New plant pioneers: ten globe-trotting adventurers are discovering plants in the West and abroad that you can grow

Sunset, May, 1998 by John R. Dunmire, Lauren Bonar Swezey

The Starrs and Gasses have collected close to 20 plants that have made it into the trade and been successful - about 10 to 15 percent of what they've actually brought back from their trips.

Favorite finds

The Gasses': Leucophyllums (L. laevigatum griseum, L. langmaniae, L. pruinosum, L. revolutum, and L. zygophyllum 'Cimarron'). All are 3- to 6-foot-tall shrubs, with lavender to purple flowers. Zones 7-24.

The Starts': Dasylirion longissimum. Grasslike plant, with narrow, dark green leaves; grows to 6 feet tall. Zones 12-24.

Mountain States Wholesale Nursery is not open for retail business, but its plants are available at retail nurseries in Arizona, New Mexico, southern Utah, Las Vegas, El Paso, and the desert regions of California.

Starr Nursery (3340 W. Ruthann Rd., Tucson; 520/743-7052) is open by appointment only.

PANAYOTI KELAIDIS DENVER BOTANIC GARDENS DENVER, COLORADO

Panayoti Kelaidis grew up in Boulder, Colorado, loving plants. When he was 8 years old, he and his older brother-in-law used to find plants for their home garden (back then, collecting plants was legal, explains Kelaidis). "I thought it was the coolest thing."

When Kelaidis was in his 20s, University of Colorado professor Paul Maslin took him all over the West collecting seeds and plants. "Paul had a plantsman's garden, with beautiful foliage and flowers," says Kelaidis. It sparked Kelaidis's interest in plants with year-round good looks. Since 1980, as curator of Denver Botanic Gardens's Rock Alpine Garden, Kelaidis has been on collecting trips to South Africa, Greece, and Turkey, looking for colorful, hardy specimens suited to Rocky Mountain gardens.

He has introduced hundreds of plants to the nursery trade, including Delosperma floribundum 'Starburst' and a hardy gazania, G. linearis 'Colorado Gold', both from South Africa.

But Kelaidis is most excited by the numbers of plants awaiting discovery. "I think the best is yet to come," he says.

Kelaidis's favorite find

Chihuahuan phlox (Phlox mesoleuca). Grows 6 inches tall by 1 1/2 feet wide. Yellowish flowers. Zones 2-24.

Denver Botanic Gardens (1005 York st.) is open daily. (303) 311-4000.

RELATED ARTICLE: A word about collecting in the wild

To preserve native plant populations, pioneers such as the Starrs and Gasses gather only seeds or cuttings, never plants. "You can collect 10,000 seeds off of one yucca plant in the wild and preserve the plant," says Starr. "But if you dig up the plant, it will never produce seed again (it needs a special moth to pollinate the flower, and this moth doesn't exist around cultivated plants)." Collecting seeds preserves plant communities for future generations to enjoy.

And collecting any plant material in the wild is best left to professionals. But if you're considering bringing plant material into the United States from another country, call the Permit Unit of the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Unit for guidelines (301/734-8896).

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