John Warrington

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Articles by John Warrington

Growing bromeliads

Solving one problem in the garden always seems to lead to another one, for our hobby is a never-ending one – joy, sorrow, frustration or anger.

A spectacular shrub

There is an enormous family of plants called the Rubiaceae. It comprises certainly 400 or more genera, and many thousands of species.

Ornamental gourds

A decorative plant

Ornamental gourds can be very exciting plants to grow nowadays, and can result in the most amazing shapes and sizes.

Gerbera Daisies

A curious plant

Diaries can be repetitious things and I often find that in this diary my memory tells me that I am dealing with things that I have talked about before. 

Take care of your trees

I am often asked to give an opinion on the health of a fern called Polypodium aureum popularly known as the Breadfruit fern ( because the shape of the leaves is similar to those of the Breadfruit tree). 

Test the pH of soil

When I was at junior school we were taught about the pH scale, a scale which determines the level of acidity or alkalinity of the garden soil.

Bonsai

Altitude, lack of water, poor soil and swampy conditions are all things with which the gardener is familiar, and which influence the size of the plants we have in our garden.

Who can recognize a true ebony tree?

Many plants look particularly gorgeous when lit at night, especially Pennisetum purpureum, all of the palm trees, and almost all of the aroids such as philodendrons, monsteras, alocasias and bamboos.

A word about orchids

There are quite a few fern species which are probably best described as tree ferns, for the simple reason that they have a ‘trunk.’ 

Prune hard

Every gardener who aspires to the name will really know his or her way round a pair of secateurs, and will, I think, automatically know that the harder you prune shrubs (particularly roses) the stronger the new growths will be.

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