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Raoulia australis    VEGETABLE SHEEP    closeup    habit, at UC Santa Cruz   we've offered this in the past but is has been so long we are featuring it again! It just wasn't a great gallon item, but it is perfect in quarts, where we offer it now. This intriguing and unusual thing looks and feels like a bed of tiny, moist gravel. In fact my first nursery boss, Herb Senft, gave up growing it because after his chickens fed they would all march down and peck his porr plant into oblivion trying to use it for grit. It only gets 1/2" tall, at most and has equally minute, insignificant flowers (it is actually a daisy!). Use it as a soil-level backdrop for other cute low things, alpines, succulents, or just feature it by itself against rocks, wood edging, something colorful and artistic, you get the picture. It makes a spectacular solitary large container plant, believe it or not, especially if you have a really striking container. This strange plant, like Scleranthus biflorus, is a member of the unusual "mat/moss/cushion communities" of New Zealand and Australia, found in windswept, miserable places, usually with very lean, sterile, sandy or gravelly soils. These communities are dominated by lichens, grasses and dwarf, clumping, moss-like alien plant creatures evolved from many families, whose competitive strategies are just to slowly inch up and over their most obnoxious neighbors. Needs excellent drainage, average watering, and likes peat moss in an undrained container beneath it in the pot or planting hole. Full sun to part shade. Sunset zones 4-9, 13-24/USDA zone 7. New Zealand. Compositae/Asteraceae. rev 7/2011

Raspberry 'Garden of Eatin'   mouth watering fruit   this is a modern heirloom, an excellent but at-that-time experimental variety we inherited when we bought our nursery back in 1988. It took me a while to realize that when the workers warned me not to eat the fruit because "it had been sprayed" that it was just a ruse to make sure the fruit was left for them. And having worked in the berries they recognized what a superior variety it was. This is a high quality, everbearing selection of typical dimensions and growth habit. The fruit is of excellent flavor, rich, spicy, very sweet at full, dark red maturity, a bit precocious, lusty, flinty, with hints of vanilla and musk. Overall it is a complex flavor that reminds me very much of a fine, sweet chardonnay mixed with sangria. The name comes from a restaurant of Jeffry's childhood, a mythical place his father loved to paint wonderful visions of,  and hold out the hope to Jeff that he would take him there someday. It was a fabulous restaurant he promised, with sumptuous meals, a real maitre 'd, high class waiters, red velvet, and serving only the most exclusive and moneyed clientele. As an adult Jeff tracked it down and found himself eating a corndog and fries at a humble roadside burger joint. Great name though, and one of my favorite Young Jeff stories too. Full sun, rich soils, average but regular watering, half shade in Central Valley or inland SoCal regions. They like a long, cool spring like those of Coastal and Inland Valley regions. Cut back canes once they have terminated with fruit. Older plants in the ground produce the best flavor. Sunset all zones/USDA 3? rev 6/2011

Restio    a genus of grass-like or rush-like plants, in its own family (Restionaceae) and order (Restionales) distributed mainly in the Southern Hemisphere. They are clumping growers, evergreen, often with feathery or exotically plumed leaves from jointed and usually sheathed culms or stems. They are found on poor mineral soils, often winter inundated but seasonally dry, but are quite variable in preference. The tops are drought adapted but the roots have air vesicles to help in inundated conditions. They vary from frost hardy to tender. They make dramatic focal point or accent plants or can be used in clumps or even massed. In South Africa they are often found growing in nature with Erica, and most in situ shots of South African heathers will show a stem or two of a Restionaceae member growing near it. They all make great cut foliage subjects and most are good container subjects as well. Most species of this family are dioecious, meaning males and females are separate plants, and their forms can vary by their sex. Males of different species can be hard to distinguish. Related genera are Chondropetalum, Rhodocoma, Thamnochortus, and Elegia. One genus of this family has an almost unpronounceable name, one of the most difficult in the plant kingdom: Ecdeiocolea. Some brilliant and alert systematist realized that he had a rare chance to create an even more unpronounceable name and didn't let the opportunity pass. The genus was thereby honored by being elevated to being a full family all on its own (in his opinion), and so is now recognized by some as the magnificently monogeneric Ecdeiocoleaceae. rev 12/2002

multiflorus    large nursery plants    a dense grower, with bright green, very plumose juvenile foliage. To 6' tall by 3' across, the sparsely branched, essentially smooth, vertical flower stems arise fountain-like from the center, with dark brown bracts and white flowers (female) in winter. It is native to rocky places in mountain areas of southwestern Cape Region, which has a Mediterranean winter-rainfall/summer drought climate pattern. It is a winter grower (though never totally dormant), will take some frost, and likes well drained acidic soils. Give it as much sun as possible. rev 10/2005 

