Guides / Garden plants
Garden plants
Trees, shrubs, climbers and border perennials for temperate gardens. Each guide covers care through the year, common problems, and safety around children and pets.
A
Alpenrose
Rhododendron ferrugineum
How to grow alpenrose, Rhododendron ferrugineum. Why humid summer heat threatens it more than alpine winter cold, the rust-coloured scales under the leaves that identify it, and why every part is dangerously toxic if eaten.
American Chestnut
Castanea dentata
Practical guidance for growing American chestnut, Castanea dentata, including chestnut blight and its collapse from dominant forest tree to root sprouts, resistant hybrids, cross-pollination, and its sweet, edible nuts.
American Ginseng
Panax quinquefolius
How to grow Panax quinquefolius in a woodland bed. Why wild digging emptied the Appalachian woods, what CITES listing means for a grower, and the eighteen-month seed.
American Spikenard
Aralia racemosa
How to grow Aralia racemosa in a shaded border. A herbaceous perennial the size of a shrub, dark purple berry clusters, and a root that smells of liquorice.
Amur Cork Tree
Phellodendron amurense
How to grow Phellodendron amurense, a hardy tree with corky bark and aromatic leaves. Male trees, huang bai bark and invasive risks.
Amur Maple
Acer tataricum subsp. ginnala
Practical guidance for growing Amur maple, Acer tataricum subsp. ginnala, including its fragrant spring flowers, extreme cold hardiness, hedge and shelterbelt use, and mild toxicity.
Armand Clematis
Clematis armandii
How to grow Armand clematis, Clematis armandii. Why cold, drying wind scorches its evergreen leaves even when the wood survives untouched, pruning after flowering rather than in winter, and the sap that can leave ungloved hands itching for days.
Ash
Fraxinus excelsior
How to identify ash, Fraxinus excelsior. The black winter buds, ash dieback and what it means for your tree, and whether to fell or wait.
Ashwagandha
Withania somnifera
How to grow Withania somnifera, the nightshade behind ashwagandha. Raising it as an annual where frost comes, lifting the root in its first autumn, and why the berry is not food.
Asian Ginseng
Panax ginseng
How to grow Panax ginseng, the ginseng of Korea and north-east China. The six-year wait for a root, why the seed takes eighteen months to germinate, and how deep the shade has to be.
Astilbe
Astilbe x arendsii
How to grow astilbe, Astilbe x arendsii. The perennial for damp shade, why it browns and dies in dry soil, and whether to leave the seed heads through winter.
B
Baikal Skullcap
Scutellaria baicalensis
How to grow Scutellaria baicalensis, the huang qin of Chinese medicine. A hardy dry-slope perennial with blue hooded flowers, and the yellow root behind the name baicalin.
Barrenwort
Epimedium grandiflorum
How to grow Epimedium grandiflorum, a reliable ground cover for dry shade. When to cut the old leaves off, the spurred flowers in April, and where horny goat weed came from.
Bearded Iris
Iris germanica
How to grow bearded iris, Iris germanica. Why the rhizome needs a hot, dry summer to flower well and rots readily where summers stay humid, planting it sitting on the soil surface rather than buried, and the sap that raises a rash during division.
Bee Orchid
Ophrys apifera
How to grow bee orchid, Ophrys apifera. Its flower mimics a female bee down to the scent, it self-pollinates in Britain where that bee is scarce, and leaving a chalk lawn unmown does more than deliberate planting ever will.
Beech
Fagus sylvatica
How to grow beech, Fagus sylvatica. Planting a bare-root hedge, the single August trim, why a clipped beech keeps its copper leaves all winter, and beech bark disease.
Betel Nut
Areca catechu
How to identify the betel nut palm, Areca catechu. Palm features, areca nut use, health risks and the limits of safe cultivation advice.
Big Bluestem
Andropogon gerardii
Practical guidance for growing big bluestem, Andropogon gerardii, including its deep prairie roots, turkeyfoot seed heads, warm-season growth, drought tolerance, and non-toxic status.
Black Bamboo
Phyllostachys nigra
How to grow black bamboo. Why a running bamboo needs a barrier before it needs anything else, how to install one properly, the legal risk of letting it spread, and how the canes turn black.
Black-eyed Susan
Rudbeckia fulgida
How to grow rudbeckia, Rudbeckia fulgida. Black-eyed Susan for late summer, the difference between the perennial and the annual sorts, and leaving the seed heads for birds.
