Tropical Planting
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Trachycarpus fortunei
Chinese Windmill Palm, Chusan Palm,€2.35The handsome Chusan palm is a single-stemmed evergreen palm with wonderful, fan-shaped, dark green leaves. They make beautiful container plants and make a great accent which fits well into small areas like courtyards and entries.
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Strelitzia reginae
The Bird of Paradise€2.70The unusually beautiful shape and brilliant colors of Birds of Paradise have made these flowers not just a designer's favorite, but also a popular symbol of paradise. The plant bears a unique flower that resembles a brightly coloured bird in flight, the fascinating blooms make wonderful, long lasting cut flowers.
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Strelitzia nicolai
White Bird of Paradise€2.70Named after the Russian Emperor Nicholas I, Strelitzia nicolai, the 'White Bird of Paradise' is native to South Africa. It is a very dramatic, impressive specimen plant. The foliage is large and sword like, rather like a banana tree and the trunk resembles a palm. The flower is white with a light blue 'tongue' and sits in a purplish bract.
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Ricinus communis 'Carmencita'
Castor Oil Plant€2.65Out of stock
Ricinus communis 'Carmencita' is an outstanding new variety with shiny dark brown foliage. The palmate leaves have deeply incised lobes and grow 30 to 75cm (12 to 30in) across. The plants have red stems and in late summer clusters of bright red blooms are followed by stunning scarlet seeds pods.
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Passiflora quadrangularis
Giant Passionflower, Passionfruit, Granadilla.€2.95There are dozens of species of passion vine grown, but one that always gets a lot of attention is the Giant Granadilla Passiflora quadrangularis. One of the most beautiful passionflowers with large, fragrant flowers with deep red petals and a centre crown that contains rows of numerous white and purple rays.
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Passiflora mollissima
Passionflower, Passionfruit, Granadilla€2.55Passiflora mollissima produces beautiful pink flowers and edible long yellow fruits, like a short banana, which gives the vine its common name. The fruits taste delicious and are considered to be the finest of passionfruit juices; they are used to flavour ice creams, drinks, and cocktails.
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Passiflora edulis 'Purple Giant'
Passionflower, Passionfruit, Granadilla€2.10A Passiflora that produces very fragrant, unusual flowers. The flowers are white, except the base of the corona which is purple; the filaments are curly, as long as the petals, 5 to 7cm across. The edible fruits possess pleasant flavour, kind of sweet and a little tart.
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Passiflora caerulea 'Blue Crown'
Passionflower, Passionfruit, Granadilla€2.55Known as the Blue Crown Passion Flower or Hardy Passionflower. It is an extremely fast growing and beautiful plant. ‘Caerulea’ sparks with 10cm flowers with white petals and blue filaments. It is popular with gardeners because of its intricate, scented flowers that have an almost surreal appearance.
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Musa sikkimensis
Himalayan, Darjeeling or Sikkim Hardy Banana€3.25Musa sikkimensis is still a relatively new plant introduction and is proving to be as hardy as the most popular banana species Basjoo, but I think more attractive and quite spectacular as a large plant. The leaves are a darker glossy green, with new leaves producing a lovely pink flush to the underside.
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Musa ornata
Purple Flowering or Ornamental Banana€2.75Musa ornata is a very attractive ornamental banana plant with tropical flair. A small plant that produces long, glaucous-green, oblong leaves and a gorgeous purple inflorescence in summer. It makes a much more manageable plant than other species and is extremely suitable for containers and well suited for indoor use.
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Musa balbisiana
Japanese Fibre Banana€2.75Out of stock
Musa Balbisiana is a fruit bearing variety and one of the progenitors of the present-day commercial bananas. The clumps of lush, dark foliage make it ideal for creating a jungle landscape. It develops large colourful inflorescence of bright red and maroon.
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Musa acuminata
Dwarf Banana, Chinese Banana€2.55The development of bananas is a source of both pride and amazement to those unfamiliar with banana culture. Musa acuminata is a 'dwarf variety' with broad, long, graceful leaves, and is extremely suitable for containers or gardens.
