Graptopetalum 'Crested'

Super hot multi-hued color and faaaaabulous texture!

This very hard to find plant tops my list of favorite succulents – no small feat! If you've visited the nursery in the last five years, you may have noticed this juicy, rare succulent edging one of our display beds, but it hasn't been until this year that we've offered it for sale! Hooray! Who can resist the glowing colors of the foliage & its wonderful habit of creating dense round mounds of tightly packed smaller leaves? Super fab as dry garden edging especially alternated with Graptosedum ‘Bronze’ or combined with dark or green leaved droughties such as Sedum ‘Voodoo’ or Echinops ruthenicus. Said to be a renegade sport of Graptoveria ‘Fred Ives'. Well drained soil & a bit of compost once a year is all it asks. 12” tall x 18” wide.

Sun. Avg./Low water. Perennial Succulent.
USDA zones 8-11

Asclepias cancellata
“Wild Cotton”

A substantial member of the Asclepias tribe and a fascinating addition to the habitat garden! This rare, DROUGHT TOLERANT shrub from South Africa bears clusters of flowers that look like they were delicately crafted from porcelain. Each provides plenty of nectar to incentivize pollinators galore! The shrub also acts as a veritable hotel to insects of all types. We had a large specimen on display at the nursery for many years and it was always at capacity. Ladybugs, butterflies, caterpillars, true bugs, aphids (yes, aphids! But they turn a fascinating yellow. It's rather pretty.) flies, hoverflies - pretty much everyone who was anyone was in residence. The shrub is beautiful with no help at all but the wildlife magnet factor adds a whole new dimension! Bloom time is in late Summer and early Fall. After blooming, large seed pods develop and eventually burst to loose the woolly parachuted seeds inside, from which the plant gets its common name. Though this plant can be occasionally hedged back to increase bushiness, this pruning is not required. The plant will remain evergreen where hardy. Average soil is fine, and a once-yearly feeding. Grows to 3' wide and tall.

Sun. Low/Avg. water. Perennial.
USDA Zones 8 -11

Crassula coccinea
“Red Crassula”

Very few succulents can be grown for the merits of their flowers alone. Crassula coccinea has flower power in spades! You can see these flowers from way down the block. They are a color that I can only describe as fluorescent – a very glowing pinkish red and you can see them in person if you visit the nursery now! Large, showy flower heads are up to 4” across and comprised of good-sized flowers. In its native South Africa, this plant is pollinated by a large brown butterfly that's crazy about the color red – Aeropetes tulbaghia or “Mountain Pride.” Here in the Bay Area, it is visited by the usual, local pollinating hoards and particularly hummingbirds. After a few years, plants may become untidy, so it's best to cut them back occasionally to the first few inches of growth and have the plant re-sprout. Poor soil is fine, as is low water and a whole lotta sun, but the plant looks best and tidiest if you help it out with an occasional drink and compost once a year.

Sun. Low/Avg. water. Succulent.
USDA Zones 9-11

Crassula corymbulosa
“Red Pagoda”

Here's one of those plants that we are bombarded with requests for constantly! Alas, we have it but a few times a year. This is likely the biggest crop we have EVER produced though, so hopefully all of you succulent crazy plant fiends will be able to get your hands on one this time around!! Under stress, this succulent displays its natural geometry best – perfect 4 pointed “pagodas” in red and green! It is sometimes so perfectly uniform and square that it looks downright unnatural. With more water and less light and heat, the plant will be more green in color and the growth will be less tightly packed. In Fall, each little pyramid will reach upward and turn into a blooming spike of small white flowers. After blooming is finished, the stems will crumble away and the leafy bits remaining will often drop and generate a new generation of tiny starts. Crassula corymulosa hails from South Africa needs very little care. It's drought tolerant, heat tolerant and good in containers. Well drained soil is preferred and occasional, light feeding.

Sun. Low/Avg. water. Succulent.
USDA Zones 9-11

Digitalis obscura

When you think “Digitalis” you probably aren't thinking about this species. After all, this plant is a sun loving, heat loving, drought tolerant shrub with rusty orangey red flowers. Not your average Foxglove! Once you're acquainted with this unusual and (if I do say so myself) delightful species, you're bound to want one of your own! Thin, evergreen leaves are topped with many stems of many hued bells through the Summer months. The colors are a mix of rustic sunset shades – primrose yellow with orange, red and maroon. The habit is shurbby but petite – under 2' x 2' – and the plant prefers a sunny exposure but can tolerate a bit of shade. Make sure not to plant it in too rich soil and try not to overwater! (Ha ha – we know it's a lot to ask!) From Spain.

Sun. Low/Avg.water. Perennial.
USDA zones 4-10