Even if you do not have much space, you cannot miss out on the chance of adding a buddleia or two to your garden. Buddleia bushes are famous for their fragrance, charming blooms, and ability to attract pollinators such as butterflies. There are several varieties of buddleia including some of my favourites which are dwarf cultivars that grow well in pots although you can grow the larger varieties if you have a large enough pot and prune them hard in…
A little pruning never hurts plants, and buddleia bushes are no exception and they even benefit from pruning at least once a year to prevent bare stems. When Buddleia are left unpruned, they quickly get more woody and produce fewer blooms as time goes by. You also end up with tall bare stems over 6ft tall with flowers well above head height. Pruning the buddleia in my garden is a yearly process carried out every year to maintain healthy looking…
Buddleia bushes are beautiful bushes, but they can be a nuisance too, especially when they grow where they are not wanted. The real issue with buddleia is that they self seed freely and will take root anyway from bricks walls to your patio. With their eventual heights of over 10ft and about as wide, established plants can then be very difficult to get rid of. Removing buddleias can be a handful because they are hardy plants so, simply cutting them…
The majestic aura that Cordylines present may tempt you to add more of them into your garden, after all, who doesn’t like palm-like trees in their garden to give off a tropical vibe. If you have fallen in love with Cordylines and would like to add a few more of them to your garden, using cuttings is my top recommended method and there are two methods I use. One is to take small shoots off the main stem and the…
Taking cuttings is the quickest and the easiest way to propagate them, especially if you don’t want to wait the few years it could take to get a sizable plant if you are cultivating them by sowing seeds. Taking cuttings from the mother plant ensures that the new plants are exactly the same as the mother plants whereas, seeds don’t always come true to seed, and this will depend on the variety you get. This, in turn, will create uniformity…
Red Cordylines aren’t very hard to miss, quite simply down to not only their colour but an abundance of foliage too. The Cordyline australis Red Star is one out of many different varieties of Cordylines. They are easily identifiable thanks to their long pointed red-bronze leaves that appear in circular clusters. This variety also blooms in the summer, giving you a beautiful display of clusters of tiny white flowers. These will not only brighten up your garden space but also…
Depending on where you come from, you may be used to seeing a certain variety of Cordylines. Did you know there are about 15 different species of Cordylines? There are Cordylines that grow as tall as 5 meters (thats 16ft) and dwarf varieties that thrive in pots and only grow to approximately 2-3ft tall. There are a few Cordyline varieties that are better suited to the less tropical climates such as the UK and some parts of the US where…
The general structure of a Cordyline makes it challenging to prune them because most people are never quite sure where to cut them, especially for those who have never done it before. On top of this, you may worry about ruining the shape or at worst, killing it. With the foliage being the dominant feature, one might expect pruning to be only the removal of the leaves and removal of the flowers (if you are lucky enough to get them)…
An excellent outdoor and indoor plant depending on the variety you choose to grow. Cordylines are decorative shrubs (or small trees) with brightly coloured foliage. You have the hardier and usually more common green Cordyline australis, also commonly known as a cabbage palm, to the more exotic-looking Red Star and Torbay Dazzler. These are just a few varieties to name a few. Originally from New Zealand, they are very popular in both the US and UK and the hardier green…
Unlike diseases, pest attacks on Lavatera shrubs are easily identifiable because the damage shows up on the leaves or the flowers and if you are lucky, you may even see the pest actually snacking on the leaves of your Lavatera. In the cases of caterpillars and slugs, they leave holes in the leaves themselves, whereas pests such as scales will cause leaf discolouration and eventual defoliation. This is where the leaves actually fall from the plant, leaving it looking very…