Gloriosa Lily (Gloriosa superba ‘Rothschildiana’)
The unusual, almost bizarre, 3–5” blooms of this vine begin as pale green hanging petals that gradually lengthen, become wavy, and arch backward, changing color to yellow and then scarlet in summer.
You can lift the roots in fall and overwinter in a dry basement. The roots are delicate, so handle them carefully.
Available in our Bulbs & Bareroots section.
We all love it when the school bus arrives on Wednesday and the student volunteers run, uh, speed-walk at maximum speed into the Grandstand to start working on the plant sale.
Their main jobs are to unload the trucks, figure out where each plant goes and put it there, water the plants, help shoppers, and clean up when the sale is over. These are real jobs, not busy work! These jobs require skill, strength, speed, common sense, perseverance, focus, teamwork, tact, and sometimes a little arithmetic. Thanks, kids, you were all great!
Pink Mulla Mulla Ptilotus ‘Joey’
There are many dozens of this plant still available at half-price on Sunday: if it had been blooming during the sale, it would have sold out the first day!
A completely new genus for U.S. gardens straight from central Australia, Ptilotus is pronounced “ty-LOH-tus” (from the Greek “ptilon” for feather.) Other common names are Lamb’s Tail, Pussy Tails, and Showy Foxtail.
Many chubby 4″ fuzzy bottlebrush flower spikes glisten silver and neon pink. The silver-green leaves are paddle-shaped and succulent-looking. You could guess from its Aussie origin that ‘Joey’ is heat and drought tolerant, and that it wants excellent drainage, such as a loose potting soil.
Last summer, Henry planted ‘Joey’ in our State Fair garden next to Aeonium ‘Zwartkop,’ Helenium ‘Dakota Gold, and Alternanthera ‘Red Threads’ and reports that Fairgoers could not resist petting the feathery flowers.
We hope to see more Ptilotus varieties become available in the future: there is one now on the internet called ‘Platinum Wallaby.’
12-15″ sun (A454, page 41)
So many plants, so little time!
Thousands of people made their way through the sale, buying everything from ageratum to zebra plant.
After a long wait, the blueberries finally arrived late in the afternoon, thanks to the heroic efforts of the American Blueberry Company. Varieties: Northland, Chippewa, Polaris and Tom Cat. $15.00 each, and they can be found in the fruit section, which is outside within the fence at the east end of the building.
And, of course, there were some great homemade carts in use!
Siam Ruby Banana Musa ‘Siam Ruby’
Baby ‘Siam Ruby’ plants at Rush Creek Growers
10,000 years of banana cultivation in Papua, New Guinea produced a sport with the darkest red leaves of any banana yet discovered. Originally selling for more than $1500, ‘Siam Ruby’ was brought to the U.S. only three years ago and now you can have one for $14.
The foliage is a remarkable dark ruby with lime flecks and streaks, although it starts out chartreuse and develops more and more red as it matures and gets more sun. Each leaf has a surprising new pattern of red and green: some leaves are even half and half! Try Googling on Musa ‘Siam Ruby’ to see many photos of the different leaf markings when the leaves are mature.
A banana tree will easily overwinter as a houseplant in a sunny window or dormant in a cool dark basement.
8’ sun (A638, page 44)
These special bananas are literally not showing their true colors at the sale, but I have faith and I bought one! If you want ‘Siam Ruby’ be sure to look at its label because there are lots of Banana ‘Rowe Red’ (looking more obviously attractive….) right next to it.