Many gardeners prefer to 'go large' in their garden with giant plants. Whether it's because you have lots of space, or you just prefer the visual aesthetic of giant plants, we have a colossal plant for you. Plant Delights Nursery has a giant on-line catalog of plants and we have created this mini-catalog for you giant plant lovers (so technically it is a mega-catalog). This list contains plants that are large for their species as well as plants that are just plain large. Our list of giant plants will have you saying "Fee Fi Fo Fum!". When you are ready to buy giant plants for your garden, check out our online list of giant plants for sale below.
Since 1988, Plant Delights Nursery has been the choice of serious gardeners and plant collectors looking for the best and rarest perennial plants. We are pleased to have received the Perennial Plant Association Retail Award in 2011, the American Horticulture Society Commercial Award in 2002, and to have been selected as one of the Best Mail Order Plant Nurseries - Garden Design Magazine 2010. Welcome to our family of plant lovers!
In our winter hardiness trials, Abutilon 'Bartley Schwarz' (named after the late California plantsman, although incorrectly spelled "Schwartz") has been one of our best performers. The slightly pendent branching habit of this Abutilon megapotamicum hybrid makes a 4' tall x 4' wide clump clothed with small, fuzzy green serrated leaves and adorned from early summer through fall with 1.5" wide, salmon-orange (RHS 24B) bell-shaped flowers that dangle from the outstretched woody branches. As a houseplant, this mallow relative is everblooming (should be the same in an apartment)...just watch out for hummingbird droppings. Pot Size: 3.5" (24 fl. oz/709.77 ml)
Abutilon 'Canary Bird' is a marvelous hummingbird plant that has survived 6 degrees F in our garden. This hibiscus relative has maple-like foliage on a compact 6' tall x 3' wide plant. For us, Abutilon 'Canary Bird' starts flowering in early summer with large, dangling, 3" wide, canary yellow, bell-like flowers and continues until the first frost. For those in more northerly zones, Abutilon 'Canary Bird' makes a great centerpiece for a container planting. Good winter drainage is key for maximum cold tolerance in the ground. Pot Size: 3.5" (24 fl. oz/709.77 ml)
Abutilon 'Fool's Gold' is an upright abutilon, clothed with 2" wide, fuzzy green leaves and adorned from early summer until fall with 2.5" wide, hanging, orange (RHS 24B) lantern-like flowers, each highlighted with dark orange veins...a hummingbird delight. This 4' tall x 2.5' wide flowering maple has proven to be reliable in our climate since 2004, but is also a great summer container specimen plant. Pot Size: 3.5" (24 fl. oz/709.77 ml)
Abutilon megapotamicum is a fun and easy-to-grow Brazilian native that makes a great hummingbird magnet for the perennial border, spreading to several feet wide in a single season. If you're into container gardening, a flowering maple also makes a great hanging basket plant. In the wild, Abutilon megapotamicum reaches 8' tall, but in temperate climate cultivation, it rarely exceeds 5' tall. From late summer until frost, the plants are laden with very cool 2" hanging red lanterns, carefully placed between the thumb-sized green leaves. Pot Size: 3.5" (24 fl. oz/709.77 ml)
This vigorous hummingbird favorite makes a 5' tall x 5' wide upright mass of woody stems adorned with fuzzy, dark green leaves. During the summer, the outermost branches are laden with dangling parchment-yellow flowers, each highlighted by a dark red calyx. This has been a superb performer in our winter hardiness trials. Although we list this as a selection of Abutilon megapotamicum, its vigor and leaf shape suggest its baby-daddy is instead a close relative. Pot Size: 3.5" (24 fl. oz/709.77 ml)
I longed for an abutilon with pastel flowers and plantsman Luen Miller of Monterrey Bay Nursery came to the rescue with this fabulous selection of Abutilon megapotamicum. The 3' tall x 4' wide clump of Abutilon 'Pink Charm' is adorned from early summer until fall with small pink dangling bells that line the stem...simply charming for both the gardener as well as nearby hummingbirds. Pot Size: 3.5" (24 fl. oz/709.77 ml)
