Mangaves and other goodies at UC Davis Arboretum fall plant sale

October 7 was the first plant sale of the season at the UC Davis Arboretum Teachning Nursery. I had printed out the plant list from their web site so I knew what to expect. (Their plant list is very handy because it contains not only brief information about each plant but also the aisle in the nursery where to find it, the price, and how many are in stock.)

I was thrilled to see that the plant sale inventory contained a number of new mangaves from Walters Gardens. Mangaves are crosses between the genus Agave (or, in many of these cases, another ×Mangave) and the genus Manfreda. I had several already, thanks to Loree aka Danger Garden who shared her mangave bounty with me earlier in the year, but there were some others I didn't have. I'm making a bold prediction right here and now: 2018 will the the year of the mangave! Many of these new hybrids will find their way into nurseries and, hopefully, into customers' gardens. Look for a dedicated mangave post soon.

Mangave bouty at the UC Davis Arboretum Teaching Nursery fall plant sale

Here are the mangaves at the sale (and a few manfreda selections thrown in for good measure):

×Mangave 'Moonglow', a hybrid between ×Mangave 'Bloodspot' and Manfreda undulata 'Chocolate Chips'

×Mangave 'Man of Steel', a hybrid between Agave striata and ×Mangave 'Bloodspot'

×Mangave 'Lavender Lady', a hybrid between Agave attenuata and ×Mangave 'Bloodspot'

×Mangave 'Mission to Mars', a hybrid between Agave shawii, Agave × pseudoferox, and a couple of manfredas

×Mangave 'Pineapple Express', a hybrid between Manfreda guttata Jaguar' and ×Mangave 'Bloodspot'

×Mangave 'Macho Mocha', one of the first mangaves on the market. It's a natural hybrid between Agave mitis and an unknown Manfreda, collected in Mexico.

Manfreda undulata 'Mint Chocolate Chip', a choice selection of Manfreda undulata 'Chocolate Chip'

Manfreda guttata 'Jaguar'

The selection of agaves was very nice as well:

Agave bracteosa 'Monterrey Frost'

Agave 'Desert Diamond, a sport of Agave 'Kissho Kan'

Agave xylonacantha 'Frostbite'

Agave ×romanii 'Shadow Dancer', a hybrid between Agave filifera and Agave mitis var. albidior

Agave filifera

Dozens upon dozens of Agave ovatifolia 'Frosty Blue', both in 4" and 1 gallon sizes

Agave ovatifolia 'Frosty Blue'

Agave americana 'Striata'

The aloe selection was comparatively small:

Aloe ×spinosissima (left), Aloe grandidentata (right). They also had 'Estrella del Mar' and 'Daniel'.

In comparison, the UC Davis Botanical Conservatory tables at the far end of the nursery had a far richer selelection of aloes. These were the same plants as in the pre-sale on Friday where I bought 7 small aloes (both species and hybrids).

Here are a few other succulents that caught my eye (these are Teaching Nursery plants, not Botanical Conservatory plants--I know, it's confusing, but they are two separate entitities selling at the same sale):

Not a big selection of echeverias...

...but this was one I'd never seen, 'Ghost Buster'

Echeveria 'Imbricata' is quite common, but there's a good reason for that: it's beautiful and it handles our summer heat better than other echeverias

I haven't been growing hylotelephiums (the taller fall-blooming 'Autumn Joy'-type sedums) in a number of years because I don't find them all that attractive when not in flower. But apparently there are a number of new cultivars with variegated and even purple foliage that might make me change my mind:

Hylotelephium spectabile 'Hot Stuff'

Hylotelephium telephium 'Autumn Charm'

Hylotelephium telephium 'Frosted Fire'

Hylotelephium telephium 'Touchdown Teak'; I've never seen one with purple foliage before

As always, the sale featured a goodful handful of choice manzanita selections, including two cultivars of Arctostaphylos uva-ursi, the smallest member of the genus: 'Radiant' and 'Wood's Compact'. I bought 'Wood's Compact' (only 8" in height) for the backyard because it's said to be the most shade-tolerant of all manzanitas.

Arctostaphylos densiflora 'Howard McMinn'

I'm not currently in an ornamental grass phase, but when I saw this, I was wishing I'd have room for some:

Muhlenbergia capillaris 'Pink Cloud'

This plant caught my eye on my last pass through the nursery: Trichostema lanatum. I had never heard of it before, but it's a 2×3 ft. shrub native to the coastal ranges of Southern California. Its common name is blue whorls--it's easy to see why. 

Trichostema lanatum. I did some research, and it's one of the those California natives that want very little to no supplemental water after they are established. In fact, the most common cause of death in home gardens is water in the summer. I'm tempted to try it in a hot spot outside the front yard fence.

And here is my plant haul:

• ×Mangave ‘Lavender Lady’
• ×Mangave ‘Man of Steel’
• ×Mangave ‘Mission to Mars’
• Agave ‘Shadow Dancer’ (2x)
• Arctostaphylos uva-ursi ‘Wood's Compact’
• Callistemon viminalis ‘Slim’
• Cotinus coggygria ‘Winecraft Black’, a new dwarf smokebush that retains its purple color all summer
• Eremophila glabra ‘Grey Horizon’

I'm particulary excited about these two: ×Mangave 'Mission to Mars' and ×Mangave 'Lavender Lady'.

I’ll talk more about my purchases as I put them in the ground.

The next plant sale at the UC Davis Arboretum Teaching Nursery is on Saturday, October 21 (9-11 for Arboretum members, 11-1 for the public). Check their web site for more information.