Blackthorn
Prunus spinosa
How to grow blackthorn, Prunus spinosa. Blossom on bare stems before hawthorn, picking sloes for gin, planting a stockproof hedge and controlling the suckers.
Bloody cranesbill
Geranium sanguineum
How to grow Geranium sanguineum. A native hardy geranium for hot dry ground, the shear that brings a second flush, and telling a true geranium from a pelargonium.
Blue Cohosh
Caulophyllum thalictroides
How to grow Caulophyllum thalictroides in a shaded bed. Blue-grey spring foliage, deep blue seeds that are not berries, and why the historic use is not repeated here.
Blue Flag Iris
Iris versicolor
How to grow blue flag iris, Iris versicolor. Why this is the one iris that needs wet feet, planting it at a pond margin, dividing congested rhizomes, and the sap that can irritate skin and cause vomiting in pets if chewed.
Blue passion flower
Passiflora caerulea
How to grow blue passion flower, Passiflora caerulea. The extraordinary flower explained, whether the orange fruit is safe, and cutting it back after a hard winter.
Bluebell
Hyacinthoides non-scripta
How to grow English bluebells, Hyacinthoides non-scripta. Telling them from the Spanish invader, planting in the green, and why you must never cut the leaves.
Boneset
Eupatorium perfoliatum
How to grow Eupatorium perfoliatum in a damp border. The joined leaves that name it, the fever it was named for, and telling it from the white snakeroot that poisoned milk.
Border phlox
Phlox paniculata
How to grow border phlox, Phlox paniculata. Scented heads through August, beating powdery mildew by thinning the stems, and the eelworm that kills whole clumps.
Boston Ivy
Parthenocissus tricuspidata
Practical guidance for growing Boston ivy, Parthenocissus tricuspidata, including self-clinging adhesive pads, autumn colour, wall damage risk, Japanese beetle, and mild berry toxicity.
Box Elder
Acer negundo
Practical guidance for growing box elder, Acer negundo, including its compound leaves, separate male and female trees, weak wood, fast growth, and toxicity to horses.
Box Honeysuckle
Lonicera nitida
How to grow box honeysuckle, Lonicera nitida. Why it stands in for box hedging without the blight or caterpillar risk, the trade-off of clipping it two or three times a season to keep pace with its speed, and its mildly toxic berries.
Bracken
Pteridium aquilinum
How to identify and control bracken, Pteridium aquilinum. The commonest fern in the world, the carcinogen in the spores, and why bruising the fronds is the trick.
Bridal Wreath
Spiraea prunifolia
How to grow bridal wreath, Spiraea prunifolia. Why pruning at the wrong time of year strips away next spring's flowers, the double white blooms that give each branch its lace-like look, and how to tell it apart from other shrubs sharing its name.
Butterfly Bush
Buddleja davidii
How to grow buddleja, Buddleja davidii. The hard March prune that keeps it flowering at eye level, deadheading to stop it seeding across the neighbourhood, and why it feeds butterflies but not caterpillars.
C
Cabbage Palm
Sabal palmetto
How to grow cabbage palm, Sabal palmetto. Why a young plant shows no trunk for years, in what growers call the grass stage, its rare tolerance for salt, wind and cold, and why harvesting its edible heart kills the tree.
Cabbage Tree
Cordyline australis
How to grow cabbage palm, Cordyline australis. Why it is not a palm, tying the leaves up for winter, what to do when the trunk rots after a hard frost and how it regrows from the base.
Calla Lily
Zantedeschia aethiopica
How to grow Zantedeschia aethiopica. Why it will grow in standing water when its coloured cousins rot, how to get it through a cold winter, and why it is not a lily.
Camellia
Camellia japonica
How to grow camellias, Camellia japonica. Why an east-facing wall ruins the flowers, what causes bud drop, keeping the soil acid, and treating petal blight.
Cape Honeysuckle
Tecoma capensis
How to grow Cape honeysuckle, Tecoma capensis. Why it is not a honeysuckle at all despite the name, deciding early whether to train it as a shrub or a climber, and why a plant cut to the ground by frost usually is not dead.
Carnation
Dianthus caryophyllus
How to grow Dianthus caryophyllus. The clove scent breeding lost and how to get it back, why the stems snap at the joints, and the difference between border and perpetual types.
