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What plant would you deem the most special plant in your entire plant collection? One, that if it died, you would be heart broken, and if at all possible, try to replace with another.
Mine would be my Miracle Fruit. Mine did die after 8 years, and I was heart broken I ended up buying another one 2 years ago and praying this one doesn't belly up any time in the near future. Mine goes outside once night temps are above 50, and comes back in when they fall below that again. It's definitely does not do well in my zone 7 garden to be outside 24/7. But out of all the XYZ plants I have, this is Numero Uno!
Location: East of Seattle since 1992, 615' Elevation, Zone 8b - originally from SF Bay Area
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That would have to be my 150 year old bonsai hemlock, my namesake. Well, it was only 140 when I took the name. It's one of my 70 or so trees, the oldest, originally from the woods of Vancouver Island, BC. It's not replaceable, but I do also have a couple of Monterey pines from the Rockies, and a Hemlock from White Pass in the Cascades that are pretty old.
When we bought our house and moved in, we planted a Japanese Bloodgood maple in the front yard. Nice little tree. Since it's a symbol of us starting a home there, I definitely want to keep it healthy for as long as we live there.
We had a drought this summer, and it took a little scorch damage, but made it through.
I am very attached to a simple philodendron that I have - because my daughter left it with me when she moved to Guam, and now she lives in Ohio which is also a long way away. I love it because it reminds me of her and her green thumb, and it has thrived very well under my care as well. She now has part of it again, so it's like a connection between us.
I am also attached to the Peace Lily that we received in memory of my mother in law. It's in a spot in our house that it LOVES and it is so healthy and vibrant - and every single time I pass by it, I have a sweet memory of my mother in law to savor.
Its hard to pick. I'd say this is a toss up between my peach, the limbed-up witch hazel and my Winter's snowman camellia. The peach I brought from one of the big box stores. It lived and fruited in a pot when I lived in an apartment. Now it is a large tree in the ground that gives me lovely late peaches. It has pretty pink flowers in Spring. It is kind of lopsided, and I've pruned over the years so the branches look cool. It gives shade, food, beauty, privacy and wind protection.
The cold hardy camellia is one of the first plants I bought for my garden. It worked out great. I'm starting to limb it up into a small tree, like they do to many plants in Japan. I LOVE my fall-blooming plants. I wish it was pink instead of white, but this is a cool plant and seems to be uncommon.
The final plant is my limbed-up native hamamelis virginiana. This plant used to be a STICK, but now it is a BEAUTIFUL small tree. I've been pruning it for years and it has a LOVELY alternate branch structure. It lends itself well to limbing up. It has LOVELY leaves and form all year. The fall flowers are a surprise. This is one of the two HV's I have, but this one has been pruned and looks lovely. It also makes a nice overstory for the native ferns and the FAB palace purple heuchera under it.
Ugh just thought of some more, but I'll spare you. They are all large trees that came with the property. One thing they have in common is that they are 50 or 60 feet tall or more and vase shaped. This shape seems to be appealing to me for some reason. They have varying degrees of winter interest, fall color and give privacy. They are all native trees and give shelter and food (and even drink) to wildlife.
A maple bonsai that I've raised from when it had two leaves, but occasionally forgot about. Its resulted in some dead branches, due to lack of watering, that give it a lot of character.
I do covet a neighbors giant fat old oak, probably 200yrs old, but....
Mine is a Christmas cactus that my cousin started for me, ohh, probably 20 years ago. She propagated it from a piece of hers, which came from her mother's, which came from our Grandmother's.
It's only bloomed once, one bloom. I did not inherit the family green thumb.
I don't consider myself much of a gardener but I love to grow things. It's sink or swim here and I do my part by reading up on what my plants may need. My results vary.
So I try, also, not to get too attached to green things. But I'm quite pleased with this vine which spent the summer outside and will come into the house now.
It came to me in a mixed planting maybe twenty years ago and somehow I've managed to keep it alive all that time. In the winter it really suffers from the wood heat and poor southern light in my house. I transplanted it for the first time last summer and the change did it good.
Here's a sideways picture to share:
If anyone knows the name of this vine, I'd be interested.
It is a type of variegated ivy. One with tiny little leaves
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