The Year of the Dragon

The Lunar New Year is here and the festivities for Chinese New Year are in full swing. While I'm not Chinese nor does my family celebrate Chinese New Year, I can't help but acknowledge it each year as I have many friends that do celebrate it and the happy occasions and traditions seem to have rubbed off on me knowing how significant a holiday it is to those around me.

 

There are aspects of Chinese culture I thoroughly enjoy, the art, the food, and, of course, THE PLANTS! I studied Chinese Brush Painting years ago, I cook Chinese influenced dishes almost every single week and my collection of plants are dominated by species from "the Mother of Gardens".



Plants and flowers play an important role in the festivities for Chinese New Year and there are iconic plants you'll often see at stores such as:


Miniature orange trees or kumquats:

 

Obviously, mandarin oranges do not grow naturally like this, but you'll see these all over China as they symbolize great fortune. The round fruit also symbolize unity and perfection.

Chinese Sacred Lilies:

So the Chinese started the whole forcing of paperwhites, but they do them more elaborately often carving the bulbs into unique shapes and their flowering is always timed so they're in full, gloriously fragrant bloom come Chinese New Year! Known as Shui Xian Hua (water goddess flower) and botanically known as Narcissus tazetta v. chinensis

 

Lucky Bamboo:

 

Everyone is familiar with Lucky Bamboo (not really a bamboo, but botanically known as Dracaena sanderiana) and you'll see more of them during the Chinese New Year decorated and often contorted in many different shapes and forms. They are easily grown in water and make a low maintenance house plant and as the same suggests, symbolize luck and goof fortune.

The year of the dragon reminds me so many plants that I grow that have "DRAGON" in their name.


The first plant that comes to mind is Poncirus (now classified as Citrus) trifoliata 'Flying Dragon'. It is a hardy plant for us in the Pacific Northwest and it is highly unusual with its contorted branches, dark stems and occasional fruit. I've used it in container plantings, but I've yet to get mine in the ground as it looks smashing in a pot and I'm not quite sure where it'll go in the garden.

 Then there's the rampant Persicaria 'Red Dragon' with it's deep red and silver cast to the foliage.














An impulse purchase at a local nursery was this rare Polygonatum that I thought I had lost, but I think I managed to save a piece of the rhizome. This is a variety called 'Jeweled Dragon'

 













Next is a conifer that's readily available in the trade and one I really should be growing, but again, not sure where it's going to go, but this 'Black Dragon' Japanese Cedar (Cryptomeria japonica) is a handsome plant that doesn't get too large. Getting to about 7-8ft. tall and wide in 15-20 years, which is pretty compact so it lends itself to container work and a small urban garden. So, it's slow growing and quite low maintenance.












恭禧發財!! Gong Xi Fa Cai (mandarin) Gong Hey Fat Choy (Cantonese)


Happy Chinese New Year!



Riz

Impulse Buy: Polygonatum odoratum 'Jeweled Dragon'

I figured I'd start a series where I'd profile a plant I purchase for me, myself, and I. So often times I visit nurseries to buy plants for clients and as tempted as I am to get something for myself while I'm there, I've learned to restrain myself. Even during plant sales lately, I keep getting asked, "WHERE'S YOUR BOX?"!!

I think I've just learned to be honest with myself and my current situation with my garden. Until I get the new driveway and redesign done, I really don't need anything new besides a few specimen trees and perhaps a few mature shrubs as "bones" in my new landscape, but after years of looking at plants and admiring the rare and unusual, I know something special when I see it and this past week, it was this gem:



I tried to find out more about this variegated Solomon's Seal, but, of course, many retail nurseries do not like to release where their material comes from. I know I saw a similar plant at Windcliff and a Japanese selection offered by Asiatica Nursery called 'Koryu'.



So, one may ask: What's so special about this plant?

Here's the run-down:

1)To most people, the subtle white streaks on the ridges of a rugose midvein might not seem all that significant, but the textural interest makes this plant unique and one of a kind.



2)I paid $20 for this small plant, while Asiatica wants $44.00 for a 3.5 inch pot. So yeah, if I can bulk it up, it could be quite profitable (if there's enough interest in it)

3)Not many people will want to spend that much on a small perennial like this so the likelihood of having something that very few gardeners have is a plus on my book. And if it proves to be as vigorous as the straight species, that's an added bonus!

What do you think? Worth it? Waste of hard-earned money? Find receipt and return it?


R