This is one of two plants of Lantana camara currently grown in the glasshouse. It was supplied as a commercial ornamental in the form of a small rooted cutting in a 5cm pot. It has since grown substantially and flowered … Continue reading
A member of the Araceae, Water Lettuce (Pistia stratiotes) is a problem floating plant of tropical waterways. The native origin and spread of the species is not known but it has been recorded in both the New and Old World … Continue reading
Water Hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes) is a floating plant that can be used to clean up water by accumulation of toxic metals and by capturing free nutrients from the water. In good conditions it grows very rapidly and can clog river systems … Continue reading
This gallery contains 4 photos.
Over the past week the pond has been lined and filled with around 3000 litres of rainwater. It took two days to fill the pond by pumping water from the rainwater tank in the glasshouse next door.The pond base is … Continue reading
Today, while Sam was investigating pests in the tropical glasshouse he noted that the plant of Chaenostoma cordatum ‘Copia Great Purple’ was suffering from both whitefly and thrips while plants around it were free of both.
The King Fern or Giant Elephant fern is a native of the palaeotropics famous for the large size of the individual fronds it produces. Over much of the natural range the species is sporadic but not rare but in tropical … Continue reading
The first year of development of the Tropical Glasshouse project has been supported by a grant of £7000 from the University Annual Fund, a fund built from donor contributions. In May/June 2011 I submitted a proposal along with Liz Williamson … Continue reading
Thanks to several collaborative projects I visit the Royal Horticultural Society, Wisley on a regular basis. The big display greenhouse is maintained by Peter Jones, seen here in front of the waterfall display, and his team who work tirelessly to … Continue reading
At school one of the playground sayings was “The first sign of madness is talking to yourself”. This is obviously deeply entrenched in my psyche because I began to fear that blogging was possibly a sophisticated way of talking to … Continue reading
Earlier in the spring (February) we planted some supermarket ginger rhizomes (Zingiber officinale) to establish new ginger plants for the tropical greenhouse. These have not only established very well but are now in full flower.
