Wednesday, January 3, 2024

An afternoon at Little Prince of Oregon

Mid-December I had the pleasure of visiting Little Prince of Oregon (LPO) with friends Evan Bean and Ann Amato, they're on the left in the photo below. I'm the one in the back in black, and in front of me is Alexa Patti, head grower at LPO. 

We were treated to tour time with both Alexa and Mark Leichty, Director of Business Development at LPO, with additional bonus chat time with Mike Hicks (Production Manager); and Ernie and Marietta O’Byrne of Northwest Garden Nursery, creators of the Winter Jewels Hellebores. In case you haven't heard the big news, LPO is taking over the hellebore program from the O'Byrnes. We spent a little time in one of the green houses with the Winter Jewels stock plants and there were even blooms—in December! I'm thrilled this program is in good hands and that the O'Byrnes get to enjoy retirement.

Onward! Ann is all sorts of begonia crazy so we spent some time checking out the begonias that LPO is growing. This one is 'Froggy' (yes, very fitting for a nursery with a frog logo).

Begonia chloroneura

Begonia soli-mutata

I didn't get the name of this one, but those big leathery leaves were pretty fantastic.

This is the largest of the many greenhouses at LPO, and houses many (most?) of their houseplant selections.

I've been visiting LPO for over eight years and it's been amazing to watch them grow. Their greenhouse space has at least tripled and they've gone from selling only wholesale to selling direct on their website. Walking through the nursery you definitely see their commitment to growing fabulous plants, and the people who work there all seem really happy too.

These Cryptanthus ‘Zebrinus’ and Ananas nanus 'Cathy' were in the holding area for the Little Prince of Oregon display garden at the 2024 Northwest Flower & Garden Festival in February. I can't wait to see what they come up with this year!

Pteris quadriaurita 'Tricolor'

This cool columnar planting was in one of the greenhouses that had space set aside for overwintering of employee plants.

That's also where this colorful Blechnum brasiliense was located.

Here's Evan, Ann and I with our haul, we each left with an amazing collection of LPO plants.

Here's what I got, clockwise from the fern in the upper right-hand corner: Blechnum brasiliense, Pteris quadriaurita 'Tricolor', Blechnum appendiculatum and Begonia chloroneura.

Blechnum appendiculatum is said to be hardy to Zone 8, perhaps 7. I'll be testing that as I plan to plant it out in the springtime.

The pteris will be a house plant for me, maybe vacationing outdoors in the summertime.

Same for the begonia.

But wait, there's more! Clockwise starting with the agave on the far right: Agave stricta, Ananas nanus 'Cathy', Cryptanthus zebrinus, and Hohenbergia ‘Chocolate Tiger’ (Evan got one of these too and after a little online sleuthing is referring to it as Hohenbergia correia-araujoi).

Look at that dark color and striping!

So refined and glamorous...

I'm looking forward to watching this one grow.

Spikes! I might leave this one in a container in hopes that it stays small, cause it's so darn cute!

Two big sexy bromeliads round out my haul...Neoregelia ‘Tiger’ and Aechmea fasciata ‘Primera’

I was pretty excited when I learned LPO was planning to offer bromeliads, everyone needs at least couple, and they're so easy to grow.

Just a little water in the cup at the center of the leaves and good light... it's that easy. Well, and don't leave them outdoors in the winter unless you're in a warm climate.

Such a fun day with plant friends and a pretty exciting haul... exactly what I needed in this cool, dark, part of the year...

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31 comments:

  1. Whoa! What a lovely nursery, how great to provide space for employees tenders. The leaves barely look real on the begonias. The pteris! What a nice haul you got.

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    1. For sure, some of the patterns on the begonia leaves are so intricate they look computer generated!

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  2. That is a great haul! I appreciate that Little Prince now sells plants online, but adding shipping to SoCal on top of their plants' base prices makes me blink when it comes to ordering. I miss the days they sold to a "local" (Calabasas) nursery that went out of business years ago.

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    1. Same here. Their online prices are something!

