New 2011 Introductions
New introductions primarily from our own wild seed collections that will become available during the course of the new season. Here divided into 3 sections:
Woodies including some climbers
Temporary text for you to see while we construct our 2011 introductions
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Acer albopurpurascens CWJ12361
Acer is always a good place to start, A. albopurpurascens CWJ12361 is a collection from our last encounter with this species, from Dasyueshan Forest western Taiwan in 2007. Bearing slender simple evergreen leaves with long tail-like tips and seed held in widely parted pairs. Our other additions are re-identifications, A. campbellii ssp. campbellii was A. campbellii v. serratifolium
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while A. pectinatum ssp. pectinatum was A. campbellii v. fansipanense. Our thanks to Peter Gregory for his sterling work in identifying our stock of maples.
Actinidia tetramera v. maloides will go down a bundle as a replacement name for A. pilusola, the wonderfully colourful species which unfortunately entered commerce with the wrong name.
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Ever since we collected Alnus pendula in Japan our appreciation of this genus has been aroused. Add the influence of Hugh McAllister sweet-talking us around the gardens at Ness and of course there are some must have species amongst both Alnus and Betula which we have grown from their seed. A. maximowiczii was a must as this AM form originated from a collection gathered by the late Kenneth Ashburner from the island of Ullüngdõ off the eastern coast of Korea. Described as a large shrub with heart-shaped ribbed leaves bearing yellow-maroon catkins resulting in handsome cones by the winter. Meanwhile A. sieboldiana originates from across the Sea of Japan, with a similar shrub-like habit bearing broader more conspicuously ribbed leaves and larger cones, while being totally drought tolerant. Betula alleghaniensis originates from north America forming a small tree with attractive light brown bark with a silvery metallic sheen which peels into thin strips, with the added bonus of good autumnal colour to the foliage. While B. insignis BSWJ11751 was re-identified by Hugh, these trees have gray exfoliating bark and ovate papery leaves with upright reddish cylindrical catkins. Clematis viorna is a curious small sub-shrubby species originating from the eastern side of the USA, with pendant violet-purple urn-shaped flowers. Cotoneaster moupinensis may be well know to some more experienced gardeners, all the same my collection BWJ8167 from Baoxing in China has been very appealing in our woodland garden. Our inventory of Euonymus is growing steadily E. alatus f. subtriflorus BSWJ11051 is of note in not bearing the winged branches normally associated with the spindle tree. While E. europaeus from Slovakia was an outstanding fruiting selection from Ness. E. oxyphyllus is steadily becoming better known and appreciated for its rounded red fruit, conversely E. sachalinensis is scarcely known. BSWJ10835 was distinct in its shortly winged fruit on long slender stalks as we collected them in northern Japan. Fuchsia nigricans BSWJ10664 and F. petiolaris BSWJ10675 are both collections from the high mountains of Colombia where we photographed the tiny humming birds feeding from their pendant red flowers. Only relatively few additions to the Hydrangea inventory this year with H. chinensis from Sichuan BWJ8000 being a short chunky form with yellowish inflorescences. Also H. involucrata BSWJ4790 was a charmer that we happened upon on our way to visit a friend in Chiba, Japan. No fluke involved with H. indochinensis f. purpurascens KWJ12233b. These were collected in a determined attempt to introduce this colourful form into cultivation, which has the undersides of the leaves decorated in different hues of red-purple. The same area of northern Vietnam is rich in Illicium and Magnolia. This is where I. aff. griffithii WWJ11911 formed a large evergreen shrub with polished leaves on red-pink petioles, while the star-like (hence the name star anise) seed-heads were conspicuously large a consequence of the papery many petalled flowers. We are also adding additional collections of the superb evergreen trees M. floribunda v. tonkinensis and M. foveolata, which I suspect I extolled the virtues of last year. We should also have some spiny Oplopanax japonica by early in the year, another exceptionally hardy cool-growing species, that has never before been offered. For somewhere warmer Pentapanax castanopsisicola CWJ12411, this time a hemi-epiphyte from Taiwan, the species I had been chasing for years, initially assuming it to be an aerial rooting climber. Still not able to come to terms that it is now considered to be a non spiny woody Aralia. Before we leave Taiwan Polyspora axialis CWJ12363 was in full flow November-December 2007. What the Camellia-like flowers lacked in size (in comparison to our other species) they certainly made up with numbers. A great way to make oneself unpopular is to launch too few of a plant that everyone will crave. Such is the case with Rhodoleia aff. henryi BSWJ11782, which initially we had hundreds of, but unfortunately most of them damped