JungleSeeds

Ricinus New Zealand Purple is a fabulous new Ricinus with deep maroon to purple metallic leaves, stems and fruit. A tall, majestic plant to 7ft with stunning foliage and a must have for any tropical border. We now have sensible quantities for sale. Please note that the seeds need a little more heat than other Ricinus to get them started.

Musa sikkimensis is still a relatively new plant introduction to the UK proving to be as hardy as Basjoo, but I think more attractive. The leaves are a darker glossy green, with new leaves producing a  lovely pink flush to the underside as they open up. Some seedlings have markings almost as striking as Zebrina, and quite spectacular as a large plant. (We source our seed only from plants showing strong red markings growing wild in the Himalayas.) Since Musa Basjoo cannot be grown from seed, this hardy alternative grows quickly, and once established can be further propagated by suckers. Originating from 6,000ft in the Himalayas, it is tolerant to frost at the roots. Good resilience to wind, and continues to grow in cool weather when Basjoo halts. Fairly easy from seed at 30°C with about 50%+ germination rate, and easier to over winter under cold glass than Basjoo from my experience.

For anyone with a sense of fun, or like me have never really grown up, we have put together a novelty pack of "Triffid" seeds, all of these monster plants either grow tall and/or have huge leaves. I have included a mixed packet of each of the following seeds

• Amaranth Lotus Purple (8ft)
• Hibiscus manihot (10ft)
• Chenopodium giganteum (8ft)
• Ricinus Zanzibarensis  Huge leaves (15ft)
• Ensete ventricosum (12ft 2nd year)
• Helianthus Kong sunflower (12ft)
• Solanum quiotense - Huge Triffid leaves (6ft)

 

Ricinus Carmencita Red, a superb selected form of Ricinus with brighter red seed heads and deep red/bronze  shiny leaves. An outstanding plant. Please note that this plant only produces strong leaf colour when in full sun and as it matures above 2ft.

Ricinus communis zanzibarensis has huge green leaves and is capable of reaching 10ft in one season, supporting 2ft wide leaves. Great for an unusual green jungle back drop. We now supply a mixed colour form, some with plain green stems and some with a hint of pink similar to a giant form of Carmencita Pink but without the Carmencita pink flowers.

If you have small grandchildren or children you must try growing this unusual Mimosa pudica plant. Only reaching 12" or so high it has delicate ferny foliage and pretty small pink flowers.

However the leaves fold up at the slightest touch recovering in 10 or 15 minutes back to their original form hence the name!

We believe this to be a form of Zanzibarensis. From our trials the produced tall plants to 10ft in a year with attractive blue/grey leaves and stems. The seed capsules are also a grey green.

Cautleya lutea is a pretty hardy ginger suitable for undergrowth planting in leaf mould litter. Winter dormant emerging with 2ft stems in the spring bearing clusters of red bracts and yellow flowers, spreading via the underground rhizomes.

Cyperus papyrus or Egyptian papyrus reed produces the original paper made from the crushed and pulped stems. Easy to grow reaching 6ft to 7ft when mature. In the first year it makes a more manageable 3ft and is easy to grow from seed. Remember that it is a water reed and ideally will need to be left standing with the pot in tray of water. A decorative plant that we often grow as part of our summer bedding in a tropical border.

This beautiful and vigorous bamboo is native to the mountain forests of south-western Sichuan and Yunnan province of China. Its robust, clustering culms can reach a height of 7m to 10m and a diameter of up to 6 cm. The leaves are long, narrow and deep green. A fabulous and easy ornamental for cool and warm temperate regions. It is unharmed by moderate frost down to -8°C but not much lower so best in milder districts of the UK. The young shooths are edible and of excellent quality.

Always wanted to grow your own tea and coffee? Well here’s your chance, with this plant grown for tea in Sri Lanka and India. Camellia sinensis is a member of the Camellia family with white flowers preferring warm damp conditions but no frost. I have read that the first commercial tea plantation is being considered in Cornwall now taking advantage of Global warming.

Tithonia speciosa Torch develops into tall 5’ to 6’ tall sturdy plants with velvety dark green leaves and fiery, red-orange blooms will turn any sunny spot into a Mexican fiesta. Perfect for use as a quick summer screen they also attract butterflies. Heat and drought tolerant and will grow in any soil as long as it is in full sun.