Carolina Allspice
Calycanthus floridus
How to grow Carolina allspice, Calycanthus floridus. Why seedlings vary so much in scent that a named cultivar is the safer bet, its habit of suckering into a wide colony left unchecked, and the strychnine-like toxin hidden in its seed pods.
Catmint
Nepeta x faassenii
How to grow catmint, Nepeta x faassenii. The long-flowering edging plant for dry sun, why cats roll on it, and cutting it back for a second flush.
Cedar of Lebanon
Cedrus libani
How to grow cedar of Lebanon, Cedrus libani. Why a young tree looks nothing like the flat, tiered giants of legend, the patience its famously slow growth demands, and why its cones fall apart scale by scale rather than dropping whole.
Century Plant
Agave americana
How to grow the century plant. Flowering, sap irritation, overwintering in wet climates and propagating the offsets.
Cherry laurel
Prunus laurocerasus
How to grow Prunus laurocerasus. Pruning with secateurs rather than shears, treating shot hole, disposing of clippings safely, and why it must never be confused with bay.
Chinaberry
Melia azedarach
How to recognise Melia azedarach, and why its berries are the problem. A lilac-flowered tree with yellow fruit that has killed children and livestock, and where it is invasive.
Chinese Ephedra
Ephedra sinica
How to recognise Ephedra sinica, the gymnosperm behind ephedrine. Jointed green stems and no real leaves, the regulatory position in Britain, and why the supplements were banned.
Chinese peony
Paeonia lactiflora
How to grow peony, Paeonia lactiflora. Why planting it too deep stops it flowering, how to support the heavy heads, and the ants that are not a problem.
Chinese Rhubarb
Rheum palmatum
How to grow Rheum palmatum, the ornamental rhubarb behind da huang. A two-metre flower spike, leaves the size of a table, and why the leaf blades are not food.
Chinese Wisteria
Wisteria sinensis
How to grow Wisteria sinensis. The two-stage prune that produces flowers, why a seedling may never bloom in your lifetime, which way the stems twine, and where it is a listed invasive.
Christmas Rose
Helleborus niger
How to grow the Christmas rose, Helleborus niger. Planting, soil, when to cut the old leaves, the diseases to watch for, and why it rarely flowers at Christmas.
Chusan Palm
Trachycarpus fortunei
Practical guidance for growing chusan palm, Trachycarpus fortunei, including exceptional cold hardiness, fan fronds, hairy fibrous trunk, red palm weevil, and slow early establishment.
Claret Cup Cactus
Echinocereus triglochidiatus
How to grow claret cup cactus, Echinocereus triglochidiatus. It survives cold that kills most cacti yet rots in wet winter soil, and its scarlet flowers are built for hummingbird rather than bee pollination.
Cleavers
Galium aparine
How to identify and control cleavers, Galium aparine. Seedlings, sticky stems, early hoeing and edible young shoots.
Clematis montana
Clematis montana
How to grow Clematis montana. Why it belongs in pruning group one, the size it reaches, why it shrugs off clematis wilt, and why hard renovation can kill it.
Climbing Hydrangea
Hydrangea anomala
Practical guidance for growing climbing hydrangea, Hydrangea anomala, including its self-clinging aerial roots, slow establishment, shade tolerance, exfoliating bark, and moderate toxicity.
Columbine
Aquilegia vulgaris
How to grow aquilegia, Aquilegia vulgaris. Self-seeding, cultivar variation, cutting back after flowering and keeping the foliage fresh.
Common Bamboo
Bambusa vulgaris
How to grow Bambusa vulgaris. The tropical clumping bamboo behind most of the world's bamboo construction, why it will not survive a temperate winter outdoors, and what to grow instead.
Common Box
Buxus sempervirens
How to grow common box, Buxus sempervirens. Why box blight and box tree caterpillar have made a once-easy hedging plant hard work, the extremely slow growth that holds a crisp shape for decades, and why hedge clippings left where livestock can graze have killed horses.
Common heather
Calluna vulgaris
How to grow heather, Calluna vulgaris. Why it needs acid soil and rainwater, when to shear it, and the difference between ling and the winter-flowering ericas.
Common honeysuckle
Lonicera periclymenum
How to grow honeysuckle, Lonicera periclymenum. Scent at dusk for the moths, keeping the roots cool and the top in sun, and beating the aphids and mildew.
