The Magic of Sally Priest; WeHop Revisited

 

You may remember a post last September about my first visit to WeHop (Western Horticultural Products.)   It was great fun to see some of the plants that San Marcos Growers and Monterey Bay Growers would have available the next year.  It was also a special treat to be able to buy some plants and an incredible surprise to be given quite a few agaves to share with my pal Loree!  My behavior must not have been too awful because Sally Priest, the Western Washington Sales Representative for WeHop invited me back to see how last years pots fared through the winter and so see some more plants.  After Alison and I visited Valley Nursery and the Heronswood Sale and Garden, we headed on over to visit Sally.  Alison and I had a wonderful time on this Saturday plant spree and having the privilege of seeing these special plants was certainly a high point of the day!

 

 Surprisingly, these echiverias were left outside in this pot all winter and were just fine.  We had a mild winter but there were a few days in the 20's.

The rest of the pots had the shelter of a greenhouse and sailed through the winter (the  big pots  on the right.)  Also, Sally left a Phormium 'Guardsman' outside all winter and it was just fine.  I kept mine in a pot and brought it in for the coldest few weeks of the winter.  Maybe I'll be brave and plant it in the ground.

 

I never tire of echiverias with their flower-like forms and fabulous colors.  Ah to live in zone 9 where we could leave them in the ground all year. 

I don't remember what this plant was other than way cool!

Phormium 'Jubilee' is my new favorite (I still love you 'Guardsman!') Is that a festive color combination or what.  It was discovered as a fan of foliage on its parent 'Jester' which has red leaves with green edges.  This is definitely a pink edged green leaf!  This color combination reminds me of a line from  the musical Wicked  "Pink goes good with green!" This was a new Monterey Bay introduction several years ago but now San Marcos grows this variety as well.

These two inch pots of succulents were so cute that I could barely stand it!  Can't you just see these grouped  in pots or small beds?  (I know it's a fad but I love the geometric, flowing water, or undersea effects that designers have created with succulents.)

It's like a big succulent quilt that looks far out as a whole

and quite interesting up close!  Maybe I like Crassula adromischus cristatus (on the right) so much because the leaves look like a strangely shaped stuffed pasta.  Ravioli anyone? 

More Echiverias. Le Sigh. 

Kalenchoe beharensis, a variety without fur.  This was new to me!

 

 Sure was a looker and was ordered for a customer in another state.

I didn't find the name of this plant but am absolutely in love with its flowers.  The foliage is very similar to Costal Wollybush.

 See how the buds just pop out of the branches?  Can you I.D. this plant?

 

Many thanks to Max P. who correctly identified this beauty as Calothamnus villosus a.k.a. Silky Net Bush.  It's an Australian, a beauty in foliage, and stunning in bloom.  Hardy to 16 degrees F.

Dyckia 'Precious Metal' caught Alison's eye and her hand as she grabbed the pot!

O.K. I have a thing for Echiverias.

Aloe 'Goliath' as the name implies, gets very large.  Glad that I have a hand truck because one of these came home with me.

A fun combination! 

 I'm kicking myself for not taking any pictures of the many HUGE Aeonium 'Cyclops' available.  They were pretty impressive!

 Another of the growers that WeHop represents is creating these nifty mixed sedum pots.

Yes, they are almost a cliché but I liked them before they were the in thing and am reveling in the wide variety succulents that have been made more available due to their popularity. 

 

Sally also brought in some Begonia 'San Miguel' one of the plants that tugged at my heart  last year.  A bush-type begonia growing two to three feet tall and wide  with furry leaves, red on the back side.  Only hardy to 25-30 degrees, it'll spend the winter at work with Begonia luxurians.  The plant is much better in person - not very photogenic but it's quite cool in it's furriness. 

 

And here's the very generous, kind, funny and plant crazy Sally Priest herself showing us some new things that will be released by EuroAmerican Propagators next year: a hardy fuchsia that grows 8 - 10 feet tall. 

 

A new Tagetes that has a divine fragrance.  (Similar to 'Lemon Gem')

Another new introduction - forgot the name.

The angel wing shape of these pelargonium leaves is unusual.  This will be fun to see in nurseries!

 

Sally also gave Alison and me a cutting of a Christmas cactus that had been in her family for years.  It's  different in appearance from any I've seen before & I'll give it lots of love!

This Adenanthos sericus or Costal Wollybush is being held for a certain Portland gardener pal.

The foliage of this Grevillea is  delicate looking. 

 An interesting Austrailian called Hakea trifurcata that eventually has these leaves and also needle like leaves on the same plant.  Here's another example of flora from down under does this sort of immature to mature leaf shape shift (Eucalyptus, pseudopanax ferox) Fascinating!

Russelia equisetiformis 'Yellow' 

Impatiens niamniamensis but with a flower that is white where the yellow part usually is.

 

I fell hard for the foliage of Grevillea 'Ned Kelly' last year and nearly bought one at the Bloedel Reserve Sale.  Sally had several in 5 gallon pots from Monterey Bay.

 

 

Seeing these incredible  blooms on the fabulous foliage again this year encouraged me to drag yet another plant inside for the coldest part of winter.  Reading this story from the Monterey Bay Nursery site made me extra glad that I bought this plant:

 

"The first name bestowed was 'Mason's Hybrid,' but 'Ned Kelly' is such a much better handle, and also a much better story. Ned was one of the very few Australian bushrangers (outlaws) of the 1800's. He is famous because he and his mates got the bright idea to make suits and helmets of riveted sheet metal for a showdown with the police. But the police got the brighter idea of shooting at least two of them in the legs (d'oooooh!!!). He was tried, hanged, and then buried in an unmarked grave, and his remains were just recently located. The best thing about Ned Kelly was his iron suit, because if he hadn't made it he wouldn't be famous."

 

If any of these plants appeal to you, make sure to check out WeHop's  site here to see more pictures of the 2012 trial pots and inquire about these plants at your local retailer.  In addition, Sally will have lots of her plants available at a special event at Valley Nursery in Poulsbo this weekend.  Here's a picture of the sign I saw at Valley earlier in the day. 

 

 

Thanks again, Sally for sharing your wonderful world of plants with Alison and me!