This Gourd can be dried and the skin removed to produce the old bath Loofahs - do you remember these for scrubbing your back? Easy to grow from seed.

Hedychium gardnerianum is a spectacular plant and in a large clump with several flowers the effect is stunning with a scent almost overpowering. Flower heads are about a foot tall and some 6" across, yellow with red stamens on top of 5ft stems. I have not met anybody who hasn't fallen in love with this plant when shown a specimen in full flower.

Strelitzia reginae is a definite must if you want to grow an exotic plant for the patio with stunning flowers. Hardier than it looks and capable of bearing a few degrees of frost, either in a micro climate or in an unheated conservatory. The bonus for waiting maybe three years for it to flower is that it is just beautiful and doesn't it just remind you of holidays in warmer climates? Germinates slowly but with reasonable success rates at a temperature of 25c to 30c.

Sequoiadendron the only close relative to the Redwood, contains a single species from the Sierra Nevada Mountains of eastern California. This single species is a giant among trees and is considered by many the most massive living organism. Although not the tallest tree in North America, it comes very close. The largest individual Giant Sequoia is the General Sherman tree. The General Sherman tree has a height of 250 feet and a diameter near the base of 24.75 feet. The total volume of the tree is 13,260 cubic feet. The trunk of the General Sherman tree weighs almost 1400 tons. By comparison this is equivalent to 15 adult blue whales or 10 train locomotives. A handsome hardy fir tree easy to grow from seed with red bark and even young trees gain large trunks quite quickly. My own tree from seed has a girth diameter of 3ft in 10 years at the base and stands about 25ft tall. Part of our "Exotic Christmas Tree" seed range and worth trying as a pot plant in its early years.

This decorative small tree with clusters of purple flowers in the spring, has large tropical looking leaves and grows to about 10' tall. It is native and well known in much of the eastern United States. It produces dark green oblong fruit 3 to 6 inches long with a pulp that tastes like vanilla custard. Harvest when fruit color turns from green to yellow. Take out your spoon and eat. It’s delicious. The pulp has big seeds that are easy to spoon out and discard or plant to grow additional trees. The tree has a tap root and grows slowly at first hardy to around -15°C They grow naturally as an understory tree but can grow in full sun. Fruit ripens in late September and October.

Asimina triloba was a favourite of the early settlers to supplement their food shortage and has enough importance to warrant a folk song about the tree. A well known ditty  called "Way down yonder in the Paw Paw Patch" If you are sad enough like me and would like to here the song click please here.

Adenium obesum are succulents that come from dry arid conditions on the Arabian Peninsula and North Africa. They develop large fat trunks even after 2 or 3 months from seed called a caudex, for water storage. They start to flower when quite small only 25cm tall and make excellent house or conservatory plants well adapted to dry atmosphere conditions.

The Ensetes are a separate species and only a relative to the Musa family, bearing strong attractive light green to grey green stiff leaves, some with a red mid rib and white bloom to the reverse side of the leaves. The plant shown depicts a 2 year old Ventricosum plant in July after over wintering in a frost free Greenhouse. I have been growing these from seed for many years now so that I always have older plants for a continuous dramatic display, after that they just get too large!

Leaves are not frost hardy but suffer minimal damage down to 0°C or minus 1°C but the root system can take up to minus 5°C if protected. Usually the plant would be dug up and kept on the dry side in a frost free environment until the following year. (A frost free conservatory is ideal!) I have had some success with larger plants by digging them up, lightly trimming the roots, placing into a large pot, cutting off the main trunk and allowing it to regrow. The seed grows readily though if fresh in a temperature of  27°C to 30°C.

Such a well known commodity! But did you know that Coffee arabica make interesting house or conservatory shrubs with dark glossy green leaves, small white scented flower clusters followed by bright red coffee beans. Don't get too excited though about grinding your own coffee from the seed - it tastes awful if you do not dry it correctly!

Germination -- Easy ■ Moderate ■ and Challenging ■

Backlog for Fresh Seed ♦ Flavour ♪

Hardiness - To -5°C җ To -10°C җҗ Fully Hardy җҗҗ

Needs Shady Position ☻ Sunny Position ☻ Water Loving ♥