ARMATOCEREUS (ar-ma-to-SEER-ee-us)
CACTACEAE. Columnar South American cacti. Sometimes included in Lemaireocereus. Easily grown.
—Armatocereus arboreus (=ghiesbreghtii) (25) ARMA-4. Packet: $2.50
Tall columnar cactus with dense slender spines. Peru. Zone 9. Use GA-3 to germinate in 2 - 4 weeks. Nice!
Info and photos link: http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/128083/
ARUM
—Arum italicum. (20) ARUM-12. Seed Packet: $2.50
10 grams: $10.00
Fresh seed stored moist and refrigerated, ready to germinate!
Foot-long arrowhead-shaped leaves with conspicuous silvery white veins. Large 6 - 12" spathe with lighter veins, followed by attractive clustered bright red berries in fall. England to North Africa. Fairly hardy (Zone 4) perennial to 2 feet. Easy in sun or shade, and good in pots. When blooming it gives off heat and is warm to the touch.
ECHINOCACTUS
—Echinocactus Grusonii. (25) ECHT-10. Packet: $2.50
Click for photo »
'GOLDEN BARREL'. Large round cactus to 3 feet thick, with yellow 1 - 2" spines and bright yellow 2 1/2" flowers in summer. Central México. One of the nicest, forming huge golden balls. Zone 8. Use GA-3 to germinate in 2 - 8 weeks.
OREOCEREUS (or-ee-o-SEER-ee-us)
CACTACEAE. Popular columnar Andean cacti with long hairs and showy flowers. Easy in well-drained soil. Germinates in 2 - 3 weeks with GA-3. "No collection should be without them."—J. Borg.
—Oreocereus celsianus. (25) OREC-6. Packet: $2.50
Click for photo »
Thick, base-branching columns to 3 - 9 feet, with very long woolly hairs from the areoles, and 1 - 3" yellow spines. Red or pink 3" flowers. Bolivia and Argentina. Lovely and hardy to Zone 9.
Info and photos link: http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/67349/
POGOSTEMON
—Pogostemon cablin. (500) POGO-6. Packet: $3.00
1/4 Gram: $10.00
'TRUE PATCHOULI'. Tropical shrublet to 2 - 3 feet with very fragrant mauve flowers in 1 - 3" spikes, and 2 - 4" leaves. East Indies. Zone 9b or 10. The main source of patchouli oil. Used for fragrance, medicinally, and sometimes used as seasoning. Best in warm places with part shade.
Info and photos link: http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/53931/
PONCIRUS (pon-SIR-us)
RUTACEAE. A single species of hardy citrus.
—Poncirus trifoliata 'Flying Dragon'. (20) PONC-4F. Packet: $2.50
Oz: $10.00
'FLYING DRAGON TRIFOLIATE ORANGE.' Striking variety with curly stems and hooked thorns, making a stunning display when leafless in winter. Large white fragrant 2" flowers before the leaves, followed by very fragrant 2" fruits ("Dragon's Eggs"). Deciduous small tree to 8 feet (smaller than the type, so easier to keep trimmed), hardy to Chicago. Zone 5. Makes a nice, deer-proof 'living barbed wire fence' planted 2 feet apart, and because the thorns are curved, they are not a hazard to tractor tires if branches get left on the ground after trimming. Fruits make a nice juice, best if squeezed a few weeks after picking. Comes 95% true from seed. Germinates best in the dark, cover seed well.
Photo and information links:
http://dangergarden.blogspot.com/2011/03/poncirus-trifoliata-or-flying-dragon.html Great photos!
http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/31545/
http://www.homecitrusgrowers.co.uk/poncirustrifoliata/poncirus.html
For wholesale mail-order bare-root one-year old seedlings for planting hedges (about 6" tall, with 6" roots, $2.00 each in lots of 50 or more, plus postage), contact Adam Turtle of Earth Advocates Research Farm, 30 Myers Road, Summertown, TN 38483-7323, Phone 1-931-964-4151 (7AM to 5PM Central Time).