Our Garden in Print

Well its been in the pipeline since the summer (remember those warmer days ?) but it has finally been published. We sent some photos to the BCSS (British Cactus & Succulent Society) editor to see if they wanted them for the magazine to show succulents in a garden rather than a greenhouse environment - a lot of society members have greenhouse cactus collections rather than garden displays. He liked the photos and asked us to put a few words around them to make an article. The article is 6 pages of this quarters magazine.
If there are any members on here you'll spot the article in the magazine.
Ive asked for a PDF of the pages and will share on here for anyone interested once I have a copy.

 

Ahhh. Its over 250mb so I cant upload it. Will try and reduce the size somehow

 

Just received a smaller file - 1Mb this time. Don't get too excited - its still work in progress

 

It looks great! I'm impressed with all the references to further reading too!

 

Cant accept responsibility for the further reading. There are some far more knowledgeable people who added that.

 

Wow, I'm impressed with your achievements Andrews! So very interesting reading about your journey.

I also learned that my Football plant (that has taken some serious kicking about, hence the name) is in fact Aloe Aristata. It's as vigorous houseplant as they get, and tends to grow out any container. Very surprisingly, it's also hardy here in North Tyneside, probably because it keeps itself dry by blocking any water entering the pot.

 

Thanks @Selleri That's an impressive Aloe arsitata you have. The one in the ground was only small when we bought it but already has a good number of pups. It is a hardy aloe but this will be its first winter outside - fingers crossed ! I have a couple more in the polytunnel - just in case.

I'm currently growing a number of hardy aloes and agaves from seed but they take some years to get to a reasonable size which is part of the fun for me (despite buying a lot of specimen plants to get the theme started).

We did say that it would all be hardy planting but that seems to have fallen by the wayside although I have just ordered a few varieties of Puya seeds - I cant help myself!

 

Interesting article thank you for sharing it.

 

@andrews , what plants would you recommend to grow from seed? There are a lot of very interesting seeds around, but as you say, many are very slow to become anything- but it doesn't really matter if the early years are interesting enough. You have grown a fair few specimen so it would be interesting to see your top ten list, with tips for successful growing

 

Hmmm

For reasonably quick impact you're struggling.

Echiveria take a year before they are anywhere near mature. Yuccas and agaves are at least two years before they are a reasonable size.

If you go to the tropical side, bananas (ensete and musa) will grow reasonably large in the first year but need protection over winter.
Cannas will flower the following season if sown now. I am growing some for next season which I'll treat as bedding plants and not bring in over winter.

As for germinating

Bananas - 30 degree propagator in moist compost - soak seed in water for 2 days before sowing. Growing bananas is very hit and miss. This year Ive had better success with the warmer propagator.

Echiveria and Aeonium - 18 degrees, north facing windowsill - wet the compost (gritty, sandy mix) and seal in a polythene bag. Remove the bag when the seedlings are growing well

Aloe polyphylla is a favourite of mine. Leave these seeds in water, refresh the water regularly and transplant to gritty compost when the roots show good growth. This will make a reasonable plant in 2 years but wont start spiralling until year 3 / 4.

Coleus look great in the tropical area and give a good display in the same year although they can be slow to grow to a reasonable size

Ipomoea lobata (was mina lobata) is a great climber and flowers in the same year but isn't hardy. Collect the seeds and sow again the following year.

Iresine Ive had mixed success with as seed but take some inside over winter and propagate by breaking of stems and leaving in water until they root

Ive just ordered various species of Puya (hardy pineapple) which have interesting foliage and flowers. These need a cold spell to break dormancy so now is a good time to plant

Fuchsia boliviana Ive failed three times to grow from seed and now have boliviana and boliviana alba plants. Cuttings root very easily in water. Sometimes you have to accept that seed isn't the way to go.

A lot depends on the freshness of the seeds. Ive had good success with the following suppliers

Mark Davies Seeds
JungleSeeds
RP Seeds
Plant World Seeds
Succuland
World Wonders Seeds
Rareplants.eu


If there are any plants that youre interested in I can try and give feedback on them.