Since we moved to warmer climes (don't laugh, it really is a bit warmer) I've been trying out some slightly more exotic plants. I particularly like ones that are grown from seed and can be replaced if we lose them over the winter. Pawlonia tomontosa (the foxglove tree), melianthus major,(the honey bush) are two such. Having grown them from seed over the last few years they have stayed planted out over winter with only bark protection. And they are all still there, unlike the seedlings of the honey bush in the greenhouse. They didn't make it....
Pawlonia tomontosa can be grown in to tree or pollarded to make one single stem. It has enormous leaves as big as a hand. This photo was taken in Edzell in Angus and shows an excellent specimen of pawlonia grown as a tree.
Cyperus papyrus alternifolius can be used as a bedding plant in the summer and is very effective.
It's also incredibly easy to propagate if you know how. Take a stem and turn it upside down in a jar of water. When roots appear plant it in some potting compost and keep it warm and watered. It will happily sit out in a pot or be planted somewhere warm and wet over the summer. It looks very exotic...
A good source of exotic seeds is at the following site: Jungle seeds
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