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    2. I'm sure they'd love to have local representation in your part of the world once again, perhaps one of your favorite nurseries could be persuaded to start carrying their plants? As for the prices I agree some seem quite high, while others are right in line with what I'm seeing locally, or even a little less. Shipping is free on an order of $125!

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  3. Ok, even though I have 3 large Begonias in the house I need some of these. I noted then in my 'plants to buy' binder. Yes, I have a plants to buy binder.

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    1. Great idea!

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    2. Doesn't everyone? Ha, okay, mine is more of a mental list. Yours is an actual binder? With paper? That's awesome!

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  4. I loooove this post. I hope I'll get a chance to visit them someday. So many cool plants.

    That agave you got, is it stricta 'Nana'? If so, it will stay small and cute (but still lethal, just the way we like 'em).

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    1. I believe it's just stricta, no nana...but yes, very lethal!

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  5. Brenn S CampbellJanuary 04, 2024

    Fantastic begonias and bromeliads! Two of my favorite families. I am lucky here on the coast 3 hours south of Sydney that I can grow them outside.

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    1. I cannot imagine how fabulous that must be!

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  6. I am drooling, drooling, drooling at your haul and the gorgeous Begonias. I grew them many years ago and am about to start doing it again. I have monster indoors that I am overwintering for the second year as it makes a dramatic statement out in my garden in summer. Yes, nice news about the future of the Winter Jewels series.

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    1. They do make lovely houseplants for many, although I can't seem to keep them alive indoors once summer rolls around and my attention goes outside.

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  7. What fun! You are so very lucky to have so many great nurseries relatively close by. Glad to hear the LPO has take over the hellebore breeding of the O'Byrnes. Everyone looked like they got a great haul. My eye was drawn to a bright pink leaved begonia Ann has. Do you know which one it is?

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    1. I am so lucky! I think Ann's plant might be this one:
      https://littleprinceplants.com/our-plants/plant-solutions/beau-chateau/begonia-brevirimosa/

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  8. I'm looking forward to checking visiting LPO booth at the Flower and Garden Festival, just 6 weeks away. (I didn't see your name on the seminar list).
    Cryptanthus ‘Zebrinus’ has the most striking markings. It's individual photo almost seem 'black and white'.
    Chavli

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    1. Only 6 weeks... wow. Time flies! I am not speaking this year, I decided to have a year off and didn't submit a proposal. I think I will plan to return in 2025 (gasp) if they'll have me.

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  9. Beautiful plants there! So tempting but the only ones I can even consider here in Phoenix are some of the air plants.

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    1. Do you do houseplants Nancy?

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    2. Yes, I have houseplants but it is so dry here (sometimes as low as 5-10% humidity) that many of the plants from this greenhouse just would not be happy!

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  10. Well, I should have said I can also grow most Agaves. But they are not my favorites even though I do have a bunch!

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  11. Sounds like great fun with fun people. And, oh my, those begonias and ferns (and other plants) are so lush and healthy!

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  12. Great to see the inside of their Greenhouses (which look very organized btw). I believe I've seen some of their products locally here in the Bay Area - tho it's been a few years. I like to see smaller nursery outfits that have had success and grown as a result :)

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    1. Their greenhouses are ultra organized! (and they keep multiplying like rabbits)

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  13. Ooo that cryptanthus Zebrinus!! Wowee! So much cool stuff there. I’ve driven by there on way to see my wife’s relatives but have got to stop next time! Getting in would be easy, getting out not so much.
    Jim N Tabor

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    1. They're wholesale Jim... so dropping in might not go so well. They open a couple of times a year, for the HPSO and sometime this spring for the hellebore open house--try then!

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  14. When I see posts like this, I really want to shift my research program a bit to also work on diseases of houseplants. I love nursery/greenhouse tours for two reasons - I get to see all the cool plants that are being grown AND I get to see new plant diseases. It's a weird tension, wanting to see healthy plants and sick plants at the same time.

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    1. Sounds like it would be fun to walk thru these greenhouses with you!

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