tetraphyllus    TASSLE CORD RUSH    30+ year old "Mother of All Restios," Strybing Dwarf Conifer Garden    typical young plants, at UCSC    this is an outstanding Australian species, growing as an upright clump of stiff culms with feathery, more arching leaves. It is notably dense, vertical, and bright green. Mature stands can get to 4' tall by 6' across, growing best in damp areas but still growing fine in average soil with occasional water. Males and females differ in their flower presentation and males are more feathery; both are bright rusty brown and ornamental. The flowers appear in spring and last into summer. It will tolerate quite a bit of shade, can be grown in a container with adequate watering, and is quite frost hardy (probably surviving Sunset zone 5) but any time temperatures drop below 25-20F it is going to lose its tops and have to resprout from its underground rhizomes. That is not something you want to happen every year. Its plumes are used as cut foliage, as with many other Restios, but this species is the basis for a large industry. This was the first Restio I encountered, and probably was for many in the Bay Area, who like me first saw it in the Strybing Dwarf Conifer Garden. The original plant is still there. Sunset zones 8-9, 14-24/USDA zone 9. rev 10/2005 

alaternus ‘Variegata’    closeup    clipped hedge    leaves striped with creamy white. A much more restrained, compact grower.

Rhaphiolepis umbellata ‘Minor’    Hotel Del Coronado    flowers    a very dense, compact plant bearing very dark green leaves tinged dark burgundy on the tips and margins. New growth is dark rosy burgundy. Stems are upright, plant grows as a tight mound to 2’ tall, 3-4’ wide. White flowers can be quite showy but appear to be sterile; we have never seen it fruit. This variety seems essentially immune to the foliar leaf spot characteristically seen on Rhaphiolepis in Northern and Central California in winter. Sun to part shade, little watering, frost hardy for most of California. Japan. Rosaceae. rev 11/2006

Rhodocoma foliosa    nursery plants    another genus of feathery, grass-like plant related to Chondropetalum and Restio. This is one of the very best Restios of all. It is a dense upright grower to about 3-4', with flower stems to 4-5' tall. It is dense, bright green, plumose, but compact and very well behaved. Teresa Aquino of the former Blue Bamboo Nursery on Ocean Street Extension in Santa Cruz called it her favorite species, because it was always neat and fresh-looking, never needed grooming, didn't arch over with age, is compact and well behaved, and has such great color. Male flower spikes are very tall, golden brown, and quite ornamental. Sun to half shade (the more sun the better), doesn't seem picky about soils. It also almost certainly withstands wet winter conditions but likes some summer watering. Another unbeatable container plant. Probably withstands frost to Sunset zones 8-9, 14-24/ USDA zone 9. Restionaceae. South Africa. rev 1/2010

Rhopalostylus SHUTTLECOCK PALM, NIKAU PALM  compact pinnate-leaved species of New Zealand's North Island, with shaving brush shaped heads and clean, ringed trunks. Slow, stately, dramatic. Rare. They like cool to moderate summer climates and range in frost hardiness. These palms usually start life as an understory seedling, and seem to be much, much happier with at least some shade when young. New Zealand. Palmae/Arecaceae. rev 10/2010

Romneya coulteri    MATILIJA POPPY    flower    cut    medium size plant    evergreen to deciduous perennial, growing upright stems to 10’ but usually lower, especially if pruned back in winter. Large, relatively smooth grey green leaves are partially divided. Huge, 6-8" wide white flowers have crinkly, crepe paper petals and a globular cluster of deep yellow stamens at the center. Makes a stunning cut flower. Sun, average to good drainage, little or no summer watering. Definitely looks best if cut back hard in winter. Southern California. Papaveraceae.

Rosa    deciduous shrubs and scandent climbers. Almost all are very tough and durable when established. Full to mostly full sun, not particularly fussy about drainage. Some are disease prone (mostly mildew in California), those are the ones we stay away from. Rosaceae. rev 12/2002

chinensis    flowers    habit    also known as R. chinensis ‘Mutabilis,’ this plant grows to 5’ tall and 7’ wide. It is an outstanding species, and bears single deep pink flowers, to 3" across, which age to salmon. Heaviest bloom is in spring, with flowers produced continuously through summer and fall.

