HARDY AGAVE
June 28, 2014

Our plant pick this week is actually a collection of plants from Little Prince of Oregon. Hardy agaves take center stage this week. These little plants are tough. They can grow from 1 to 3 feet tall and most of them like fun sun to part shade and well-drained soils. These little wonders are not just good in the landscape but also perform well in containers and even indoors. Another good thing is that they are drought tolerate once established. That means the first year they need normal watering to establish their roots and then less watering after that. When I mention hardy that means for most of our area. Some of these varieties can handle temps down to -20 and some are good to 10 degrees, so remember that when you are planting. We love these as a pot-in-pot plant. We have an empty container in our landscape and when spring comes around we simply drop the plant (in its own container) into the empty one in the ground, and then in the fall we simply pull the container out and put it in the house or the greenhouse, leaving the empty container in the landscape for the next year. If you would like to see a selection of these plants you can stop by the Portland Nursery on Division (503-788-9000) or check out the retail locator at the Little Prince website.
 

GERANIUMS
June 14, 2014

Our plant pick this week was actually a 3 for 1 deal. Drake’s 7 Dees (503-292-9121) on Scholl’s Ferry Road had 3 of the new series of geraniums from Little Prince of Oregon from the ‘Fit for a King’ line. These Geraniums included the ‘Orkney Cherry’, Biokovo’ and the ‘Crystal Rose’ varieties. All 3 of these plants love sun to partial shade and even moisture. They stay pretty hardy in our area and will reward you with continuous blooms through the summer season. They are great in borders, as ground covers and even in containers where they will spill over the side. They have wonderful flower color and leaf color. The ‘Orkney Cherry’ has pink flowers and a bronze foliage. The ‘Biokovo’ has white flowers with a pink edge and light green foliage and the ‘Crystal Rose’ has a Magenta-pink flower with dark green foliage. The best part is that they are a perennial and will keep coming back year after year!
 

OXALIS 'IRON CROSS'
May 24, 2014

‘Are you feeling lucky, punk’? With this week’s plant pick you don’t have to feel lucky because it is so easy to grow! Oxalis tetraphylla ‘Iron Cross’ is the true ‘lucky charm’ it is a 4-leaf clover oxalis that features a burgundy ‘cross’ on the top of every leaf. It makes clumps of bright green foliage and has tiny crimson flowers when in bloom, but the best part is that it is so easy to grow. It really thrives in any type of soil and is non-invasive. It is fairly hardy for our area and is great for borders, containers and even as a houseplant. It also loves sun or shade! If you are looking for this week’s plant pick you can find it at Al’s Garden Center (503-981-1245) in Woodburn or at any of the fine Little Prince of Oregon retailers!
 

POLYGONATUM FALCATUM 'VARIEGATUM'
(VARIEGATED SOLOMON'S SEAL)
May 2, 2014

Our plant pick this week from Little Prince of Oregon is a new take on an old favorite. A lot of people have the native Solomon’s Seal in their garden, but this one is a huge leap forward. This week’s plant pick is the Variegated Solomon’s Seal. This one Is blooming right now. It has green-white pendulous flowers that are fragrant and hang down under arching stems, but the real show is the rich green leaves with cream colored edges. It is very hardy and is great for those shady garden beds. It loves a forest type of setting and can handle damp soils. It is prefect for the Northwest garden! We found a great selection at Garland Nursery (1-800-296-6601), but you can always check out the nursery locator on the Little Prince website for a garden center near you!
 

ASTRANTIA 'STAR SERIES'
April 19, 2014

Our plant pick this week from Little Prince can be found at Larsen Farm Nursery (503-640-5599) out in Hillsboro. We also didn’t get to look at just one plant, we got to see a series of plants. The Star Series of Astrantia include the Star of Beauty, Star of Billion and Star of Fire. These are also called Masterwort plants. These little plants are very hardy in our area, surviving down to -30. They will get about 2 feet tall and wide. The flowers may be small, but there are tons of them on each plant and they will keep coming from mid spring until the first frost of fall. The 3 different plants in the series also give you 3 different choices of color in your garden. You can use these in evenly moist, well drained soils. It likes garden beds, borders and even woodland gardens and makes a great cut flower.
 

PULMONARIA 'MAJESTE'
April 5, 2014

This week’s plant pick from Little Prince is a great one for the early spring garden. Pulmonaria ‘Majeste’ is a nice, low growing perennial that is more mildew resistant than its older cousins. It is a low grower in the garden and likes morning sun and afternoon shade. It can handle cool, moist soils and doesn’t like to dry out, but it doesn’t like standing water. The blooms are a wonderful pink and blue, and sometimes look like 2 different blooms in the same cluster. Another attractive part to this plant is the silvery gray leaves which shine in the shade garden. It will stay around 10 inches tall and will slowly creep as the plant gets older. Not to worry, it is easily dividable and then you can share this wonderful plant with friends! We found this one at Kordell’s in West Linn at the corner of Stafford and Rosemont, but you can find it at many of your local independent garden centers.
 

OXALIS OREGANA 'KLAMATH RUBY'
March 22, 2014

Our plant pick this week is a Oregon native and can also be called Redwood Sorrel. We stopped by Cornell Farm (503-292-9895) and talked to Deby about this wonderful plant grown by Little Prince of Oregon. This ‘clover’ is a great ground cover with a nice pattern on top of the leaves and a striking burgundy color under the leaves. The foliage really offsets the little white flowers. It will grow in lots of different soils, but prefers shade to part shade. You can even use it in containers, but it will really perform well as a ground cover! Stop by Cornell to pick some up or check out the Little Prince website for a garden retailer near you.
 

DWARF GOLDEN SWEET FLAG
March 8, 2014

We are proud to have a new plant pick partner this season for the show. Little Prince of Oregon is coming on board to showcase some of the wonderful plants they grow. Little Prince is located in the Willamette Valley and started by becoming one of the leaders in growing ground covers. They now grow tons of different grasses, perennials and other wonderful plants, like this week’s plant pick, Dwarf Golden Sweet Flag (Acorus gramineus ‘minimus aureus’). This Acorus only gets about 3 inches tall and can take some light foot traffic. It can also handle those wet areas in your garden, and handle full sun too. It stays golden most of the time and in summer the gold color gets a little lighter. You can use this around your borders and in containers to highlight other plants. If you would like to get this plant look for it at your local independent garden retailers. Check out the Little Prince website for a retailer near you.
 

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