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Melianthus major 'Honey Bush'
Honey Flower€3.90The lush growth, coupled with the large, glaucous leaves of Melianthus major has made it as fashionable as tree ferns. If you don't want to mimic the rain forest, try growing it amongst slender-leaved grasses and perennials. The plants add texture and provide a good background to bright colours in the garden.
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Luffa cylindrica
Vegetable Gourd. Aka Loofah or Loofa€2.35Luffa acutangula is a very versatile plant. As a vegetable, the leaves can be eaten in a salad, the very young gourds, known as Chinese Okra they taste like aubergine. The matured dried gourd develops into a fibrous netting. It is an excellent sponge and makes a wonderful exfoliator.
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Kniphofia uvaria 'New Hybrids'
Red Hot Poker, Torch Lily€1.85Out of stock
The Kniphofia hybrids have extended both the flower colour and height range. The usual fiery reds and oranges work particularly well in a planting scheme based on 'hot' colours - use them to light up sultry August borders. The cooler yellow, cream, ivory and sometimes green flowers is more restful.
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Gunnera manicata
Giant Rhubarb€2.20Out of stock
Gunnera is one of the biggest and most spectacular, architectural, herbaceous plants. With gigantic, deeply lobed, deep green leaves, they look best standing as specimen plants or beside a large pond where the reflections reveal the undersides of the leaves
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€2.35
Out of stock
For anyone who wants something different for the border next year, I should like to introduce Echium russicum. A remarkable hardy species that has a unique flower colour for its genus. In July to August multiple throngs of striking upright spires, bearing crimson flowers emerge from a basal rosette of hairy leaves.
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Cordyline australis ‘Cornish Palm’
Cabbage Tree€2.00The 'Cornish Palms' make fantastic points in containers or borders: their evergreen leaves provide interest throughout the year. The long slender leaves and a slow-growing trunk make this an architectural plant that lends itself to modern interiors.
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Cordyline australis 'Atropurpureum'
Purple Cabbage Palm€2.35Cordyline Atropurpureum make a strong vertical shapes, the deep purple colouring contrasts well with silver foliage and can be an excellent foil for the lush foliage of other exotica. They look equally at home in more conventional and hardy ornamental borders.
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Coleus blumei 'Wizard' - Series of Single Colours
Painted Nettle, Flame NettleStarting at: €2.25
The 'Wizard' Series is an excellent example of the new developments of coleus, it is the best seed raised strain for bedding and containers. From the brilliant apricot-bronze Sunset, to red-veined maroon Velvet Red, each is a distinctive work of art. The heart-shaped leaves show their colour early and keeps its hues right through the worst summer heat and humidity. Available in single colours or as a mix.
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Coleus blumei 'Kong Scarlet'
A Premium Shade variety€3.75Coleus 'Kong Scarlet' has huge leaves that are dark red with veins trailing out to chartreuse edges. Coleus colours become more vibrant when they get more shade. This is very unusual behaviour, and explains why Coleus is a popular choice for under-the-tree plantings and shade-of-the-building gardens.
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Coleus blumei 'Kong Salmon-Pink'
A Premium Shade variety€3.75Featuring huge leaves that are coral in the centre and edged in bright green, Coleus 'Kong Salmon-Pink' is a 'Premium Shade' variety, that are great for large containers and mass plantings, performing best and showing the most intense colour in full shade, they also work well for indoor plant programs. It's hard to go wrong with this plant.
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Coleus blumei 'Kong Rose'
A Premium Shade variety€3.75Coleus has enjoyed a resurgence in popularity. The new breeding has taken a handful of series and exploded them into hundreds of wild and crazy types of colours and forms. Coleus 'Kong Rose' has huge leaves that are rose in the center, with a band of burgundy that flows out to chartreuse edges.
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Coleus blumei 'Kong Red'
A Premium Shade variety€3.75Grown for its outstanding foliage colours, the Kong series of coleus boasts extremely large leaves with irregular edges, each leaf is easily as big as your palm, and probably twice as large as the next biggest Coleus you can buy. 'Kong Red' displays a broad vein of brilliant red down the centre of each leaf.