HYBRIDS:

‘Black Baccara’ PP13152    single perfect flower    a deep, velvety, carbon black red, darker in spring then lightening to dark burgundy with summer heat. This is the blackest rose ever developed, and is the product of years of breeding and discarding. It is especially notable because of its very good vigor and the fact that the high level of pigments in the petals is not toxic to the plant so the flowers are very long lasting. The color is blacker under artificial light, and it is a great cutting variety with an up to 2 week vase life. In fact, it is a commercial novelty cutting variety now being released for garden use because of its great popularity. Cup-like form, 45 petals, 5" across, not fragrant. Vigorous, upright, repeat blooms, one bloom per stalk.
'Brilliant Pink Iceberg'    mature flower    younger    same vigor, glossy foliage, disease resistance, outstanding bloom performance, repeat/everblooming habit, shape, you name it, but with flowers watercolored and blushed a deep cerise pink. Grows a little more openly than its parent. rev 5/2007
‘Iceberg’    why you plant it    Floribunda. Possibly still the best white rose of any class. Excellent flowers, excellent vigor, and excellent disease resistance. Continuous growing season bloom. Just an outstanding plant all around 

‘Cl. Altissimo’    flowers    against a house    velvety, brilliant single red flowers, with slightly lighter centers, held against glossy green foliage. A vigorous and heavy blooming climber.
‘Cl. America’    closeup    large, fully double, pure coral pink flowers appear late in spring. Blooms on old and new wood. Has a strong, spicy fragrance.
‘Cl. Autumn Sunset’    single large flower    a scrambling climber to 8-12', with large, double warm apricot gold flowers held on shiny green, very disease resistant (especially black spot) foliage. Strong fruity fragrance, good vigor, free bloomer that starts the first year and produces flowers from old and new wood. Best color in cooler weather or locations. “Unbeatable.”
'Cl. Brilliant Pink Iceberg'    just as awesome as the best white rose on the planet, a fantastic repeat bloomer, excellent disease resistance, vigor, gloss, shape, you name it, but with flowers a deep clear pink. rev 5/2006
'Cl. Brite Eyes'    blooming    said to be highly disease resistant, to black spot in particular, and a particularly troublefree climbing/pillar rose. A compact grower to 8', prolific single flowers are almost clear pink with just a touch of salmon, lighter centers, a moderate fragrance, and a great repeat bloomer. rev 5/2006
‘Cl. Eden’    blooming    rolled, very double pastel pink flowers have very pale outer petals. A fast, vigorous grower with great foliage, a light fragrance, and repeat bloom.
‘Cl. Fourth of July’    striped flowers    the first climber to win an AARS award in 23 years. Medium pink single flowers to 4 1/2" are streaked with dark red, centers color to medium yellow with prominent yellow stamens. A real jamboree of color all spring and summer, with a slight fragrance.
‘Cl. Iceberg’    closeup    older    all of the qualities of ‘Iceberg’ in a climber.
‘Cl. Joseph's Coat’    closeup    a swirl of colors; deep rose pink petals fade to lighter within, with a yellow center. Flowers age darker.
‘Cl. Polka’    perfect blossom    large, double, tawny apricot flowers fade to light peach. The wavy petals give the flowers a frilly appearance. Glossy, dark green disease free foliage forms the perfect backdrop for the flowers that appear through the growing season. Another Meilland rose.
'Cl Purple Splash'    flowers  a climber with fragrant flowers attractively and chaotically marked with radial streaks of  dark violet purple against speckled white. Small yellow centers add to the package on this single rose to about 3-4" across, borne on broad panicles. Disease resistant, excellent rebloomer. rev 5/2011
'Cl. Red Eden'    just like 'Eden,' as far as growth, foliage, etc., but with bright red flowers. Nested double petals, moderate fragrance. Looks very old fashioned! rev 4/2005
‘Cl. Sally Holmes’    closeup    nice plant    why I like picket fences    a vigorous shrub with strong-growing upright canes to 6’, often treated as a climber. Light apricot to salmon buds open to 4-5" wide, the single to semidouble flowers held in clusters, pale salmon to almost white with a center flushed warm light yellow. Leaves are glossy. Another R. ‘Ballerina’ hybrid, this wonderful bush completely hides its foliage with flowers during its blinding mid-spring display, then offers a few flowers later in the year. Old, easy, but still one of the most spectacular. rev 12/2003
'Cl. Smiley Face'   happy flowers   a reblooming climber with beautiful, clear yellow flowers on disease resistant, dark green foliage. Has a slight spicy  fragrance. Easy to combine with most any color of clematis. To about 12' tall. Sun, regular watering. rev 5/2011
'Cl. White Eden'    closeup    creamy white aging to blush pink, so not a true, pure white but a variant of  'Eden' with all of that cultivar's attributes with flowers shifted in color. rev 5/2006 

