1. crambe cordifolia?

I have #4..it a beauty too..hydrangea involucrata..(tama anazi..or something like that..!)

Move to the head of the class, Idabean and Marlorn!

1. crambe cordifolia?

Yes. I'm pretty sure I know why it's so rare, and it's not just that most people don't have room for a perennial that reaches 7' tall and wide. It's a member of the cabbage family, and the immense leaves, while they're not too attractive at the best of times, look perfectly awful within weeks of appearing. This plant is a magnet for every leaf-eating insect, so it needs to be placed where the base of the plant is well hidden. I didnt know that when I purchased it (on a whim, of course!) and put it in a really prominent location along the street.

When it's in flower, the smell is intoxicating - light and just a bit sweet; it stops people who are strolling by in their tracks.

I tried moving it but it apparently regrows from bits of its extensive root system, so now I have 3 in the original spot and one along the back fence. I'm adding a boxwood hedge along both sides of this border to hide the base of the plant. I DO love it - the branches are great to look at for a long time after the flowers fade, which they do cleanly, luckily.

#4..it a beauty too..hydrangea involucrata..(tama anazi..or something like that..!)

Yes. Hydrangea involucrata 'Tama Azisai' - aren't the flower buds unusual? It's also got exfoliating bark on the older stems, and can bloom on both new and old wood.

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It's a bit of a Japanese beetle magnet - they love the newly-opened buds. That's why this photo of the flowers is not from my plant! It pays to put it a little way off the beaten path unless you're willing to spray for JBs. Mine has had to be moved 3 times (twice this spring) but I think it's happy now, in good deep vegetable garden soil with mostly sun and plenty of water.

Nice work, Malorn and Idabean!

is #3 salix blue willow?

#2 sourwood? oxydendrun arbor...

Very close on #3, wendyb, but nope, not blue willow. I think the leaves on this one are the narrowest, and have really striking silvery or white undersides. I found a site with a visual comparison of willow stems and leaves, and the S. purpurea that most closely resembles this plant is 'nana' - which is a dwarf cultivar. In the process of looking this up, I found that mine has a new variety name. You really DO learn something new every day.

#2 isn't an Oxydendrum arboreum, but, like sourwood, it does flower in summer and has great fall foliage. At least this particular one does, turning a brilliant red.

BTW, I had to google sourwood to find out what the similarities were, because although it's been on my short list for a long time I've never grown one. I found this on the duke web site: "Can be difficult to remember how to spell -- note that the genus is not spelled Oxydendron and the species is not arboretum." LOL.

#1 crambe cordifolia - did it take yours a few years to reach its full size? I think this may be one of my unknown and neglected plants.
#2 The leaf reminded me of Viburnum nudum but the berries are wrong and I doubt there are any varieties that reach 20Â.
#3 IÂll refrain but want to mention that mine unhappily stood still until this week when it sprung back to life. Any sighting suggestions in terms of clues would be appreciated.
#4Very cool the buds almost look like peony blossoms.
kt

#1 - The crambe was full size (or nearly so) its second year. 2 or 3 years ago, I moved it to the back fence, where the leaves would not be so visible, but apparently it regrew (3 plans now) from bits of root in its original location, where the photo was taken. The plant I moved is either gone or sulking badly somewhere in the overgrown garden along the fence.

#2: I was pretty surprised to see those round green things, and at first thougt they were some kind of weird growth, since the plant has not flowered yet - so I did a little research and found that those are flower buds. They are green, which made it unlikely that they'd be ripe seed pods or fruit, since this plant flowers in very late summer (might be more accurate to say it flowers in fall).

#3 likes part sun, reasonably moist soil - who doesn't? Mine is in more shade than it would like, so it leans north to catch extra light, cascading over a path and annoying the heck out of my DH in the process.

#2 franklinia?

wendy,
I was thinking the same thing those flower buds are throwing me off though.

ref: crambe: I couldn't stand the leaves, and wasn't experienced enough yet to imagine where to hide it, so I chucked it the second season. Also, I though it was a stinky plant. Not that that would bother me now since I'd plant it far enough away to hide the leaves. I also find the elderberry truly putrid....like rotten dirty socks....when I brush up against it. I have to find a place for sambucus 'black lace' which really does like the hole I put it in "temporarily" two years ago/ That was in the middle of the vegetable garden where it looks absurd, and does get constantly elbowed and touched, then cursed and reviled for its poor hygiene.

#2 franklinia?

Good sleuthing, Wendy!

It's Franklinia altamaha, a native not seen in the wild since 1790; supposedly all the plants in cultivation are derived from Bartram's collection of a few individuals in 1770.

I've got 4, and there are probably the remnants of another 3 somewhere in my compost pile, from earlier attempts to grow it. Dirr says of this plant "somewhat akin to a fickle lover and may stay around and tease with its beauty, or simply leave ... the garden, that is; it is best not to become too smitten with this plant." I love that quote but have not followed his advice very well.

# 3 needs a hint; its leaves resemble a tender perennial herb that is often grown as a topiary, which accounts for its common name. Its latin name has changed once or twice in the 10 years I've had the plant; when I got it it was labeled with a name I'd never seen in botanical taxonomy, and it's tricky to sort out the synonyms. Something like 10% of biological terms changes every year, making most sources of info out of date really quickly.

Marie,
That was in the middle of the vegetable garden where it looks absurd, and does get constantly elbowed and touched, then cursed and reviled for its poor hygiene.
lol I think you should start a "Stinkiest Plant" thread I have a few that I think would top anyoneÂs list, and just think of the prestige one would gain from growing the smelliest plant on the New England Forum. kt

Idabean - since I know how much you love the smell of buxus, you will probably be amused to hear that I'm growing a boxwood hedge around my crambe.

For anyone who hasn't seen the plant, hiding the base is not that easy, since the leaves are about 3' or more and it prefers full sun. I haven't noticed any smell other than the fragrance of the flowers, and actually missed that this year, either because of allergies or because the flowers were earlier and quicker this year than last time I had a mature one in bloom.

I actually like it almost as well after the flowers are gone; the branches are really lovely. It's just those pesky leaves that are the problem...

well, dtd, you take the cake: cat pee and rotten smelly socks in one place. Remind me to bring my Glade.

This last one is a tough one to get but for me it was love at first sight and I think may be for many of you as well. kt

Anyone think they have a plant that can stump us? kt