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artinnature

Gossler Farms Nursery visit...Embothrium purchase

artinnature
5 months ago
last modified: 5 months ago

I've been drooling over their catalogs since about 1999, and I finally made it there on Monday! I was the only one there (I had made an appointment) and I had Rogers undivided attention. He was a very gracious host, generous with his time. Of course the display gardens were largely dormant, but they are very impressive, with many large, old specimens. The star of the garden on that day was Zenobia pulverulenta 'Raspberry' (might have been 'Raspberry Ripple', but they were labeled Raspberry) . Really outstanding fall foliage color, and similar to some of the evergreen Vacciniums in that they get fall color while also remaining partially evergreen.

Did I buy anything? Yes, Embothrium coccineum, a multi-stem specimen(!), and Helleborus 'Golden Lotus'. Roger has so many collector plants, I could have gone nuts, but I had already picked up a bunch of plants at another local nursery.

We are about to get a period of heavy rain here in the Willamette Valley, at least 9 days in a row. Am I crazy to plant out my new Embothrium now?

Comments (7)

  • PRO
    The Logician LLC
    5 months ago

    There is a name from the past. I purchased a Eucryphia lucida in the mid-1990s from Mr. Gossler.

    It is down to its last surviving branch and will be removed next year. Other eucryphia species are still alive after 30 years here; drought and heat has proven more difficult than cold. I see Gossler still has E. glutinosa.

  • artinnature
    Original Author
    5 months ago
    last modified: 5 months ago

    I tried Eucryphia 'Rostrevor' in my Seattle area garden, killed it. Will definitely try the genus again here in Oregon. At this point I only have space for narrow, upright growers, Eucryphia fits the bill. Which other varieties do you have besides E. lucida?

  • KW PNW Z8
    5 months ago

    @artinnature What did you do about planting your new Embothrium? It’s a pineapple express we’re getting so very wet & soggy. I can’t imagine any digging in what’s likely to be muck - at least in my clay - maybe you, just due south of me in Vancouver, have better soil? Even looking out at the rain that’s not heavy yet but is coming straight down, I’m inside with a good book & of course, my trusty iPad here. 😊

  • artinnature
    Original Author
    5 months ago

    I decided to throw caution to the wind and get it in the ground. Planted it yesterday afternoon before the rain began. I'm really not very good at maintaining plants in pots through the winter anyway, so the odds of survival are probably about even.


    Since most of my garden is automatically irrigated, and since past experience along with online advice (Ciscoe Morris) has taught me that watering during hot weather can quickly kill Embothrium, I planted it in my xeric section, amongst several Arctostaphylos and Cistus shrubs. Of course my xeric garden has hot soil, another one of the many conditions that can kill Embothrium, but hopefully the huge Cistus 'Jenkyn Place' that I tucked it up next to will shade the soil sufficiently. The soil there is dreadfully compacted but it has quite a lot of gravel & concrete chunks mixed in with the clay. It was the dumping/staging area during construction of the house. It was only a 1 gallon pot so I barely had to dig anyway, its mostly planted in hemlock bark.


    Interestingly, the plant had a lot of slow release fertilizer in the pot, as you often see with potted plants. But phosphorus (and some say potassium as well) can also quickly kill Embothrium. I wonder if Roger uses a slow release with nitrogen only for these?

  • gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)
    5 months ago

    Klark, although I have rarely seen them on the Seattle side of the Sound, eucryphia are not uncommon on the west side :-) In fact, I posted a thread about the collection planted at my local library some years back. https://www.gardenweb.com/discussions/5756666/the-eucryphia-are-in-bloom#n=7 And Olympic College in Bremerton has the WA state champion. I'd venture to say most of these appear to be E. x nymansensis, which is reputed to be the most cold tolerant selection for this area.......according to Cistus Nursery.

    I had x nymansensis planted at my old Shoreline garden and it was doing great when I left but who knows what is still alive now, as the new owners had/have zero interest in gardening.

    IME, Embothrium is much harder to get established and to keep happy, especially under variably harsher conditions. Good luck!!

  • artinnature
    Original Author
    5 months ago

    Pam, I knew of two specimens in Edmonds, one a block north of our Fir Street house, the other was north of the bowl, half a block from the water. I also saw a big one in Richmond Beach.

  • PRO
    The Logician LLC
    5 months ago

    I have two 'Rostrevor' still going, planted in 1993. One is nearing 40 feet but is looking ratty in recent years, too hot even with regular water. The other I cut back to a 5-foot stump after sudden upper dieback. It has regrown nicely. I had two "Hybrida" (lucida x milliganii) for many years, one of those never totally recovered from the Heat Dome and was removed last summer; the remaining one is doing well. Probably a hard find now. Bought those from Mr. Hogan at Cistus.

    That one is 15' tall and less than 5 feet wide. Bloom is not showy.


    The lucida would develop large vertical fissures in major branches; dieback then followed.

    Variety "Pink Cloud". Bloom was sporadic year-to-year.


    Rostrevor has been an excellent mid-summer bee plant.