Favorite plant and the one you wish you could grow

Just for fun and a nice winter diversion, I thought it would be fun for people to think about everything they grow and choose the one plant that takes first place.  What is the ONE plant that you consider indispensable?
On the flip side of that (sort of), what is your biggest planting mistake? You know the one; maybe it spreads everywhere or is always shedding limbs or got much bigger than you thought or has juglone that kills nearby plantings....
And if you're still wanting more, what is your "I wish that that plant would grow in my climate" plant?

I'll start.  I need to preface this by saying many of my plantings have yet to fruit because many are quite young.  Also, tomorrow, I may have a completely different answer.  You know; it's sort of like, What's your favorite flower? It's always the one that's blooming!  This is hard; I'm waffling among grapes, asparagus and strawberries...But the rules say just one, and because the first two also have drawbacks, I'm going to choose strawberries.  They fruit from late May into November, they are my groundcover which keeps weeds at bay, and they produce so much that I have them every day for breakfast and will probably still have some left with this upcoming season. They are small plants that don't really require much maintenance.  Their flowers are lovely and draw in many pollinators.  I love my strawberries.

What I don't love is a fothergilla that I planted many years ago. It actually feels a little cheaty because it's not really a permaculture kind of plant, and I may discover that I despise something that has yet to become problematic. After cutting the fothergilla back, it has sent out woody runners that are impossible for me to remove.  I've tried cutting it to the ground and covering it with cardboard.  The thing will not die.  I guess I just need to keep hacking it back at ground level...I do plan to plant goji and maypop this spring...both with some hesitation.  Time will tell, but I really love the taste of dried gojis....

And now...drumroll please; the plant that I wish I could grow but can't would have to be a pistachio tree.  It is really remarkable how many plants do grow in my zone 5 garden, but pistachios are not one of them, according to what I've read.  This is actually kind of surprising, because so many nuts do grow this far north.  They really intrigue me because they don't get huge like a walnut or many of the nut trees do.  As it is, I have two heartnuts and four hazelnuts growing, but, boy, I'd love to add a pistachio!  If there is anyone who can grow one in zone 5, please, please let me know!

My favourite plant that I have right now is my blueberry plant, each year it gives me more berries, its very happy and I transplanted it into a bigger pot recently so hopefully that will bode well.

The plant I wish would grow here is coffee, it needs zone 9 and we're zone 8.  Our balcony where we grow our plants is maybe a micro climate where we might be able to "zone push" but I'm not so sure.

Riona Abhainn wrote:My favourite plant that I have right now is my blueberry plant, each year it gives me more berries, its very happy and I transplanted it into a bigger pot recently so hopefully that will bode well.

The plant I wish would grow here is coffee, it needs zone 9 and we're zone 8.  Our balcony where we grow our plants is maybe a micro climate where we might be able to "zone push" but I'm not so sure.

Have you read David the Good on pushing the zone? I watched his recent video where he shows his coffee trees in Alabama. Of course, outside the greenhouse it was a foot of surprising snow...

And I agree, coffee it is for me too. But, not in zone 6.

The Hardy Plant Society had a member survey that asked similar questions this year and I was struggling to think of plants I didn't like, because I'm always so happy when something grows!
I can see what you mean about fothergilla. It isn't a plant I am familiar with, but there don't seem to be many uses. It looks like a tough plant and I guess the flowers will be useful for bees in the spring. Maybe biomass and shelter if it grows as a thicket like that?

An indispensable plant for me is common alder. For my exposed, damp conditions it grows really well, sheltering other plants and improving the soil. It is nitrogen fixing and seems to encourage the trees around it to grow too. I use it for wood fuel and peas sticks mainly. It coppices pretty well and I'm soon going to able to coppice some of my trees for the second time.
Planting mistakes: as I said I'm mostly happy for things to grow, but there are a couple of plants that, shall we say I could do without! If you exclude weeds like couch grass, then I'm not too fond of Montbretia/crocosmia. It does have spectacular flowers in early autumn though, and I didn't plant that - it came with the house, so I'll go with sloes or blackthorn: I'm a bit worried how the bushes are spreading into the pathways. They are quite thorny and too small to be useful for timber, they do flower but I'm yet to see a real crop.

