SPRING 2015 Mail Order Catalog Cistus Nursery 22711 NW Gillihan Road Sauvie Island, OR 97231 503.621.2233 phone order by phone 9 - 5 pst, visit 10am - 5pm, email: [email protected] www.cistus.com Spring 2015 Mail Order Catalog 2 USDA zone: 3 Hosta 'Blue Mouse Ears' This super-cute hosta is a mutation of H. ‘Blue Cadet’, proving that sometimes a little mutation is good. In this form small silver-blue leaves, slightly rolled at the edges, form rounded clumps, to 8" tall x 1 ft wide, topped in early summer with short, sweet spikes of lavender flowers. Best in light shade to shade where the soil is rich and summer water is regularly supplied. Frost hardy to -40F, USDA zones 3. $16 Liliaceae / Asparagaceae Opuntia polyacantha 'Peter Pan' hedgehog prickly pear Collected by Kelly Grummons in Colorado's Pawnee National Grasslands, this stunning, perpetually juvenile, non-flowering form has pads of 1-3" covered in bright, white spines. Forms a spiny, white carpet to only 3" tall and spreading slowly to up to 2 ft wide. A good selection for rock gardens or troughs in sun and well- drained soil. Drought tolerant. Frost hardy to -40F, USDA zone 3. $12 Cactaceae Hemerocallis 'Secured Borders' daylily A stunning, variegated daylily, the grassy leaves appearing in spring with a narrow, green center on a white field, the result of careful breeding over many years by Sybil and Walter Przypek of Virginia. Plants are small, to 12" tall in clumps growing to 18" wide. Into summer yellow flowers appear above the foliage which has turned to green in the warm weather. A lovely plant and a collector's dream. For full to part sun with regular summer water. Frost hardy in USDA zone 3. $16 Xanthorrhoeaceae Opuntia fragilis 'Red N Black' Very nice version of our native Opuntia, this with striking red and black spines growing to 4-6" tall by 3 ft wide and showing off yellow flowers in late spring. Handsome in the sunny well-drained garden, with occasional, monsoon-like summer water for best appearance. Frost hardy in USDA zone 3. $12 Cactaceae Opuntia fragilis 'Alberta Sunset' A Claude Barr introduction many years ago, this diminutive plant from the northern Great Plains grows only to 4-5" to height forming colonies of dense clumps to 18" in diameter over time. With nearly spineless pads and colors beginning warm yellow and aging through colors of the sunset. Fantastic for the rock garden or a small container. Zone 3 $8 Cactaceae Opuntia humifusa x macrorhiza $12 Cactaceae Opuntia polyacantha 'Crystal Tide' This Claude Barr introduction forms dense clumps to 18" tall and spreading to 3 feet. The olive green pads are covered with golden and white spines. Silver pink flowers occur in mid spring. Very good container or landscape plant for well-drained soil and bright light. To zone 3. $11 Cactaceae Spring 2015 Mail Order Catalog 3 Opuntia echinocarpa 'Portal Blonde' wiggin's cholla A Cistus Introduction: One of Sean's original collections from 1981 from the east face of the Sierra Nevada just downhill from the Whitney portal, this small cholla to about 4 feet is clothed with warm golden spines that fade cream as they age. Yellow flowers in mid spring. Lovers of particularly well-drained soil and easy to grow. A fine container or landscape plant. Zone 3. $11 Cactaceae Opuntia 'Smithwick' $12 Cactaceae Opuntia polyacantha 'Browse Pink' Also from Tim Hanis, from the diverse prickly pear population near St. George, Utah, this vigorous plant becomes a 2-3 ft clump fairly quickly, producing a pleasing, mid-pink flower amid the, indeed, red and white, bi-colored spines -- a very nice effect, the plant standing out from quite a distance in Tim's garden. Needs decently drained soil and full sun. Frost hardy to -20F, USDA zone 3. $12 Cactaceae Opuntia humifusa 'Major' As the name implies, certainly a particularly large form of this typically creeping prickly pear found throughout the southeastern US. To 4 feet or more in width with 6 inch pads and blunt, golden central spines, making it particularly pretty when backlit. Warm yellow flowers with orange anthers adorn the plant in mid spring and occasionally in summer (when watered) followed by red fruit. Very good container plant or landscape creature. Also one of the best for partial shade. To USDA zone 3 $11 Cactaceae Opuntia sp. SBH 9116b - mini pad $9 Cactaceae Sempervivum 'Desert Bloom' A dusty gray-green houseleek that slowly forms a colony of 4-6" rosettes. Older leaves turn a slight pink- purple color as they flatten out, giving this particular cultivar a very Tuscan feel. Full to part sun. Excellent for roof gardens or in between stones in the rockery. Frost hardy to USDA zone 3. $7 Crassulaceae