Rosmarinus officinalis    ROSEMARY    this Mediterranean shrub ranges from upright to spreading in form, often with attractive, gnarly, sinewy trunks and stringy, peeling bark. Dark green needle-like leaves are used in seasoning, although the upright and semiupright varieties taste better than the prostrate types, which can have a flavor closer to turpentine. Light blue to dark blue flowers usually appear in a heavy wave in late winter or early spring, with some buds opening in late fall. Grow all in full to mostly sun exposures and in average to granular, mineral soils. They only need occasional summer watering in Mediterranean climates, but they should have some or else by August they will look like the very brown native plants growing on your nearest slope. Zones 4-24/USDA zone 7. Labiatae/Lamiaceae. rev 10/2009 

    Some varieties grow more or less horizontally, such as ‘Prostratus’ and ‘Huntington Carpet.’ Others are semiupright, like ‘Ken Taylor’ and ‘Benenden Blue.’ Try recommending these latter two as ground covers also; they grow with vertical stems to 30", then sprout basal branches which spread outwards a short way before then turning upwards. They can cover large areas and their dark blue flowers are much showier than those of ‘Prostratus.’ The variety ‘Rentzel’s Irene’ is slow, but very prostrate, and is especially good cascading down a wall. All are good in containers.

‘Benenden Blue’ (‘Ingramii’)    flowers    habit    old, unmaintained plant at our nursery    semierect stems to 30", with dark blue flowers. Collingwood Ingram originally named this selection after his garden, Benenden. Probably the showiest variety, and mature specimens can be stunning in bloom. Good for flavoring too. rev 8/2003
‘Huntington Carpet’    pale flowers    from the Huntington Botanic Gardens, this variety looks like ‘Prostratus,’ but is about half as fast, gets about half as tall and wide, and has leaf internodes that are about half as long as ‘Prostratus.’ A lower ground cover variety, and very good for situations where it will cascade, but somewhat open. Flowers are the same pale blue. An excellent cascading variety. Legend has it that this plant is the same as the famous ‘Lockwood de Forest,’ a variety now lost to the trade. rev 8/2010
‘Ken Taylor’    flowers    habit     mother plants at Aromas Library    superficially similar to ‘Benenden Blue,’ but lower, slightly less robust, much more rounded and dome shaped, and with leaves that tend to clasp the stem more. It has similar dark blue flowers, but with a darker and slightly more purple hue than those of ‘Benenden Blue.’ Ken Taylor showed me the original plant in the 1970's, and told me it originated as a seedling that sprouted under ‘Benenden Blue’ in his garden in Aromas. rev 8/2010
'Lavender Pink'   flowers   this is the best pink form I have found yet. It has a nicest combination of lavender pink flower color with durable, semiupright to horizontal growth. The old 'Majorica Pink' has a lackluster color, and is prone to die-out, and also gets too tall, weaknesses I have noticed in all other pink forms. This one has an alluring hue and is relatively low, and vigorous, and healthy. Plus its color mixes well with regular blue rosemaries. To about 3' tall, spreading. rev 2/2011
‘Prostratus’    closeup    habit    gnarly trunks    young commercial planting    to 24-30" tall, spreading or trailing outwards. Great cascading down rock walls. Pale blue flowers are subtle and nice. One of the biggest liabilities of this variety, and also one of its most endearing attributes, is its strong tendency to develop fantastic, bare, gnarled, ribbed and buttressed branches and trunks, festooned with shreds of ribbony bark. Solitary specimens trained and pruned to highlight this feature can be extremely effective if you can prevent landscaper from cutting it back to a stump. rev 8/2003
‘Rentzel’s Irene’PP9124    flower color    very prostrate, very compact, very pendant growth with darker blue flowers. Intensity of color improves after the plant has been in the ground a while. A slow grower. Patented, unlicensed propagation prohibited.  rev 5/2010
'Rose'  blooms   this is another form we fetched from Portland, with light pink flowers marked with deep rose red on the petals. The overall effect is of dark rose pink color. It is a dense, spreading, upright grower, slower than most, with fine textured, slightly golden-hued foliage. The leaf color is a nice change, and adds off-season interest. rev 3/2011
‘Tuscan Blue’    closeup    more flowers    habit    with cactus    even more flowers    a fast, tall shrub to 6-10’, with medium blue flowers. Probably the best variety for seasoning, with a sweeter, spicier, less turpentine-like flavor. rev 8/2003
'White'  deer and drought tolerant, evergreen and fragrant, here is the herb with white flowers instead of blue. For your moon garden! Upright spikes of foliage to about 4', loving sun and heat. Dark green leaves combine beautifully with its old friend, lavender, and they both make excellent subjects for big clay pots. Due to the attracting to bees, hedges in the orchard and kitchen garden make a lot of sense. rev 2/2012-Suzy Brooks

