Cistus Nursery

Went in to see what a mature Yucca rostrata looked like, left with a plant I couldn’t find anywhere else (other than ebay). Worth a trip over because they are filled with hard-​to-​find plants (and I’ve been to hundreds of nurseries all up and down the wester US.)

Bought a Clematis x cartmanii ‘Joe’ for my mother in Maine. Cistus was the only nursery in the USA that carries what she wanted. It was well-​packed for the cross-​country trip and both the shipping and the plant itself were very reasonably priced. My mother couldn’t be happier! Thank you.

This was the only nursery I could find selling this particular species of fern from the Sonoran Desert (Wavy Cloak Fern; Astrolepis sinuata) — and in Oregon! The fern was carefully packed and still looks beautiful after a few days in the mail. It should fit nicely in my vivarium.

This small nursery tucked away on Sauvie Island isn’t for those looking for Blue Wave petunias on sale at Home Depot, or your typical hybrid rose. Instead you’ll find an always different and amazing selection of new, odd, hybrid and rare plants. Don’t expect masses of flowers, this is about texture, color, rarity and since most of the plants are smaller — and hence easier to plant, you’re not seeing mature things which might bloom after a few years. After 4 years of adding things to my garden, I still discover new must haves — loquat trees, abutilons that have grown into 7′ houseplants, conifers in shades of gray and blue, odd edibles, tiny gems like a hardy miniature cyclamen whose corms are above ground. It’s not a nursery for everyone, but then it’s the ultimate nursery for real gardeners, people looking for something interesting, or special or novel. The selection is every changing so it’s worth multiple trips throughout the season as things sell out and new things roll into availability, it’s really a dream find when you think you know plants and then encounter varieties, species and hybrids you’re completely new to and stumped by. If you live in Portland, drive out, the size and selection is different from the smaller mail order plants. Ask questions and bring your iphone to search names because the variety is amazing, you can get things hardy and borderline and tender, so depending on whether you have full sun, sheltered areas, a greenhouse — there are lots of options. I have some jaw dropping plants from this nursery which is a regular at the hardy Plant Society spring sale. Owner Sean Hogan isn’t always there for questions, but his staff is very nice and it’s a place you go and take your time. Besides, Sauvie Island is so beautiful to drive in and next door you’ll find the wonderful berry farm Columbia Farms. And there’s a great scratch and dent sale at the end of season, from which I have a stupendous plants like a variegated clerodendrum with huge leaves that was $ 2 in a gallon pot and has flourished in my backyard. You can also get on wait lists for highly limited plants. Besides the beautiful drive 20 minutes from the city, it’s just an amazing shopping experience where you can stock up on eucalyptus (some of mine are 20′ in 3 years), Oregon-​hardy olives, succulents and leaves of all types. This is somewhere you go — WALK AND WONDER. Nature is amazing, and this nursery promotes that. Take your time.

What a lovely nursery. This is such a great spot to get away from Portland and find some truly unique plants. I would totally send even the most finicky person here!

What a great Portland nursery. The garden is out of this world. I had no idea that Eucalyptus and Olive trees grow so well in Portland, agave and yucca too. The plant selection is really great with lots of natives and more unusual stuff. It’s kind of far out on Sauvie Island, but the drive is beautiful and Cistus is worth the trek. It’s the coolest, if not the best nursery in Portland.

A charming nursery with unusual plants at a great price. Shop and buy but don’t engage the staff too much — they’re total know-​it-​all snobs and you’ll get an earful and possibly a chiding! Damn…

Need unusual plants? This is a place that will transport you to another world. Walking around the grounds is like taking a trip to some exotic land.

Ever been to a truly great botanical garden? No? Well, here’s your big chance! Jim, the proprietor of Cistus Nursery, apparently used to manage a major botanical garden; his nursery showcases his mad skills, in the exquisite layout of his beautiful nursery.
Each biome is represented here; each microenvironment presented in a series of «rooms» (some enclosed in a conservatory-​like greenhouse, some outdoors, encircled with living fencing), from arid desert to wet-​tropic water plants. The only commonality? They’ll all thrive locally! And scattered among the lush greenscape are elegant benches, soft chairs, complete with gardening magazines on the coffee tables… basically, a visit to the nursery feels like a holiday at a rich uncle’s manor-​house. All I needed was a cup of tea…

Zonal Denial! You heard me. Deny your zone! The zone is false, the zone is a lie, the zone is your cage!
Rarely does gardening require a manifesto, much less a fist-​shaking rally cry. But here in Portland (USDA Zone 8) there are a lot of «You can’t do that» kind of rules. Tropical blooms in this zone? No. Breezes wafting through Mediterranean trees? No. Olives? Citrus? Bananas? No, no, no.
Cistus says YES. At their spacious nursery on Sauvies Island, they have a wide variety of these plants and are eager to help you help them thrive in our climate. Plus, they often host fun events in the nursery.
Still don’t believe me? Drop by Chez Brandon B. sometime for a martini. I grow the olives myself.

My plant scientist hubby and I made a special trip out to see this particular nursery that was co-​owned by Parker Sanderson, someone who had at one time managed the UC Davis Arboretum, one of my favorite places in the Sacramento Valley. We were sorry to have missed making his acquaintance, but it seems that everything he created and/​or maintained, he did so with much thoughtful deliberation. Cistus is a wonderful place you shouldn’t miss when you’re in the Portland area.