off as tiny seedlings, hence our return to Vietnam is long overdue. Sarcococca coriacea HWJK2428 will require a warm preferably frost-free site. It possesses the largest leaves that we have seen in the genus borne on stems to 3m tall. Schefflera multinervia BSWJ11727 formed a small tree where we collected this seed, from a large inflorescence above the exotic large bi-whirled foliage. Schisandra were stunning in fruit this autumn, not neglecting the colourful flowers such as those we expect on our new hybrid S. rubriflora × incarnata. Which will incorporate the bright rose-pink of S. incarnata with the red of S. rubriflora. Sorbus caloneura GUIZ80 were given to us as seedlings by Ness gardens some time back. Long enough for them to have formed small trees with red flushed emerging ribbed leaves a fresh green by late spring, providing the perfect foil for the large dome-topped cymes of white flowers, which later mature into marble sized speckled fruit. S. carmesina B&L12545 came at the same time, when it was still considered to be S. huphensis, which it differs from in bearing its crimson fading to pink fruit dependently annually. One reason why Ness regard it to be one of the most beautiful as well as a drought tolerant species. S. aff. cashmiriana Berger 7512 is written up in Hugh’s book ‘SORBUS’, where it is compared to the species and S. gilgitana. It is another species with white ovoid fruit, but is more amenable to cultivation, due to its readiness to fruit at a young age, consistently heavy fruiting while frugal on space. S. rosea SEP492 was a stunning site at Ness both this and last autumn. Named for its pink flowers and fruit, it is one of the most impressive of its group in the gardens. For rarity S. discolores sect. KR5585 will be difficult to beat, a white fruiting tree with an attractive weeping habit originating from the Showa valley Tibet, collected by Keith Rushforth. Always leave the best till last, S. vestita, the Himalayan whitebeam is yet again grown from Ness seed. From their best form, with large parchment textured leaves silver on the undersides contrasting well with the warm russet fruit. The tender climber Thunbergia laurifolia BSWJ7166 managed to make itself at home in our stock tunnel, where it performs annually with long pendant racemes of its exotic yellow flowers encased in large orange bracts. The Flora Of China states that there is only one species of the little known Tripterygium, yet here we are offering our fourth. Do we loose faith in that publication or carry on? Admittedly there is not a huge difference in the second recognised Japanese species, T. doianum, mostly in the foliage being a different shape and smaller as well as the glabrous inflorescence. Viburnum brachyandrum BSWJ5784 is easily distinguishable from the rest of its clade within the genus. It fruits and flowers as well as its exuberant brethren, but in a somewhat more refined fashion, on slender reddened branches. V. aff. clavum WWJ12012 is a best guess with the available information to date (Viburnum still not compiled for FOC). The plants I collected seed from were only around 1m tall evergreen conspicuously veined with glaucous fruit contrasting with their red stalks. Both V. aff. foetens (Dcne) GWJ9227 and
V. aff. griffithianum GWJ9388 are identifications from my copies of Flora of British India by Joseph Hooker (7 vol.), as we are unable to find them in any modern literature. I have also had to rake back to another relic tome for the identification of
V. aff. kansuense BWJ7737, a very pretty small palmate-leafed species I collected in China in 2000.
V. aff. lautum BSWJ10290 was previously listed as sp. from Mexico, while
V. aff. tinoides BSWJ10612 is an evergreen species from our Colombian collections. It had been hiding amongst the vast number of viburnums we have amassed, for no other reason that they are too good not to cultivate once we find them.
V. luzonicum v. formosana BSWJ3585 is a re-identification not to be confused with V. formosanum when we introduce it. The similarly named Filipino
V. luzonicum v. sinuatum BSWJ4009 fooled us for years, as its foliage was tiny (while juvenile), indicating another species that you will find next inline in this ranting. At long last we do have a decent stock of the afore mentioned small leafed
V. parvifolium BSWJ6768, which claims to be the smallest foliage in the genus. This is not its only charm, as these are hidden mid-summer by the sheer bulk of flowers, on the high mountains of Taiwan this is followed by corresponding fruiting. While still on Taiwan
V. propinquum CWJ12426 requires a proclamatory mention. Partly due to its geographical location, one can only presume is the resulting superior form of this collection, with more orbicular stiff foliage and superb blue fruit on those contrasting red stalks. Meanwhile the fruit on our Japanese
collections of V. phlebotrichum BSWJ11058 resembled cherries hanging below the leaves on long slender stalks. ‘Too many to choose from’ I can already hear. At least that will not be a problem for this season with V. sambucinum v. tomentosum HWJ733, as we have already sold out. We had to use our stock to supplement the high demand for the species, which we introduced last season. Oh I almost forgot, its bigger and better.