Common Houseleek
Sempervivum tectorum
How to grow Sempervivum tectorum, the common houseleek. Why the parent rosette dies after flowering, why it survives winters that kill echeveria, and how to grow it on a roof.
Common Jasmine
Jasminum officinale
How to grow Jasminum officinale. Why it saves its scent for the evening, the warm wall it needs in a cool climate, when to prune it, and the three unrelated plants sold under the same name.
Common lime
Tilia europaea
How to grow common lime, Tilia europaea. Why it drips sticky honeydew onto everything below, how to pleach it, and the July blossom that scents a whole street.
Common poppy
Papaver rhoeas
How to grow common poppy, Papaver rhoeas. The cornfield poppy of Remembrance, why it only appears on disturbed soil, and sowing it so it comes back every year.
Common rhododendron
Rhododendron ponticum
How to recognise Rhododendron ponticum, why it sterilises woodland, telling it from garden rhododendrons, removing it, and the honey that poisoned an army.
Coral bells
Heuchera americana
How to grow heuchera, Heuchera americana. Coloured foliage for shade all year, why the crown lifts out of the ground, and dealing with vine weevil.
Cotton
Gossypium hirsutum
How to grow upland cotton, Gossypium hirsutum. The seed hair that clothes the world, the boll that has to open before frost, and the poison in the seed.
Cow Parsley
Anthriscus sylvestris
How to identify cow parsley, Anthriscus sylvestris. The plain green downy stem that separates it from hemlock, when it flowers, growing it in a wild garden and keeping it in check.
Crimson Flag Lily
Hesperantha coccinea
How to grow crimson flag lily, Hesperantha coccinea. Why it flowers into November when almost nothing else in the border still is, why it is not a true lily despite the name, and the constantly moist soil it needs to grow well.
Crown Imperial
Fritillaria imperialis
How to grow crown imperial, Fritillaria imperialis. Why its strong, musky, foxlike smell keeps rodents away from bulbs planted nearby, why the bulb has to go in on its side rather than upright, and why a mild winter with no real cold can leave it leafy but flowerless.
Cultivated Tobacco
Nicotiana tabacum
How to identify cultivated tobacco, Nicotiana tabacum. Leaf and flower features, differences from ornamental Nicotiana and the limits of safe identification advice.
Cup and Saucer Vine
Cobaea scandens
How to grow cup and saucer vine, Cobaea scandens. Why the flowers open pale cream and darken to purple over several days, so one plant shows every shade at once, and why sowing seed on its edge rather than flat helps it germinate.
D
Damask Rose
Rosa damascena
How to grow the damask rose, Rosa damascena. Pruning a once-flowering old rose, the difference between summer and autumn damasks, and where rose oil comes from.
Dandelion
Taraxacum officinale
How to identify, use and control dandelion, Taraxacum officinale. The taproot that regrows from a fragment, why bees need it in April, and eating the leaves and roots.
Deadly nightshade
Atropa belladonna
How to recognise Atropa belladonna, telling its berries from the harmless lookalikes, what to do if a child eats one, and why it is still grown as a crop.
Delphinium
Delphinium elatum
How to grow delphinium, Delphinium elatum. Staking the spires before they need it, keeping slugs off the spring shoots, and the toxicity that has killed livestock.
Deodar Cedar
Cedrus deodara
How to grow deodar cedar, Cedrus deodara. Telling it apart from cedar of Lebanon by its drooping, nodding leader, why it grows a metre a year while young, and why it takes far less winter cold than its Mediterranean relative.
Dog rose
Rosa canina
How to grow dog rose, Rosa canina. The wild hedgerow rose, picking hips for syrup, why the seed hairs were used as itching powder, and its role as a rootstock.
Dutch Hyacinth
Hyacinthus orientalis
How to grow Dutch hyacinths, Hyacinthus orientalis. Why a forced bulb's first indoor display is never matched again, the blistering rash bulb handling can cause, and the winter chill it needs to flower well.
Dwarf iris
Iris reticulata
How to grow Iris reticulata. Planting deep enough to stop the bulbs splitting, keeping them dry in summer, and why a brilliant first year is so often followed by grass.
E
Easter Lily
Lilium longiflorum
How to grow Easter lily, Lilium longiflorum. Why the forced pot plant sold every spring is a genuine garden lily that can be planted outside and will flower again, at its own pace, the following summer, and the fatal risk every part poses to a cat.