A plant I'd love to have success with is Gevuina avellana, the chilean hazelnut. It's not really related to hazels and doesn't really look like them at all. They have large fleshy leaves, and nut like fruit enclosed in a corky shell. Apparently it is closely related to macadamia, but tolerates cooler climates. It ought to like it here, but I have failed with it a number of times! I will try again when I get another source of seeds - the plants (if you can get them) are really expensive, which is a waste of money if they die! As well as being edible, the nuts are supposed to contain a good sunscreening oil.

One of my favorite plants to grow currently has been tomatoes. The sheer diversity in size/shape/taste and growing patterns almost guarantees you will find a variety for your climate. Tomato plants are, to a degree, forgiving and they really are a highlight to the garden every year. I have found with particularly mild winters that I have plenty of volunteers from the prior years drops.

The plant(s) I wish I could grow are the whole variety of carnivorous plants. The climate I live in does not support their existence so I keep a few as houseplants. I currently have two varieties of Venus flytraps as well as a pitcher plant. My hope is to develop a better bog style planter system than I have currently.

Maybe someday if I have a greenhouse, or a very dark sunny wall,  or something I can try coffee plants, my husband would get really excited, longing for a yard instead of a balcony.

Wish to do raspberries most.  Favorite one I do grow is tomatoes with strawberries a close second.

C. Letellier,  Two years ago, I put in some "bush" raspberries, because I didn't want to deal with canes and thorns.  I got them at Stark's, and they survived last year just fine.  The variety is called "Raspberry Shortcake" in case you might be interested.  There are videos out there so you can get a sense of their size and growing habit.  Mine haven't fruited yet, but to be fair, I put them in the ground in late autumn, so really, that year shouldn't even count.  I got six of them and so far, they've grown in a mound.  I will be able to divide them and put them elsewhere, but so far, I really like the growth habit.  I've tried ground raspberries and they barely eek out leaves, let alone any fruit. If I were to do it again, I wouldn't have bothered with those.  The "Bushel and Berry Raspberry shortcake" hold promise though.  I hope this year to get some fruit, as raspberries are some of my favorites!

Oh, this is a tough one! If I had to pick just one must-have plant, it’d be garlic. It’s ridiculously easy to grow, doesn’t take up much space, and is basically a staple in my kitchen. Plus, homegrown garlic has way more flavor than store-bought, and I love experimenting with different varieties.

And if I could grow anything? Citrus trees, no question. I’d love to walk outside and pick fresh lemons or oranges, but our winters would have something to say about that. Maybe one day I’ll get a nice greenhouse going!

I loved this question enough to finally make my first post! Favorite plant that I've actually grown: tomatoes! Eating them fresh from the vines is my happy place. My least preferred plant is the small bulbed, white flowered "Star of Bethlehem" I grew up with and could never exterminate. I would LOVE to grow a pomegranate tree, but our great plains/prairie extremes don't play nice with them...

Welcome to Permies, Katie!

My favourite plant...it's surprisingly difficult to choose! But I'll say Apple. The blossoms are so beautiful, bees love it too, and the freshly picked apples are heavenly delicious.

My least favourite plant would be bramble, although I like the fruit, but the thorny canes and their sneaky growthpatterns of winning more land... No, I'm no friend of brambles. My sheep are a primitive breed (ouessant) and they're doing a fantastic job at keeping the brambles at bay! They like to nibble at everything, like goats, so I had to make a clear division between their space and my soon-to-be-forest-garden.

A plant I'd love to have ( part from citrus and coffee that are already mentioned ) would be an abundance of ginger. I've tried to grow it in my greenhouse, but no great success yet. Not giving up, but it's a tricky one to grow I find.

My favorite and most valued plant for my climate, hydrology and topography are the beautiful Valley Oaks (Quercus lobata).

They are the keys to this ecosystem- what holds everything together and makes everything work. They are like my giant warm life-giving friends, full of sage wisdom and resilient health. They are my mentors for this ecosystem.

