"Oh my god - what's that"

Peter - thanks for the Echium info. On the list for when the cellar is turned into my grow room! The Erythrina is kinda hardy - up against the fence/wall in the SW corner. Well protected with bubble wrap, and plastic on wet days. Usual thing about cold and wet being the curse............

Kristen - the Paulownia has the WOW factor when in bloom for me. It is very fragrant in bloom, and the blooms do not have to be so far up that they cannot be appreciated. The following photos were taken at Oxfords botanic gardens last May - surprisingly the extreme winter never got to the buds.





Clearly this would be one for our children/grandchildren if we wanted one that good!

 

Kristen - I agree that Beech doesn't have the WOW factor.

The point that I was trying to make is that whilst annuals and perennials etc flower very quickly - trees don't. The juvenile period of trees (ie when they are too young to flower) can be many years and indeed in some like Beech - decades. So growing ornamental trees from seed is not as easy as growing annuals and perennials.

 

Ignorant naive question: If you "stool" it will it sill flower? I'm thinking not, but I don't have one big enough, yet, to know.

 

Not sure that an Abutilon can be called a tree, but they will flower in the second year.

I suppose that if you were selective in your cutting you could have a few blooms. But the buds form over the winter, so you need some more mature branches for blooms, as the thin ones will succumb to the frost.
One nice thing about Paulownia is that left to its own devices it will grow fairly symmetrically.

 

I've been following the thread and just feeling sorry that many of the plants listed are too tender for Bulgarian winters. This erythrina crista galli..., love it!

I will also suggest some red variety of lagerstroemia indica. It's a shrub/small tree blooming in late summer and autumn. All are said to be easy starters from seed and a fast growing culture.
Since last year I have two plants: one pink and one red. Hope I see some colour this season.

Another interesting find could be fothergilla gardenii. It is also recommended for its autumn colour, but I don't have the slightest idea of its growing habit or in which year it will start to flower.

And... this one will take long to flower. I have it, but it's gonna be just foliage for the next 3-4 years. Tree peony Souvenir de Maxime Cornu. I'm not sure it evokes any 'WOW' response with me. Its beauty seems serene and monumental, worth of silent contemplation rather. All my exclamations remain suppressed...

Of course, it's a matter of taste.

 

PeterS thread has given us a great opportunity to go mad with someone else's money, time and space!
I would love my Erythrina more if it blooms!

As to the matter of taste - spot on! One contributor to this thread is into the landscape effect, whereas I'm more into Things that produce extra special (and not often seen) blooms. Different tastes.
Take Diplarhhena moraea for example.............
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............ this pot grown plant has no value in landscaping terms, but one of my favourite must have plants. It doesn't even bloom that prolifically.

I haven't mentioned Salvia discolor as I'm sure Peter is familiar with it...............


............which blooms non-stop, and has the added attraction of smelling like blackcurrants to the touch.

It's all about personal taste, and this thread is our virtual playground!

 

Angelina - as LongK says its a bit of an opportunity to dream. I think that most of the plants we have been talking of won't survive outside in the UK either. Really this is what makes them OMG plants. There are some spectacular hardy plants such as Gunnera. But because they are hardy you see them around in parks etc (they are too big for most gardens) and that means they tend to lose the WOW factor. By contrast, you never see tender plants like LongK's Strongylodon macrobotrys - and that is what gives them the WOW.

If an African saw a snowdrop - he would be likely to say WOW and pay £725 for a single bulb - Oh I forgot someone just did. :D

LongK - I have never grown Salvia discolor. But there are many tender Salvias that have a mini WOW factor and flower for very long periods of time. One of my favorites is Salvia leucantha - which is tender but otherwise very easy to grow and overwinter.

 

I can offer three plants that are all easy to care for as they're all bulb plants. Make up your own mind as to the OMG factor, but all really delighted me last year!

Beserra elegans are from the Taylors range of bulbs, although only one of the four local GC's that carry their range keep this. Ten bulbs per 20cm pot, and start off indoors or under glass.

By longk at 2012-01-10

Scadoxus multiflorus sat there all summer doing nothing and then in the space of about ten days I had these.............


I tried many times to grow Hymenocallis festallis, but it was only last year that I discovered that the bulbs sold in GC's are considered too small by the bulb aficionados. I bought 8cm bulbs last year and they worked!

 

Answering my own question - "No they won't"

 

Here's one that I have just discovered..................



More info here..........
Biarum marmarisense - plant of the month 0ct 2010 - Plant Portraits - Alpine Garden Society

 

Longk, do you have 'open days'?! If you ever do, I'll visit!! (I have two daughters living in Oxford at the moment)

 

Give us a shout next time you're down this way!

 

longk, this Biarum marmarisense keeps me coming back to your post...
I just find it mesmerising! Moreover, it is an alpine plant and will most probably feel well in my rocky terrain and the local climate (which tends to be zone 7 rather than 6b).
Thank you!

 

Angelina - glad that you liked it!

Have you tried Arisaema?

 

No, I haven't.