Alpine, Rock, Miniature, Bonsai and Railroad Gardens

Showing 65–72 of 92 results

  • Petrophytum caespitosum Mat rock Spiraea Z 4-9

    Tight cushions bearing white spikes August-September.

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    Tight cushions bearing white spikes August-September. Its roots penetrate rock crevices and cracks

    Size: 4” x 4-6’
    Care: sun to part shade in well-drained soil. Drought tolerant. Do not allow leaf litter to cover it.
    Native: Sierras to Rocky Mountains

    Collected by premier plant hunter Thomas Nuttall 1834-1837 on his exploration across the continent to the Pacific “on high shelving rocks in the Rocky Mountains, towards the sources of the Platte.”

  • Phlox stolonifera syn. P. reptans Creeping phlox Z. 4-9

    Flowers white to pink to purple in spring

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    Flowers white to pink to purple in spring

    Size: 6-12” x spreads by stolons (stems that root on soil surface
    Care: sun to shade in most any soil
    Native: Appalachian Mountains
    Size: Very useful groundcover due to its willingness to grow anywhere

    Curtis’s Botanical Magazine 1801: discovered by John Fraser in Georgia 1786 and sent to Sims in 1801. ALSO COLLECTED BY Michaux about same time but Sims described 1st ans so received priority. Sims’ described a form with violet corolla from Blue Ridge Mtns. A purple colored form which is more wide-spread named P. stolonifera crassifolia by Don. A “showy-flowered Phlox which has long been in cultivation combines the characters of P. subulata and P. stolonifera in such a striking way as to clearly indicate its origin as a hybrid between these two species.” Given various names incl/ P. procumbens, P verna and P. amoena. P. 76

  • Phyteuma scheuchzeri Horned rampion Z 5-8

    globe-shaped, blue-purple flowers with petals resembling horns

    $9.75/pot

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    Clusters of globe-shaped, blue-purple flowers with petals resembling horns or curved spikes bloom in June-July. “…(W)hen exposed only to the morning sun, will keep long in bloom.” Curtis’ Botanical Magazine 1815-6.

    Size: 8-12” x 12”
    Care: sun in well-drained soil
    Native: Mountains of Switzerland and “Piemont.”

    Collected in late 1700’s. The name Phyteuma is from Greek meaning “a plant.”

  • Polemonium reptans Greek valerian, Jacobs ladder Z 4-8

    Cluster of light blue bell shaped blooms in May and June

    $10.25/bareroot

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    Clusters of light blue bell shaped blooms in May and June

    Size: 8-12” x 10”
    Care: part shade in moist to moist well-drained soil, immune to Walnut toxins
    Native: Ontario & Quebec to Alabama, west to MN & KS, Wisconsin native

    Collected for gardens before 1750. Meskwaki made a compound of roots as a physic and for urinary ailments.

  • Potentilla porphyrantha Z 3-8

    Hairy, gray foliage set off mid-pink blooms in spring

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    Hairy, gray foliage set off mid-pink blooms in spring

    Size: 6” x 15”
    Care: sun in moist well-drained to well-drained soil
    Native: Caucasus Mountains in Armenia

    1st described for botany in 1940. Seems to be controversy among taxonomists about the plant’s name. Regardless, both the foliage and flowers make a beautiful little alpine plant.

  • Potentilla tridentata syn. Sibbaldiopsis tridentate Three-toothed cinquefoil Z 2-7

    Clusters of white, single rose-like saucer flowers spring and early summer on this dainty-appearing perennial.  Its glossy evergreen leaves tinge red in fall and winter.

    $10.25/bareroot

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    Clusters of white, single rose-like saucer flowers spring and early summer on this dainty-appearing perennial.  Its glossy evergreen leaves tinge red in fall and winter.

    Size: 6" x 12" spreading by runners-can become a groundcover.
    Care: sun in well-drained, acidic soil
    Native: New England to Upper Great Lakes, north to the Arctic, Appalachian Mountains of Georgia, WI native.
    Wildlife Value: source of food for Copper butterflies
    Awards: Cary Award Distinctive Plants for New England

    Described and named by Kew’s  British botanist William Aiton in Hortus Kewensis 1789.

  • Potentilla x tonguei Staghorn cinquefoil Z. 5-8

    Apricot-yellow flowers with red centers bloom June-September

    $12.75/bareroot

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    Apricot-yellow flowers with red centers bloom June-September.

    Size: 6” x 12”
    Care: Sun to part shade in moist well-drained soil
    Awards: Royal Horticultural Society Award of Garden Merit.

    This is a cross of P. anglica and P. nepalensis which took place naturally in a garden. This Cinquefoil has been in gardens since at least 1839.  Potentilla is Latin meaning “powerful” referring to historic medicinal properties since Hippocrates. We love its long, colorful blooms and neat habit.

  • Primula elatior Oxlip Z 4-9

    Nodding trumpets of soft yellow flowers with a dark yellow center  atop upright stems

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    Nodding trumpets of soft yellow flowers with a dark yellow center atop upright stems

    Size: 10” x 10”
    Care: part shade in moist to moist well-drained soil
    Native: Europe
    Wildlife Value: deer and rabbit resistant
    Awards: Plant Select® Central Rocky Mountain region; Royal Botanical Society Award of Garden Merit

    Primula is from Italian “primavera” meaning first spring.  Elatior means “tall”, all things being relative it’s taller than some Primulas but not very tall.  In gardens since at least 1765. According to Philip Miller, Gardener’s Dictionary 1768, “they are much used in medicine.” Grown at America’s 1st botanic garden, Elgin Botanic Garden 1811.