The first exotic plant that comes to mind is "this one":http://myfolia.com/journals/68803-9-giant-chrysanthemum-blooming, which Gerbera is growing. I thought it was both odd and beautiful at the same time. When I think of exotic, I think of things that are unusual, and most of the time grown in hot climates. That is why I picked Gerbera's amazing flower. :) 2009-10-26T04:24:29+11:00 false 13282 2802 2009-10-27T04:42:32+11:00 5779 I have always remembered this "wierd exotic plant":http://myfolia.com/plantings/37938-tillandsia-bulbosa-tillandsia-bulbosa that ryanofcactus had. I knew immediately this is the one I had to nominate. 2009-10-26T04:42:48+11:00 false 13285 2802 2009-10-26T04:42:48+11:00 4903 Well I want to say Tara_LB's 12-foot tall money tree, but I can't find it. Anyone? Tara? 2009-10-26T08:55:30+11:00 false 13295 2802 2009-10-26T08:55:30+11:00 3568 One thing to keep in mind on myfolia, with it's world wide constituency, is that exoticism is regional. I moved from zone 10 to zone 5 a couple of years ago, and I still internally think of these wacky cold-weather plants (maples, for instance) as extremely exotic. Getting tropical plants in the tropics isn't exotic; it's sensible and ordinary. There are certainly some local plants in lots of areas of the world that have been agriculturally shunned in favor of European favorites so they are hard to find for gardeners even where they make sense to grow, but that suggests a best native plant category. If someone in the tropics got cold-loving spinach to grow, that would be well nigh impossible and damned impressive. I think a lot of the folks ("jolantru,":http://myfolia.com/gardener/jolantru "rockabella,":http://myfolia.com/gardener/rockabella9 "sandishee,":http://myfolia.com/gardener/sandishee "42ndfloor,":http://myfolia.com/gardener/42ndFloor etc.) are really pushing the envelope in that regard, but I'm a poor judge of which plants they're growing are the trickiest and most exotic. I very much hope that this category doesn't restrict itself to temperate notions of exotic plants. Someone with more experience than me had better get nominating! I will stick closer to home and nominate "puu,":http://myfolia.com/gardener/puu because he's gone to a tremendous amount of effort to find perennials that are exotic to his region, to research them despite a dearth of readily available information on them, to experiment with things whose hardiness hasn't been fully tested, to secure the seeds of obscure plants (no mean feat), and experiment with them on his own. I'm not sure that I can pare it down to an individual plant; he's got so many that it would just split the vote. 2009-10-27T04:04:09+11:00 false 13322 2802 2009-10-27T04:04:09+11:00 1237 I'd heartily agree with cmagnus - "puu":http://myfolia.com/gardener/puu has curated a fantastic set of plants, with many creative solutions to growing them in different parts of the state. I feel lucky that he's in my city - hopefully, I can get the plant-nerd tour someday! 2009-10-27T10:03:23+11:00 false 13343 2802 2009-10-27T10:03:23+11:00 11631 LOL!! Like as not he would be glad to give it to you!! :) I would love a real tour of some of these gardens!! @xan- I looked and didn't find it either. Are you sure that it was Tara's money tree? I thought that something was specific to a certain gardener, but couldn't find it. I think that what I was looking for, I was attributing to the wrong gardener, and therefore it is likely that I will never find it!! 2009-10-27T10:18:15+11:00 false 13346 2802 2009-10-27T10:18:15+11:00 5779 I'll put a vote in for puu but I would also like to nominate my Calamondin orange which seems very exotic to a Canadian and has bloomed and carried fruit at the same time as long as I have had it. 2009-10-27T11:56:37+11:00 false 13348 2802 2009-10-27T11:56:37+11:00 1175 Ok, so I want to nominate this plant. It's a flowering plant, grown from a bulb and nursed to health through several years, and it bloomed the first time this year. The bulb was special because the plant is rare and bulb was hard to find, and I think it was obtained in a swap. I also seem to remember that it was planted under a tree in the front yard, and I also seem to remember that it was Canadian, or at least from some place that has a short, not very hot growing season. I can't for the LIFE of me figure out what the plant was or who grew it, but I really want to nominate it because the gardener wrote about the bloom with such love and warmth. Can someone help me remember who this gardener was and what the planting was? Does it ring a bell for anyone? 2009-10-29T04:28:20+11:00 false 13386 2802 2009-10-29T04:28:20+11:00 1713 Katxena, I think that was Aughty, but I can't find the post. 2009-10-29T08:58:21+11:00 false 13391 2802 2009-10-29T08:58:21+11:00 3568 @ xan are you thinking of this? "Jade Plant":http://myfolia.com/plantings/81220-jade-plant-crassula-ovata 2009-11-03T17:22:59+11:00 false 13508 2802 2009-11-03T17:22:59+11:00 7470 I would like to nominate my "meconopsis prattii":http://myfolia.com/plantings/90861-meconopsis-prattii-meconopsis-prattii, (Himalayan blue poppy) They are quite difficult to grow, and I was really excited when mine flowered this year. 2009-11-05T13:45:23+11:00 false 13529 2802 2009-11-05T14:31:27+11:00 4086