's Light Blue New York Aster, a selection of Symphyotrichum novi-belgii or Aster novi-belgii, is a 8-12" x 8-12" compact selection of the species that is a good choice as a replacement for fall mums and can be enjoyed as both a container plant as well as near the front of the border in the garden and landscape. Provide a full to partly shaded site in an average moist, average to well-drained, fertile soil for optimum vigor and flowering. Caterpillar host: Field Crescent, Pearl Crescent, Texan Crescent, Roadside Checkerspot, Hoffman's Checkerspot, and American Lady. Images courtesy of North Creek Nurseries, all rights reserved. Item# 13151

Woodville Red Produces large peony form fully double flowers of a nice medium red in midseason. Woodville Red is an old heirloom variety that was first brought to Woodville, MS from Europe in 1820. This large evergreen shrub has a naturally upright to rounded habit. Item# 9745.

1" bright yellow blooms open in the afternoon or evening, or earlier on cloudy days. A tough and reliable, long-lived, heirloom, pass-a-long perennial which produces a large tuber from which it returns to grace your garden year after year. Four O'Clocks attract pollinating moths, hummingbirds, and larger butterflies.  Item# 1123.

A standout in early spring, the fully double, 3/4", buttery yellow roses cover this large arching shrub or climbing rose giving the appearance of a yellow spirea or baby's breath. Considered thornless and very disease resistant, this is an easily grown rose. Use it as a large arching shrub at the edge of the yard, or train up a sturdy structure. Item # 11291

A rare or uncommon color form of the common Red Shrimp Plant, the Yellow Queen Shrimp Plant produces a continuous display of upright to arching spikes composed of large showy light yellow to chartreuse colored bracts from which the individual white tubular flowers emerge in spring and summer to year round under warm tropical conditions. It displays the same habit and exceptional flower power of its maroon-red bracted cousin making a beautiful display as a container plant specimen and in mixed container gardens as well as in the garden and landscape. The common 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# 1170

Pure white 2" long tubular flowers emerge from between the spikes of golden yellow, long lasting, showy bracts nearly throughout the year where kept from cool temperatures. The Yellow Shrimp Plant, Pachystachys lutea, is an easy to enjoy and popular shade loving naturally evergreen tropical that slowly builds into a shrubby perennial with large dark green foliage. Its an easy and rewarding choice for a shaded porch or patio where it will add a little tropical flair. The flowers attract hummingbirds and other long-tongued pollinators. Provide an average moist to moist, fertile, average to well-drained soil in a shaded site for optimum growth and vigor. This is a true tropical plant that prefers temperatures above about 60^oF and can be overwintered indoors in an area with high indirect sunlight but plants can tolerate some direct sunlight, preferably cool or filtered, during the early or very late part of the day. *Note: In more northerly latitudes and/or cool summer climates plants are generally better able to tolerate full sun. Item# 3042