The late plantsman Alan Galloway was a prolific plant collector in Southeastern Asia, and one of the plants that has surprised us with its winter hardiness is the giant evergreen Solomon’s Seal, Disporopsis longifolia. In the wild, Alan and I encountered this throughout Thailand and Vietnam, but our tallest clone is one which Alan collected in Laos, and we christened Disporopsis longifolia ‘Alan’s Laosy Giant’. Our clump, which has been in the garden since 2007 has topped 5′ in height and is in full flower this week. Sadly, it has yet to produce a single offset.
That is beautiful.
Cool. Have you tried hybridizing with it (granted, not sure what other Disporopsis or relatives are in flower now; could freeze pollen for next spring)?
This is the latest species to flower for us, so it would require saving pollen, which would take more time that we currently have to devote to such projects, but love the idea.