Seneca Hill Perennials

Aristolochia tomentosa

close relative of that old-fashioned porch-screening favorite, A. macrophylla (A. durior), but with somewhat smaller leaves, thinner, more wiry stems, and curious small (4cm/1.5in) madder-purple pipe flowers. Our photo here is of A. macrophylla, not A. tomentosa.

Bignonia capreolata 'Wabash Valley'

Thanks to Will Forster for this fine selection, originally collected by Wesley Whiteside in Wabash County, Illinois, from one of the northernmost wild populations of the southern US native Crossvine. Will, who gardens in a solid zone 5, reports that this may die back to the ground until it's established, but that his older plants are reliably top-hardy. He describes it as semi-deciduous, with bright orange flowers and low-gloss leaves; he also says it blooms on new wood as well as old, so that winterkill does not prevent bloom. The species, like its relative Campsis radicans (Trumpet Vine), is irresistible to hummingbirds. An addendum: we've had this in the ground here now through two winters, on a west-facing wall, and it has been completely top-hardy, though it hasn't yet bloomed. Just a few available for spring 2010 shipping.

Daphne mezereum, dwarf white

We grew the parent from seed years ago, but we have no record of where the seed came from. It's a marvelous plant, roughly 1m/39inches across and only 50cm/20in high after at least ten years. Spicily fragrant creamy white flowers stud the branches in spring, before the leaves emerge. The golden-yellow berries which follow in mid-summer are attractive, and perfectly harmless, to birds, but are extremely toxic to mammals (that includes you, if you’re reading this). We offer third-year seedlings, not cutting-grown plants, and though they all appear to be dwarf some variation may occur. Our photo shows the parent, unfortunately not in bloom or berry, nestled between hostas and astilbes.

Dirca decipiens  -   NEW SPECIES!

Dirca decipiens is a new species identified by Aaron Floden, who describes it as "a small shrub with stocky grey branches giving the overall effect of an oak tree in miniature. The leaves are oblong, light green, and change all at once to a soft yellow in late-October. The branches are heavily decorated with three yellow flowers at every node. In the wild there are some that approach seven feet,but most are in the 5 foot range. Those in the garden in light to medium shade have stopped just over four feet and slowly added height, mostly width and character now though. In the wild they grow in medium to heavy shade, but the nicest are in areas where older trees have fallen and the shrubs get more light, but not full sun. Full sun will give them a sickly yellow look like Illicium gets in full sun." Aaron adds that both its leaves and flowers are larger than those of D. palustris, and that it is fragrant on warm spring days. Known from one location in Johnson Co., Kansas and two in Carroll Co., Arkansas. We are very grateful to Aaron for helping us to introduce his find to horticulture. Photo copyright Aaron Floden, used with permission.

Franklinia alatamaha

Found - once - by John Bartram in 1770, growing along Georgia's Alatamaha River, this splendid small tree or large shrub bears fragrant 5-petaled white flowers from late summer into early fall. The flowers, reminiscent of camellias, have a central boss of golden stamens and are 7.5cm/3in across; the unopened buds are fat, smooth and luscious. Lustrous deep green leaves turn orange and red in fall, ensuring a long season of interest. Grown from seed collected from a planting in central Illinois, these should be fairly hardy. Our year-old trees are already 30-40cm/12-16in tall.

Koelreuteria paniculata, hardy Korean form

These are descendants of a collection made by the Chicago Botanic Garden in Korea in 1990. Seedlings from the original collection grow at Olbrich Botanical Gardens in Madison, WI, and Jeff Epping, Director of Horticulture at the gardens, generously shared a large handful of seed. We're excited to have a demonstrably hardy selection of this delightful small tree, whose long panicles of yellow flowers are followed by curious inflated papery capsules. The tree's large compound leaves and dense growth habit lend a distinctive texture to the landscape.

Lonicera flava

Somewhere between a vine and a long trailing shrub, this central US native honeysuckle has glaucous, leathery foliage and axillary clusters of brilliant golden-yellow flowers followed by translucent red-orange fruits. We let ours wander through the biggest of our old iron wheels - a tractor wheel, propped against a large boulder in our front garden. In upstate New York, we do favor large boulders in the front yard. At least this one isn't painted white.

Sinofranchetia chinensis

We have just a handful of these to sell. Sinofranchetia chinensis (is that name redundant, or what?) is a deciduous vining shrub, native to forest edges, with twining powdery white stems and elegant trifoliate leaves, dusky in color as they unfurl. Long pendant racemes of small white flowers produce startling purple fruits in fall (the flowers are unisexual, but both occur on a single plant, and the plants are self-fertile). The Flora of China shows Sinofranchetia's range extending into fairly cold areas, so we're guessing zone-6 hardiness, but in fact we do not know. We'll be trying it ourselves for the first time this year.

Styrax americanus, Kankakee form

The rare northern race of the American Snowbell, descended from a collection made in 1993 in a disjunct population near the Kankakee River in Kankakee County, Illinois (zone 5A, not far south of Chicago). The parent plants are described as densely twiggy and only 1.4m/4.5ft tall. The rapid growth rate of the seedlings at first persuaded us that they would surely be taller, but in fact they seem to stop abruptly at around 1.5m/5ft and start putting up new basal growth instead. The typical southern forms grow to 2-3m/6-10ft, and are characterized by Dirr (who otherwise thinks theyíre wonderful) as "wispy". The delicate, snow-white flowers, like little bells with reflexed petals, festoon the branches in mid-summer. A lovely shrub.