They also happen to have the more easily edible type of large fat acorns- something I haven’t tried yet, but am aware they are always there for me, my sheep who love them, and wildlife.

My least appreciated plant is probably the water hemlocks and poison hemlocks - they are too dangerously poisonous. I raise sheep, and, I like to grow things that are in that family (like Yampah and celery), but NOT poisonous, yet they are too similar to the poisonous plants to be able to safely do so.

I’m not crazy about Bermuda grass either as it is mat-forming and spreads like a mo-fo and the sheep don’t like it overly much. At least it grows in the warm season tho, so I’m not complaining too too much 😇

The plant I’d love to grow here are tropical type avocados which are significantly better than the ones I can grow here in zone 9.
I’d also love to be able to grow pistachios. We are the right latitude, but we are not hot enough. Those buggers LIKE HEAT!! SUPER HOT 🥵 DRY HEAT.

C. Letellier wrote:Wish to do raspberries most.  Favorite one I do grow is tomatoes with strawberries a close second.

Have you eaten black raspberries? They grow wild in the Gatineau mountains here! They are much sweeter, and the canes survive the winter. It propagates by the canes bending to the ground on their own weight and then they root themselves (which I copy).

Tomato is my indispensable: it's the reason I stuck with gardening as a child, even through some mistakes. They can be grown as cherry tomatoes in containers up balcony stairs which look great too! Store bought (plastic) tomatoes just aren't the same plant and don't produce tomatoes that smell right. These days I grow Matt's wild cherry tomatoes (drought resistant and somewhat free standing and they'll ripen from outdoor sowing before the season is over, or ripen well indoors, although I hope one day to try Lofthouse landrace.)

My biggest mistake was importing soil once many decades ago that had mint in it: enough said!

I would grow pineapple if I could (but my choices of zone are zero and 4b,)

Katie, I'm so glad that you posted. I've loved reading everyone's answers.  I find myself thinking that I'd like to grow most of what's listed as well!

Nina, I'm surprised that you can't grow ginger; I remember watching a video where some people living in Syracuse, New York were growing ginger outside.  I'll try to find it.  It's a long one, but very worthwhile because it's a tour through a wonderful established food forest. It's a two parter.  Here's the first: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FTdkP8-LSFY&list=PLCkOPTcaMQ3BtDjTGNnuesTLVhk1NXBP5 and here's the second: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vh8biKgTWB4&list=PLCkOPTcaMQ3BtDjTGNnuesTLVhk1NXBP5&index=2  I really like most of the Flock videos that deal with gardens.  Of course, you can just click on the round blue circle with a bird in it to get to the home page, just like on Facebook, if you're interested in more.  In winter, I crave pretty garden videos!

Hands down wish I could grow mangoes or avocados! That would be about as close to heaven as I could get!!!
Meanwhile I’ll take the raspberries & melons that I CAN grow!

A much more challenging set of questions than I would have thought.

I think a favourite could be our semi-sweet or tart cherries - we have Crimson Passion and Carmine Jewel.  The varieties were developed at the University of Saskatchewan, so they're very hardy, do well for us.  The fruit have a lovely flavour and they keep their colour in processing...the ones we pit are primarily set aside for tarts and I keep some unpitted for a vodka liqueur.  I can't say I'm excited about pitting them as they are small enough for that to be a challenge, but the tarts are so worth the effort.  The do sucker a bit and we've found birds will seed them around as well...taking a more permie approach, that's a good thing...let them spread.  Theoretically, willow could be second place - fast grower, coppices well, available with different bark colours, and can become a living sculpture.

Least favourite could be a challenge as well...apples have been a challenge for us, but we keep trying (honestly we'll get there and once a few get big enough to get beyond browse, I don't think they'll be a consideration), quack grass features high on this list as it spreads so quickly - it will send rhizomes through carrot roots - although I'm coming around as it has a terminal height and I can scythe it for mulch, trees like Manitoba maple (boxelder) that don't produce high quality wood, produce a gazillion seeds that sprout readily - but it should respond to coppicing well, so can have some uses for smaller things.

