"Oh my god - what's that"

The fruits are about the size of a large honeydew melon too!
P.alata is a poor mans version of p.quadrangularis...........



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Not quite the same impact, but it still shouts "look at me"!

 

I posted this wrongly on my own thread!
Anyway, I've got some Anigozanthos manglesii seeds in at the moment. Here is a Flickr photo.........

Kangaroo paw (Anigozanthos manglesii) by sloanbj, on Flickr

 

Hi Longk

Whats the pollinator for this??

Spruce

 

According to this page (Kangaroo Paws - genus Anigozanthos) it's birds.

 

Ahhh I had forgotten to mention this one :D

Rose of Jericho aka the "Resurrection Plant"

More here : Rose of Jericho

And a timelapse of the plant :D :Selaginella lepidophylla: time lapse of the plant coming back to life - YouTube

 

And another that popped up in my mind :D

A plant which flowers smells of chocolate, photo is on the site :D : Berlandiera lyrata - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

I would have to keep torturing that one! Fantastic!

 

Thank you all for loads of super ideas - please do keep them coming. I am going to have to do some serious investigation.

LongK - that Strongylodon macrobotrys is really superb. I wonder if Strongy has ever grown it.

Kristen - loads of lovely plants. I think Echiums can be made to work - I have had two E. pininanas in flower, they can be overwintered - but they are not that easy. But then all OMGs are going to be tricky. Cyperus papyrus would certainly qualify for an OMG - but that is very tricky to overwinter. I lost two out of three plants last winter, and this winter lost all three two year old plants (taken from the previous year's survivor).

All OMGs are going to be tricky, but I think to qualify for the award they have got to be possible rather than impossible.

I had a good look through that really excellent thread on Ensete montbeliardii. It should easily qualify, especially as it appears quite possible to overwinter - albeit with some effort. But how do you get hold of one? And do those same principles apply to all Ensetes

 

Possible if you have a heated greenhouse or conservatory - Thunbergia mysorensis


Thunbergia Mysorensis by longk48, on Flickr

 

Brunneria Jack Frost:


BRUNNERA - 'Looking Glass'


Athyrium nipponicum pictum:


Dianthus ‘Firewitch’:


Hackonechloa macra ‘Aureola’ (the grassy stuff):


Amsonia hubrichtii: (in Autumn)

 

I love Brunneras *DIM*, not come across Amsonia before, but it looks very showy!

:thumb:

"how do you get hold of one?"

Jungle Plants - I don't think any point paying extra for a 3L one, they grow so fast that a 1L should be enough. I think they are propagated by micro-propagation, as they don't "pup" very easily.

Other Exotic specialists may have them, and if so at cheaper prices , but they won't say until their spring-stock comes in.

"And do those same principles apply to all Ensetes

Pass. But well worth asking that question on that forum. Lots of knowledgeable people there. Beware the addiction though!

 

Amsonia hubrichtii looks good in summer aswell, and is the current perennial plant of the year ...

this is what it looks like in summer:



and in autumn: (I prefer it in autumn):


should be freely available from many garden centres or on the internet/ebay

Buy Arkansas blue star Amsonia hubrichtii: Delivery by Crocus.co.uk

 

I'm enjoying wracking my brains for this thread!

Totally unrealistic, but Strelitzia nicolai in bloom has that WOW factor, as does Heliconia pendula or rostrata.

Ferraria crispa is much more manageable (if I could get mine to bloom).

Puya berteroniana.

Hibiscus schizopetalus in bloom has a real WOW factor too.

 

Very easy to grow yet very different is Hermodactylus tuberosus.............


If you fancy a truly beautiful palm then how about Johannesteijsmannia magnifica...........

 

I've never heard of the Amsonia before either *dim*, thanks for the link, thats on my list for this year, gorgeous.