Rubus calycinoides    BRAMBLE    foliage & habit    the real name is probably R. hayatakoidzumi. This deciduous to semievergreen blackberry relative has small, lobed dark green leaves with tomentose undersides. The foliage turns purplish in cool weather and drops quickly in cold climates but is retained until spring in mild climates. Large, single, white, 5-petaled flowers are nice but not spectacular. They do set wonderful, sweet, orange, salmonberry-like fruit that are quite ornamental in late summer until the birds (or you!) feast on them. Spreading stems quickly root in, forming a matted groundcover to 6" tall that can spread quickly with some irrigation. This is a good ground cover or erosion control plant for part shade as well, although it grows well for us in full sun along the coast. It looks good in woodland gardens, as well as used around hardscapes or shade gardens using such plants as azaleas and camellias. It is nice creeping around and defining the edges of large rocks, boulders, stumps, or even wood or stone path or raised bed edgings. Hardiness is imperfectly known, but it will tolerate 15-20°F without damage. Taiwan. Rosaceae. rev 8/2003

nepalensis HIMALAYAN BRAMBLE   flowering    this is a thornless, very dense, low, evergreen (in most of California) spreading groundcover. From a good show of dark burgundy buds, single white flowers are produced in late spring followed by tasty and quite showy bright orange fruit in late summer. Birds love them if you don't get there first. Stays under 8" tall, rooting as it goes, makes an uncommon and very elegant groundcover. Sun to part shade, well drained soil, and regular watering. All Sunset zones/USDA 6. rev 6/2011

Rudbeckia 'TigerEye'   closeup    mass display    nice edging concept  this is a great Goldsmith/Syngenta strain, the first F1 hybrid Black Eyed Susan. We've noticed this knockout two years running at our industry's Spring Pack Trials, where it puts on a stunning, mass flowering show. It is a very improved Gloriosa Daisy that offers bright golden yellow, semi-double flowers with brown button centers. It is very uniform, and you can count on each one growing 16-24" tall and wide, with low branching for a lot more flowers, and increased disease resistance (especially for mildew). One of the best for late spring through mid fall color, attracting butterflies, and making long lasting bouquets for those summer picnics. A worthwhile summer/fall annual for all zones. Use it with anything silver, anything blue, anything purple, or red, or white, or against any dark background where it is just stunning. Combines with both soft and hard colors. rev 6/2011

Rumohra adiantiformis    LEATHER LEAF FERN, SEVEN WEEK FERN    fronds    habit    old planting    an evergreen fern, bearing wide, glossy, light to deep green triangular fronds up to 3’ tall. Used by florists as filler or background with cut flowers, this fern is also an admirable garden or landscape performer that resists scuffing and abuse that would bruise more tender varieties. Thus it is often one used in commercial landscapes. Plant it in shade and give it average to infrequent watering, but always enough to keep it from drying. Damaged below 25°F. Found in many areas in the southern hemisphere. Polypodiaceae. rev 8/2003

'Iberia'    more compact. rev 8/2007 

Ruschia pulvinaris   with Sempervivum    from South Africa, a cold hardy, succulent iceplant with a tough constitution and tons of violet pink flowers in early summer. Blue green evergreen foliage makes a dense mound 3-4" tall and 12" wide. Beautiful trailing over in pots, growing against rocks, and as groundcover. Sun, little water once established, does like well drained soil. Aizoaceae  family.Sunset zones 1-24/USDA 5.  rev 4/2011

Rusellia equisetiformis  FIRECRACKER PLANT   flowers   as shrub, Rogers Gardens   Bali    a spreading, spilling, or scandent perennial shrub grown for its horsetail-like foliage and nice show of tubular red flowers. This is most often seen as a hanging basket or container plant, where its mostly sideways to pendant growth habit best displays the 2" flowers in termial sprays. But it can form a partially upright shrub to 3' or so if clipped. This can be found throughout the tropics and north to anywhere it gets a direct freeze. Hummingbirds love it, of course. Sunset zones 19-24/USDA zone 9. Central America, Carribean. Scrophulariaceae. rev 10/2010

'Yellow'   tubular flowers   pale yellow flowers. Ideal for spilling over pots, raised beds, or walls. Same size. Sunset zones 14, 19-24/USDA 9.  rev 10/2010