Like others, I think what I would lust for the most would be fruit or nut trees that just don't stand a chance here.  Distant relatives who visited many years ago brought pecans with them from Texas - nothing like what we get in stores here for flavour (although that could be a freshness issue).  Kiwis, mangoes, peaches, pomegranate, and others would fall into that category as well.

So, I recognize I'm not really playing along that well...need to get off the computer and do some stuff, so haven't devoted as much brain power to this as would have been necessary to narrow things down to one.  I deliberately left out annuals...we can get most things to grow so long as we have season length for it, although the critters may have something to say about it.

There are so many plants, edible and not, in my garden that I consider indispensable, but I do especially adore figs and I am a bit of a peony addict.
Regret is salad burnet, as it's not really that tasty to me and I've seen it establishing itself off of my property in wild areas near my home and I think it came from my garden, oops! Elecampane comes in second, with lemon balm holding a solid 3rd place, or maybe fennel...haha.
Blackberries, ivy, and vinca weren't my fault but goodness they are tough!
It would be neat to be able to grow pomegranate, avocado and coffee, as others have mentioned, but if it was warm enough for those, I wouldn't have so many of my other favorite things that need a cold winter, so I really don't mind buying those items at the store.

Derek, have you looked into arctic kiwi or hardy kiwi?  While they are smaller, they don't need to be peeled and you eat them like grapes!  People who grow them say that they are sweeter than the larger type we all have in grocery stores.  I have some growing out back, and while it takes a while for them to fruit, eventually it will be so worth it.  Last fall, I only had two fruit that made it to fruition; unfortunately, I was so eager to taste them, that I ate them before their prime. I guess you're supposed to wait until they get wrinkly.  Even so, they tasted like the kiwi we get in the store.  I do have them planted on a large stand-alone pergola type structure as they grow an insane amount each year.  I would not plant them near your house or a structure that can be pulled down by its weight.

Derek Thille wrote:A much more challenging set of questions than I would have thought.

I think a favourite could be our semi-sweet or tart cherries - we have Crimson Passion and Carmine Jewel.  The varieties were developed at the University of Saskatchewan, so they're very hardy, do well for us.  The fruit have a lovely flavour and they keep their colour in processing...the ones we pit are primarily set aside for tarts and I keep some unpitted for a vodka liqueur.  I can't say I'm excited about pitting them as they are small enough for that to be a challenge, but the tarts are so worth the effort.  The do sucker a bit and we've found birds will seed them around as well...taking a more permie approach, that's a good thing...let them spread.  Theoretically, willow could be second place - fast grower, coppices well, available with different bark colours, and can become a living sculpture.

Least favourite could be a challenge as well...apples have been a challenge for us, but we keep trying (honestly we'll get there and once a few get big enough to get beyond browse, I don't think they'll be a consideration), quack grass features high on this list as it spreads so quickly - it will send rhizomes through carrot roots - although I'm coming around as it has a terminal height and I can scythe it for mulch, trees like Manitoba maple (boxelder) that don't produce high quality wood, produce a gazillion seeds that sprout readily - but it should respond to coppicing well, so can have some uses for smaller things.

Like others, I think what I would lust for the most would be fruit or nut trees that just don't stand a chance here.  Distant relatives who visited many years ago brought pecans with them from Texas - nothing like what we get in stores here for flavour (although that could be a freshness issue).  Kiwis, mangoes, peaches, pomegranate, and others would fall into that category as well.

So, I recognize I'm not really playing along that well...need to get off the computer and do some stuff, so haven't devoted as much brain power to this as would have been necessary to narrow things down to one.  I deliberately left out annuals...we can get most things to grow so long as we have season length for it, although the critters may have something to say about it.