Thanks to Luen Miller of Monterrey Bay Nursery for sharing his splendid 2005 introduction...a hybrid of Abutilon megapotamicum. The 3-4' tall mass of stems is adorned with pointed green leaves and, from early June until fall, with hundreds of dangling bell-shaped flowers. The flowers are clear orange, highlighted by red bloodshot eye-like veins. Each flower is held tight by a dark burgundy calyx (the thing the flower sits in). Abutilon 'Orange Hot Lava' has been a standout in both our summer flowering and winter hardiness trials. Nine out of 10 hummingbirds agree, Abutilon 'Orange Hot Lava' is a top choice! Pot Size: 3.5" (24 fl. oz/709.77 ml)
This Jon Dixon hybrid has been an amazing performer in our garden trials. Not only did Abutilon 'Voodoo' continue flowering into the upper 20s, but it kept green stems and leaves down to 20 degrees F. Abutilon 'Voodoo' makes an upright 6' tall x 3' wide clump, adorned, starting in late summer and continuing into late fall, with large 2", blood red, bell-shaped flowers dangling from the top half of the plant. This hummingbird favorite is one of the best performers of the large-flowered, upright flowering maples we have ever grown. Pot Size: 3.5" (24 fl. oz/709.77 ml)
(Patent 7297 expired) Agapanthus 'Ellamae'...now there's a plant with a good southern name! From California's Archie Amate comes this 1990 introduction, a monstrous and vigorous lily-of-the-Nile that makes a large clump of green strap-like leaves, topped in midsummer with dark blue-violet umbels of flowers on Jack and the Beanstalk-like 66" tall stems...butterflies not included. Pot Size: 3.5" (24 fl. oz/709.77 ml)
(syn: Agave YD 13-74) Agave 'Mr. Ripple' is an unusual agave from Ciudad de Maize, San Luis Potosi, Mexico, where it was spotted in 2001 by Yucca Do's Wade Roitsch. This species, or possibly a natural Agave salmiana hybrid, is occasionally seen in Texas and California gardens...always unlabeled. Agave 'Mr. Ripple' makes a 5' tall x 8' wide, rapidly-growing clump with very undulating, broad, blue-green, soft-textured leaves...quite stunning when you run into one. We start seeing significant damage when temperatures drop below 12 degrees F. Agave blooms attract hummingbirds. Pot Size: 3.5" (24 fl. oz/709.77 ml)
Available 6-6-2013From a 1992 Yucca Do seed collecting expedition (YD 45-83) at 5,200' in Palmillo, Tamaulipas, Mexico, where Agave americana ssp. protoamericana intergrades with Agave scabra, we selected this particularly nice clone. Agave 'Silver Surfer' has since formed a 5' tall x 9' wide clump of stiff, outfacing, silvery-blue leaves. This slow-offsetting agave is a favorite of garden visitors, so we are thrilled to finally be able to list it in our catalog...get them while they last. The 20' flower stalk is amazing, not only for the terminal clusters of bright yellow, hummingbird-attracting flowers, but also for the amazing surfboard-like flower stalk bracts. Pot Size: 3.5" (24 fl. oz/709.77 ml)
This superb but rarely encountered hollyhock from Russia has been one of the best performers in our display garden. From an evergreen basal rosette of corrugated grey-green leaves, tall sturdy 6-7' spikes arise, beginning in spring. The spikes are clothed along the bottom half with typical hollyhock foliage, while the top half is adorned all summer with large, 4", single buttery-yellow, classic mallow flowers, attractive to hummingbirds. For us, Alcea rugosa has proven to be a reliable and disease-resistant perennial compared to other hollyhock species. Pot Size: 3.5" (24 fl. oz/709.77 ml)
(syn: Alocasia macrorrhiza) This very cool elephant ear is quite different from the typical Colocasia esculenta. The thick, sculpted, glossy green leaves are held upright on dramatically rigid stems. A clump of giant upright elephant ears is guaranteed to stop visitors in their tracks...especially if they walk into it! Alocasia macrorrhizos has been quite hardy in the Raleigh area, surviving 0 degrees F, but prefers it a bit warmer. Pot Size: 3.5" (24 fl. oz/709.77 ml)
(syn: Alocasia x portora 'Portodora') This superb alocasia hybrid was selected by Ron Weeks from seedlings of a cross made by LariAnn Garner of Aroidia Research. This hybrid of Alocasia odora x Alocasia portei makes a stunning upright clump that is essentially an improved Alocasia macrorrhizos. Each giant, green, heavily-scalloped leaf is held sturdily upright atop a thick, muscular, purple stalk. This is truly an architectural specimen plant for any garden. As with all elephant ears, a moist, rich organic soil is best. A good, thick winter mulch helps prevent rot caused by cold, damp soils. Pot Size: 2 qt. (1.892 L)
