Heirloom Plants

Small clusters of unusual looking, funnel-shaped deep red flowers are tipped with contrasting white and green with the insides of the flowers being streaked and flecked with brown. The flowers are produced in early to midsummer atop 2-3' high stems and attract hummingbirds and other pollinators. The Parrot Lily, Alstroemeria psittacina, is an old pass-a-long heirloom perennial whose rhizomatous habit may be too aggressive for most garden settings but in the right location it makes an easy and rewarding informal groundcover. Alstroemerias prefer an average moist, fertile, well-drained soil and tend to be sturdiest where they receive atleast 4 hours of direct sunlight. *Where summers are hot, consider providing shade or filtered shade during the hottest part of the day. These also serve as long-lasting and popular fresh cut flowers. Item# 12831

3-5" green-yellow fruit with banana custard-like flavor, some say they are best after being frozen. Produces fragrant purple flowers in spring. A small native, normally understory tree, and is the caterpillar host plant of the Zebra Swallowtail Butterfly. Seedling grown. Plant two different varieties or seedlings for pollination. Item# 786.

Large 3" wide, deep blue, cornflower-like daisies are produced on sturdy stalks starting in late spring and lasting through much of summer on well established clumps. Peachies Pick is a dense clump forming and exceptionally long flowering selection of the Stokesia Daisy. Its dense compact habit make this the perfect Stokes Aster for gardens and landscapes. Did we mention that it doesn't flop like older cultivars? This southern selection originated from the gardens of and was named for Peachie Saxon of Mississippi. It originated to us from one of the people who helped to make it known to gardeners and landscapers everywhere, noted horticulturist and author Gail Barton of Meridian, Mississippi. Item# 10810.

Soft lavender pink, fragrant flowers open in the afternoon or evening. The Four O'Clock is tough and reliable, long-lived, heirloom and an easily shared perennial which produces a large tuber from which it returns to grace your garden year after year. Four O'Clocks attract pollinating moths, hummingbirds, larger butterflies, as well as larger native bees. Item# 3079.

Loads of 1-1/2" wide, starry, hose in hose flowers are light pink blushed white and have a slightly darker pink blotch and flecks in early to midspring and nearly hide the dark green foliage in peak flowering. Pink Pearl Azalea, originally named Azuma Kagami in Japan and imported and renamed by E.H. Wilson as part of the 'Wilson's Fifty', is a moderately vigorous, medium sized, heirloom, Kurume evergreen azalea with a mounding habit to about 4-5'H. Its moderately vigorous habit lend this large growing evergreen azalea to use as an informal medium-sized hedge, specimen plant, and as a spring flowering backdrop for mixed perennial gardens as well as in the landscape. Azaleas do best in average moist, acidic soils that are rich in organic matter but have good to excellent drainage and should be top dressed with an organic mulch such as pine straw and pine bark. We recommend using a slow-release, non-burning fertilizer that is labeled for acidic loving plants. Azalea flowers attract a variety of pollinators including bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds. Item# 12804

This old and reliable favorite produces perfectly formed, fully double rich pink flowers over an extended period from November to May. A vigorous and dense upright to rounded evergreen shrub. Pink Perfection is an old favorite heirloom Camellia. Item# 9191.

Deep purplish-blue 3-petaled flowers emerge in succession from long-lasting flattened purplish-pink bracts in both spring and fall atop the rosette of narrow deep green arching foliage. The Pink Quill Plant, Tillandsia cyanea or now Wallisia cyanea, is one of the easiest to grow and most popular bromeliads which can be enjoyed as a small container plant, hanging basket, or it can be attached to wood as an epiphyte. This dainty bromeliad was awarded the RHS Award of Garden Merit for its ease of culture and reliability. The Pink Quill Plant will multiply creating pups from the base of the mother plant after flowering which can be left to create full rootbound plants that flower longer. Provide an average moist but well-drained soil and allow the soil to become slightly dry between waterings. Item# 11924