Barbara Simoes wrote:Derek, have you looked into arctic kiwi or hardy kiwi?  While they are smaller, they don't need to be peeled and you eat them like grapes!  People who grow them say that they are sweeter than the larger type we all have in grocery stores.  I have some growing out back, and while it takes a while for them to fruit, eventually it will be so worth it.  Last fall, I only had two fruit that made it to fruition; unfortunately, I was so eager to taste them, that I ate them before their prime. I guess you're supposed to wait until they get wrinkly.  Even so, they tasted like the kiwi we get in the store.  I do have them planted on a large stand-alone pergola type structure as they grow an insane amount each year.  I would not plant them near your house or a structure that can be pulled down by its weight.

Thanks Barbara.  We had Arctic Kiwi in the city and while they grew, they never thrived - they were there many years and grew but never flowered...we transplanted to the country where they didn't last long.  I understand they don't like windy conditions, so I need some of the other stuff around to grow more and abate the wind before I try again.  That's a case of "if I knew then what I know now".

Derek Thille wrote: We had Arctic Kiwi in the city and while they grew, they never thrived - they were there many years and grew but never flowered...we transplanted to the country where they didn't last long.  I understand they don't like windy conditions, so I need some of the other stuff around to grow more and abate the wind before I try again.  That's a case of "if I knew then what I know now".

My experience is that they also need more reliable water than I give mine. I'm thinking they might do well on some sort of hügelkultur to help with moisture moderation.

Jay Angler wrote:

Derek Thille wrote: We had Arctic Kiwi in the city and while they grew, they never thrived - they were there many years and grew but never flowered...we transplanted to the country where they didn't last long.  I understand they don't like windy conditions, so I need some of the other stuff around to grow more and abate the wind before I try again.  That's a case of "if I knew then what I know now".

My experience is that they also need more reliable water than I give mine. I'm thinking they might do well on some sort of hügelkultur to help with moisture moderation.

Good idea...if I had them low on the hugelkultur, that might afford some wind protection as well.  So many projects, so few growing seasons....

That's all really good information about kiwi growing.  Mine is still relatively young and has not gone crazy like they are apt to do.  Moisture is not really a problem here so after anything's first year, plants are on their own; it's survival of the fittest around here! There is a yew hedge planted on the property line and my arbor is perpendicular to it.  My plan is to also add passionflower on the south side and schizandra on the north, so that should help with any wind issues.  It's quite a large arbor, so they shouldn't crowd each other out.
This is the first wintery winter we've had in a long time.  The ground has had snow consistently since Christmas. I need to get out and prune, and the last number of years spoiled me as far as conditions.  Instead of pruning, I've been going out and shoveling almost daily.  Before checking my email, I was looking out and debating whether I needed to go out and do it again.

On the subject of Kiwi fruit - found out after the event that they need a male and several female plants to be successful bearers.  No idea if this goes for the arctic kiwi.
My favourites fruits are the berries (not going to be specific, I like all of them)  but for ornamental I like the Eremophila species (Emu bushes)
they need very little water once established and attract the birds.
What I really wish I could grow is a quandong (a type of fruiting sandalwood)  It is semi-parasitic and devilishly hard to germinate, hates being transplanted and is overall temperamental.  Not giving up though.  Soon starting a controlled germination experiment, using several seeds for each suggested method.  Please keep all fingers crossed - thanks

Yes, Jill, the arctic kiwi requires male and female plants.  

Derek Thille wrote:Yes, Jill, the arctic kiwi requires male and female plants.  

However, my friend bought a kiwi berry plant that had I believe had both sexes grafted to the the same root stock. She definitely only had 1 plant and got fruit. However, I've not inspected it closely when it's flowering to see if someone's actually gotten the plant to produce both sexed flowers on the same branches. Possibly I should ask, as she is a biologist and could likely confirm which it is, but we don't often cross paths.

Yes, I became aware of Issai after I planted my Ana + male.  Issai is self-fruitful from what I've read.

Coming from a tropical climate to the desert has put a damper on my usual availability of fresh fruit. I can no longer go out to the front yard and pick my breakfast or a gardenia for my hair.
The one plant that I miss eating the most is strawberry papaya. The richness of its “meat” and the flavor of that first sweet bite are almost forgotten. I’ve had greenhouses and have tried to grow them, but I was never able to get them to bear fruit.
Ah, to be able to walk out and pick my breakfast again!