We have grown Aloysia virgata since 2001 and it has become one of our favorite summer flowering plants. In our climate it dies to the ground in winter and behaves as an 8' tall perennial, where in more southerly climates it makes a large open shrub to 15'. The upright woody stems are clothed with dark green sandpapery leaves. Starting in July and continuing until a hard frost, the branches end in terminal spikes of extremely fragrant white flowers that attract butterflies, other cool insects, and even garden visitors. The intoxicating fragrance of vanilla almond is strongest in late afternoon and evening. Pot Size: 3.5" (24 fl. oz/709.77 ml)
Available 7-1-2013 Amorphophallus paeoniifolius 'Thailand Giant' is the latest "Land of the Giants" aroid introduction from plantsman, Alan Galloway. Alan discovered this giant population of Amorphophallus paeoniifolius in Phang Nga, Thailand in 2011. The plants there were a massive 9' tall with a 9' wing span...each more than 1/3 larger than a typical NBA center. Each resulting seed-grown plant will be different, but we anticipate the giant size should result in equally large offspring. The offspring vary in petiole color from solid green to dark brown with blotches. When the tuber gets large enough to flower, you'll be amazed at the bizarre blush pink wrinkly dome that, with hair, could be mistaken for Keith Richards face...get your own satisfaction by growing one today. In winter, container grown plants should be removed from the pot and the tuber stored dry and above freezing. Pot Size: 3.5" (24 fl. oz/709.77 ml)
We found a gold Aralia cordata seedling in 1998, but after four years, a late spring frost killed it before we could propagate it so we were thrilled to see this similar plant arrive recently from Japan. Aralia 'Sun King' forms a dazzling 6' tall x 3' wide clump that emerges in mid-spring with bright gold compound leaves. With a few hours of sun, the foliage remains bright gold through the summer, at which time the clumps are topped with 2' tall spikes of tiny white flowers followed by ornamental black fruit. Brought to the US and named by Barry Yinger, who found it in a Japanese department store nursery, Aralia 'Sun King' is truly one of the most amazing new perennial introductions in the last decade! Pot Size: 3.5" (24 fl. oz/709.77 ml)
This wonderful deer-resistant grass, native to Mediterranean freshwater wetlands, has long been a favorite of gardeners. The only drawback was the fading of the leaf variegation in warm weather. Arundo 'Peppermint Stick', imported from the Shanghai Botanic Garden by plantsman Greg Speichert, solves that, with striped leaves just as vivid in summer as in spring. Arundo 'Peppermint Stick' forms sturdy 12' tall canes, adorned with wide green-and-white striped leaves. In the fall, the clumps are topped with 18" tall bronze-colored plumes. Arundo may get too large for small gardens, but it is NOT an invasive plant (displacing natives in functioning ecosystems) as I read in some eco-Nazi literature. Pot Size: 3.5" (24 fl. oz/709.77 ml)
Imagine an asparagus that behaves like a twining vine to 15' tall, has glossy green foliage covered in fragrant white flowers in late spring, and is smothered with 1/2" bright red ornamental berries in late summer. Did I mention it's cold hardy to Zone 3? Would you believe it? Well, it's true, and we are pleased to be able to share one of the most unique plants we have encountered. The original seed came from the old DeGiorgio Seed Company via the late Harlan Hamernik, who also adored this perennial in his Nebraska garden. The foliage stays green into the mid-20s F, serving as a perfect foil for the red berries. Any sturdy trellis, old junked pickup, or stationary highway worker is perfect for support...stand back and watch it grow. Fruiting should take about 3 years from potted plants...very cool! Pot Size: 3.5" (24 fl. oz/709.77 ml)
(syn: Ampelaster carolinianus) What will they think of next...a native (NC south to Florida) woody aster that climbs! We figure the North American native Aster carolinianus watched too many old kudzu movies. Yes, it grows, it climbs, it mingles, it blooms...it closely resembles a clematis in habit with fragrant lavender-pink flowers from late September into November (NC). Give Aster carolinianus a trellis, deer fence (which it really loves) or let it socialize in the border...it's actually well-behaved! Pot Size: 3.5" (24 fl. oz/709.77 ml)
.jpg "Abutilon x hybridum 'Voodoo' (Voodoo Flowering Maple)")
.jpg "Agapanthus 'Ellamae' (Ellamae Lily-of-the-Nile)")
