Germination: Runner beans need water to germinate but do not need any other special conditions or treatment; they will germinate in the dark (underground) or in the light. The root always starts to grow first and it always grows downwards. The plant is sensitive to gravity and the root grows towards gravity. This is called Geotropism. The shoot always grows away from...
Plants such as Rhododendron, Azalea, Camellia and Acers are often described as ‘ericaceous’, indicating that they thrive in an acid soil. In fact, it is more accurate to say that these plants do not thrive in an alkaline soil, they are perfectly happy in a neutral soil especially if iron is added. Here is the explanation: ericaceous plants cannot tolerate...
Latin (more properly called botanical) names can seem like a nightmare invented to put off the new gardener but I encourage you to reconsider and develop a little knowledge about how plants are named. The practical use is that botanical names identify an individual variety of any given plant uniquely across the world, no matter what language the gardener is...
Plants need roots and although some plants absorb water and nutrients from the air or host plants, most have their roots firmly embedded in the soil and here we look at what their functions. Firstly roots (hopefully) anchor the plant securely in the soil against buffeting by winds and passing animals. Secondly, plants take in nutrients from the soil, compost...
We are now well and truly in the leaf gathering season so ensure that you make the most of nature’s bounty by rotting deciduous leaves into leaf mould for use as a fantastic soil conditioner. Leaves need plenty of air circulation to decompose and must be fairly wet when stacked to kick off the process. I have never found...
Autumn and winter are the key tree and shrub planting seasons in the South East of England and gardeners are hearing a lot of references to ‘Mycorrhiza’ so this seems a good time to explore what it/they do. Mycorrhizal fungi are present naturally in the soil but can be depleted in soil or growing compost that has been deeply...
October sees the start of the main bulb planting season with daffodils, crocus, tulips and many more appearing in garden centres and nurseries. But there is more to bulbs than the common spring flowering selections and understanding a bit about their lifecycle can help you to be more confident and more adventurous in your choices. In fact bulbs, corms and...
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