USDA zone: 4 Geranium phaeum 'Margaret Wilson' A handsome, variegated cultivar of the easy to grow black widow geranium, this with light green leaves marbled in creamy white toped with purple-lavender flowers beginning in early summer. Forms clumps to 12" tall x 2 ft wide in sun to part shade with protection from afternoon sun in hottest climates. Needs regular summer water for best appearance. Does well in containers flowing easily down the sides Frost hardy in USDA zone 5. $12 Geraniaceae Spring 2015 Mail Order Catalog 4 Ruta graveolens 'Variegata' variegated rue Already a favorite cooking herb and medicinal plant, this variegated form has handsome splashes of yellow variegation on the bluish foliage that cools the garden. An evergreen shrub to 2 ft tall, excellent shrub for the hot, dry Mediterranean garden in full sun with little summer water once established. Frost hardy in USDA zone 4. $11 Rutaceae Tricyrtis 'Lightning Strike' Striking toad lily, literally, with handsome imbricate leaves streaked spring green and dark and light yellow. The late season, deep purple flowers make a delightful contrast. Perfect plant for the shade garden where even moisture can be applied and slugs and snails can be denied. Quickly makes a substantial clump. Regular fertilizer and mulch is helpful. Probably USDA zone 4, even colder with mulch. $12 Liliaceae Opuntia 'Cyclops' cyclops prickly pear Though the name has been around a long time, this plant's origins are unclear We do know this is a cute little prickly pear to 1 ft or 18" in height, probably having O. macrorhiza in its ancestry, with rounded pads of 4-6" forming tight clusters with dark bunches of spines appearing as polka dots from a distance. Cheery yellow flowers appear in mid to late spring. Good for container or sunny garden. And, as one would expect, very drought tolerant though west of the Sierra or Cascades would like a drink from the hose once in a while to spur growth. Frost hardy to -30F, USDA zone 4. $12 Cactaceae Opuntia basilaris 'Peachy' beavertail cactus This beavertail cactus, a native from the Mohave desert of California into northern Sonora, was given to us from an old Albuquerque garden and has been one of the best performers. Attractive clumps, from 3-4 ft wide and 18” in height, with 6” pads of powdery blue-tinted-pink, burgundy in winter, and, indeed, peachy pink flowers in spring and early summer. Though a clone more tolerant of garden water, they still prefer well- drained, gritty soil, especially where winters are wet …and an occasional thunderstorm, artificial or not, in dry summer climates. Frost hardy to -30F, USDA zone 4. $12 Cactaceae Opuntia aurea 'Coombes Winter Glow' creeping beavertail cactus Old opuntia selection that is very hardy but, for unknown reasons, now much harder to find. We like it for the unassuming green pads that turn dark red-purple to nearly black in cold weather. To 2 ft tall and up to 3 ft wide with cerise flowers appearing in June. Tough and easy in lean, well-drained soil with lots of sun and little summer water. Frost hardy to -30F, USDA zone 4. $11 Cactaceae Polygonatum odoratum var. pluriflorum 'Jinguji Form' red stem solomon's seal Upright perennial, a Japanese form of the traditional Solomon's seal, this with red stems that create a sharp contrast with the green leaves and spring bell-flowers that dangle from the stem followed by black berry-like fruit. Best in dappled shade to full shade, reaching 20-24" tall in clumps to 2-3 ft wide. Moist, fertile soil is best for beautiful plants standing over a long period. Frost hardy to -30F, at least, USDA zone 4. $15 Liliaceae / Asparagaceae Spring 2015 Mail Order Catalog 5 Cyclamen hederifolium - silver shades Our seedlings of these fall flowering beauties, taken from isolated plants of entirely silver-leaved forms. The same warm pink flowers appear early, at the end of August, and often continue into October and November giving way to way to sheets of silver leaves. Wonderful when interplanted with black mondo grass (Ophiopogon planiscarpus’Nigrescens’). Easy in USDA zone 6 or above in open areas of light shade and little disturbance. Has been grown successfully as low as zone 4 with culms mulched or planted a bit deep. $12 Primulaceae Opuntia humifusa - dwarf from Claude Barr This early selection by Great Plains plantsman Claude Barr grows to only 5-6" in height but forms a rather dense mat of rounded, shiny green and nearly spineless pads to about 3 ft wide. Cheery yellow flowers appear in summer followed by reddish fruit. Fabulous for planters or as spillers and easy to grow in most soil provided there is no standing water. Some summer water helps to push growth.