Whenever we highlight certain plants in our blog it's not always easy to predict what response they will elicit. Some will be hits while others will get a lukewarm response (not that it matters anyway, we highlight plants depending on our mood). One of the plants that surprised us by being a hit was the Stachyurus we featured on our bloom day post a few days ago. We received questions and queries about it (not counting the comments on the blog). To be honest I don't know why when we only showed two photos of it, both close-ups of its tassels of blooms too. A rather pleasant surprise.
Anyway, we got hold of this plant at one of the HPS meetings we attended last year. The one wherein the speaker was Colin Ward of Swines Meadow Farm Nursery with a consequent plant sales after his talk. We bought it for its large glossy leaves with the late winter blooms not even registering as a bonus for buying it.
When I did the bloom post I didn't have it's full name. I've since dug out its label from my 'label bin' and this surprise hit of a plant is Stachyurus praecox var.matsuzaki.
It's just leafing out for the spring, mature leaves will be much larger
Have to say I found this plant hard to photograph in its entirety even if it's still only small and in a pot. But the bench turned out to be an adequate back drop.
Stachyurus praecox var. matsuzaki
So looking forward to it fully leafing out and must find it a permanent spot on the ground soon!Mark :-)