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

The 2-1/2" to 3" wide, rich watermelon pink, funnel-shaped flowers sport a contrasting deep red blotch on the upper most petals and are produced in midspring on this highly popular old cultivar. Pride of Mobile Azalea, a.k.a. Elegans Superba or Watermelon, is a vigorous heirloom Southern Indica evergreen azalea with an initially upright habit to about 6-8'(-10') and wide. Its vigorous habit lend this large growing evergreen azalea to use as an informal hedge, specimen plant, and as a spring flowering backdrop for mixed perennial gardens as well as in the landscape. Azaleas do best in average moist, acidic soils that are rich in organic matter but have good to excellent drainage and should be top dressed with an organic mulch such as pine straw and pine bark. We recommend using a slow-release, non-burning fertilizer that is labeled for acidic loving plants. Azalea flowers attract a variety of pollinators including bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds. Item# 12802

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.

Medium-sized, bright cherry red, formal double flowers, occasionally with lighter markings on inner petals, are produced in midseason, January to February. Prince Eugene Napoleon Camellia is an heirloom, large flowered Japonica with a moderate rate of growth and an upright to rounded, densely branching habit and glossy, medium green foliage. You can nearly always tell how popular the heirloom Camellias are and were by the number of synonyms they've amassed over the years and this one has long been a favorite as you can see here: Pope Pius IX, Rosedale Beauty, Ladiner's Red, Mrs. Harry Davis, Imbricata Rubra Plena, Queen of Denmark, Flore Plena Atrorubens, Rubra Plena Imbricata, Conte de Name, and Venus de Medicis. Provide Camellias with a fertile soil rich in organic matter, with average moisture, and an organic mulch. While this image shows a flower that is mostly white, the flowers of Miss Charleston Variegated are typically more red than white. Images courtesy of Cam Too Camellia Nursery, all rights reserved. Item# 13239

Spikes of soft golden-orange upward facing funnel-shaped flowers are produced non-stop from mid to late spring to fall atop the medium green foliage attracting hummingbirds, occasional butterflies, and long-tongued bees. Pumpkin Pie Hummingbird Bush, a selection of Anisacanthus quadrifidus var. wrightii and potentially the same as the cultivar 'Bennie's Gold', is a small decidous native shrub from South Texas with excellent flower power. This easy and reliable heirloom has an upright to spreading busny habit rarely exceeding 3-4' in height (3'x3' is fairly typical in our zone 8B gardens) and it revels in the heat and sun of summer and is undaunted by the high humidity and high rainfall of the southeastern US. In the northernmost portion of its hardiness range, zones 7A-8A, the Hummingbird Bush may freeze back to near groundlevel in the hardest winters but readily returns to flowering by mid to late spring. Provide a full sun to mostly sunny site in a well-drained, fertile, average moist soil for optimum vigor and flowering. Small enough for containers but makes a no-maintenance addition the garden and landscape. Catepillar host for Crimson Patch. Item# 9671

Beautiful dark purplish-red with a purplish tinge to the outer edges of the petals. Large formal double blooms to 5 inches across. Blooms winter to early spring. A reliable and easily grown Camellia. 'Purple Dawn', as it is offered locally, is considered to be actually 'Mathotiana' and it also known as: Julia Drayton, Mathotiana Rubra, Purple Emperor, Purple Prince, and William S. Hastie. Item# 892.

Clusters of fuchsia pink, 1 1/2", tubular blooms are borne throughout most of the year on this beautiful tropical trailing perennial. Glossy green slightly quilted foliage on arching to trailing stems. Great for hanging baskets, mixed containers, or in the front of the garden. Attracts Hummingbirds. Item# 862.

Solid purple clusters of fragrant flowers open late in the day attracting larger butterflies, bees, and especially the mystical hummingbird moths. The Purple Four O'Clock grows to form a large tuber from which it will return to grace your garden year after year and they flower continuously throughout the summer months. Easy and reliable and may reseed under good conditions. Item# 11174

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. 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

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.