Looking to acquire a few hard to find plants . . . Can you help??

Hello there friends. I am looking for a few plants that seem to be hard to find!
I am in Wisconsin and would love to know a few people that collect the rare stuff!!
I knew of the right people to talk to in Florida, but here is a new game.
Of course I am speaking of edible plants. I know that a few of them are easily gotten in the UK but would like to avoid legal issues.
One of which is Corylus maxima var. purpurea AKA purple filbert.
I have a few tree on the list as well. I got removed from ETSY as I was trying to contact people directly and they didn't like that.
Other than that (I don't do business on EBAY), I could use some help with finding some sources.
I already know of the usual like Burnt Ridge, OGW, and a few others.
I know of the tropical plant sites as I used to be into rare euginias and plinias. Remembering I am in zone 5a.
Thanks again to everyone!

Demitrios Pitas wrote:
I already know of the usual like Burnt Ridge, OGW, and a few others.

What is a Burnt Ridge and OGW?

While I am not sure exactly what you may or may not know, may I suggest you take a look at the Permies Seed and Nursery Review Grid?

https://permies.com/wiki/seed-reviews

It might give you a few options for the less common sources of plant products.

Hope this helps!

Burnt Ridge Nursery and One Greener World are two nurseries that deal in many unusual and rare perennial edible plants.
Strictly medicinal seeds is another one
Figbid.com is a cool place to find some very uncommon cultivars as well.

Timothy Norton wrote:While I am not sure exactly what you may or may not know, may I suggest you take a look at the Permies Seed and Nursery Review Grid?

https://permies.com/wiki/seed-reviews

It might give you a few options for the less common sources of plant products.

Hope this helps!

Thank you again! I love to visit all the different sites to see the unique things that I have not discovered. I love having fringe knowledge. It's just fun and keeps my passion for growing alive and well!

Are there any collectors of rare perennial plants (zone 5) on here?
I know there are people, I just need to find them.  
I have a feeling that I will have to meet these people as we move forward with the nursery . . .

Another resource that may help for filberts.  Through the people at this/these websites, you may be able to connect with others to help you find what you are looking for:

https://cropsandsoils.extension.wisc.edu/hazelnuts/

good luck!

It is possible that I might be able to access this cultivar here in the area of Poland, where I just moved to.  Looks like that cultivar is found here: https://ogrodkroton.pl/produkt/leszczyna-purpurowa-corylus-maxima-purpurea

We are in the process of acquiring an unproductive organic hazelnut orchard, which is a mono-crop of hundreds of hazels of a single variety that I have yet to get a positive ID on. Supposedly its a smaller variety commonly used for chocolates,  so not likely Corylus maxima var. purpurea.  

But my family also has a few other varieties growing in their backyard garden environments - one of which is supposedly a more rare and special cultivar with more red leaves. I did a quick google search to compare images of Corylus maxima var. purpurea to what i remember the foliage looking like from a couple of trees in our garden, and Im thinking that there is a chance that they could be it!  

Ill need time to confirm as the foliage comes back and nuts are produced.  Hopefully by that point you will find your source, but if you don't ill be willing to share the seed - as long as there are no issues with mailing them, and if you don't mind getting variability as a result of planting seeds.  

I could also try to propagate more true to type plants by ground layering, but again Im not sure what the difficulty will be of sharing over seas.  

Arthur Wierzchos wrote:It is possible that I might be able to access this cultivar here in the area of Poland, where I just moved to.  Looks like that cultivar is found here: https://ogrodkroton.pl/produkt/leszczyna-purpurowa-corylus-maxima-purpurea

We are in the process of acquiring an unproductive organic hazelnut orchard, which is a mono-crop of hundreds of hazels of a single variety that I have yet to get a positive ID on. Supposedly its a smaller variety commonly used for chocolates,  so not likely Corylus maxima var. purpurea.  

But my family also has a few other varieties growing in their backyard garden environments - one of which is supposedly a more rare and special cultivar with more red leaves. I did a quick google search to compare images of Corylus maxima var. purpurea to what i remember the foliage looking like from a couple of trees in our garden, and Im thinking that there is a chance that they could be it!  

Ill need time to confirm as the foliage comes back and nuts are produced.  Hopefully by that point you will find your source, but if you don't ill be willing to share the seed - as long as there are no issues with mailing them, and if you don't mind getting variability as a result of planting seeds.  

I could also try to propagate more true to type plants by ground layering, but again Im not sure what the difficulty will be of sharing over seas.  

I am not sure about whether the cultivar has been approved to be in the country by the USDA. I have to check with a few botanical gardens. If a public institution has them, then I should be able to get the material.
If you were to send me seeds, they may get confiscated and I may end up on a list like a drug dealer. They take things very seriously. I have a contact in the UK and they are available in nurseries there but I would love not to get visited by the Government (I don't care for those guys).
I really appreciate your offer and if I find that it is an approved sp. I may get back in touch with you.
I love rare  and unusual things. It's fun to tell and show people about things they haven't seen.
Thank You again for your offer.

John Weiland wrote:Another resource that may help for filberts.  Through the people at this/these websites, you may be able to connect with others to help you find what you are looking for:

https://cropsandsoils.extension.wisc.edu/hazelnuts/

good luck!

Thank you John. I fired an email to the hazelnut man. I knew of him and it slipped my mind completely.
Thank you for jogging my memory.