Unique hardy plants

Unique Hardy Plants

We all had a few plants that didn’t make it through this last year of weather extremes. First we had the cold, snow and ice of winter and then we had the extended stretch of hot weather. That had us wondering about some of the more unusual plants in the garden. Which ones did well?

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To learn more we stopped by Rare Plant Research and visited with Burl Mostul. Burl’s company deals in some truly unique plants. He shared with us his surprises. First we saw a plant that most people treat as a tender house plant, the Tradescantia discolor or Moses in a Boat plant. This one roots easily and even though it died back to the ground it has thrived and grown.

Next we checked out the Eucalyptus grove by his home. Even when the plants were pulled to the ground by the ice and snow they bounced right back. Even one that was snapped off at the base is coming back! The next one he showed us was a tree also, the ‘Silver Waddle’ Acacia. Burl thought he had lost this one. During the big cold, he noticed that the bark was pealing. Little did he know that was a characteristic of this plant. It is still going strong.

Next we saw the Agave ‘Truncata’. This one is very hardy and it didn’t miss a beat. It also loved the extreme heat we had this summer too. Finally we stopped by the Italian Cypress. This tall thin mini-tree looks very light and delicate and subject to any little breeze or storm that comes along. Still Burl told us that it didn’t even lose a branch, leaf or anything. To learn more about these and other plants check out Burl’s website at Rare Plant Research.

Originally aired on GardenTime TV. See the GardenTime web site for more videos and information about the show)