Eastern Redbud
Cercis canadensis
How to grow eastern redbud, Cercis canadensis. Why flowers grow straight out of the bark and sometimes the trunk, eating the spring blossom, and why a taproot makes the tree impossible to move once it is past its first few years.
English Holly
Ilex aquifolium
How to grow English holly, Ilex aquifolium. Planting, clipping, hedging, why your holly has no berries, and how poisonous those berries are.
English Ivy
Hedera helix
How to grow Hedera helix. Whether it damages walls, the two completely different forms one plant takes, why it feeds bees in November, and where it is a banned weed.
English Lavender
Lavandula angustifolia
How to grow English lavender, Lavandula angustifolia. Drainage, the pruning cut that keeps it alive, telling it apart from lavandin, and why it is toxic to cats and dogs.
English Oak
Quercus robur
How to identify and grow Quercus robur. The one check that separates it from sessile oak, why a single tree supports over 2,300 other species, and why acorns kill horses.
English Yew
Taxus baccata
How to grow Taxus baccata. The one conifer that regrows from bare wood, why clippings kill horses, what the red berries are, and how it reaches two thousand years.
F
Feather Reed Grass
Calamagrostis x acutiflora
Practical guidance for growing feather reed grass, Calamagrostis x acutiflora, including its sterile clumping habit, early flower spikes, staying upright without staking, and cutting back in late winter.
Field horsetail
Equisetum arvense
How to identify and control horsetail, Equisetum arvense. The prehistoric weed with roots two metres deep, why weedkillers slide off it, and what does help.
Firethorn
Pyracantha coccinea
How to grow pyracantha, Pyracantha coccinea. Firethorn berries for autumn colour, training it flat against a wall, and living with thorns that puncture rather than scratch.
Five Flavour Berry
Schisandra chinensis
How to grow Schisandra chinensis, the five flavour berry. Getting fruit from a plant that needs a male and a female, the shade it wants at the root, and the scent in May.
Flame Azalea
Rhododendron calendulaceum
How to grow flame azalea, Rhododendron calendulaceum. Why every part, including the nectar and the honey made from it, carries a toxin severe enough to need medical care, and why hot, humid summers trouble this mountain species more than winter cold does.
Florist's Chrysanthemum
Chrysanthemum x morifolium
How to grow chrysanthemums, Chrysanthemum x morifolium. Pinching for bushy plants, disbudding for large blooms, overwintering the stools, and the day length that sets the buds.
Florist's Cyclamen
Cyclamen persicum
How to grow florist's cyclamen, Cyclamen persicum. Why central heating kills it, watering from below, summer dormancy, and the danger in the tuber.
Flowering Currant
Ribes sanguineum
How to grow flowering currant, Ribes sanguineum. Why the berries taste nothing like blackcurrants, pruning straight after flowering rather than in winter, and reviving a leggy shrub with renovation pruning.
Fo-Ti
Reynoutria multiflora
How to recognise Reynoutria multiflora, the knotweed behind he shou wu. Telling it from Japanese knotweed, the liver injury record, and why not to plant it out.
Forsythia
Forsythia intermedia
How to grow forsythia, Forsythia x intermedia. Pruning straight after flowering, renewing a leggy bush, stopping bullfinches stripping the buds, and taking free cuttings.
Fountain Grass
Cenchrus alopecuroides
How to grow fountain grass, Cenchrus alopecuroides. Why it needs real summer heat rather than a mild winter to flower well, leaving the straw-coloured seed heads standing through winter, and the bristly plumes that can lodge in a dog's coat or ears.
Foxglove
Digitalis purpurea
How to grow Digitalis purpurea. Why it flowers in its second year and then dies, how to keep a colony going, the plant it is dangerously confused with, and the drug it gave us.
French Hydrangea
Hydrangea macrophylla
How to grow bigleaf hydrangeas, Hydrangea macrophylla. The soil chemistry behind blue and pink, why spring pruning costs you the flowers, and the difference between mopheads and lacecaps.
G
Garden Dahlia
Dahlia pinnata
How to grow dahlias, Dahlia pinnata. Starting tubers, staking, deadheading the right buds, protecting shoots from slugs, and whether to lift for winter.
Garden privet
Ligustrum ovalifolium
How to grow privet, Ligustrum ovalifolium. The suburban hedge that takes any abuse, when to cut it, why the berries are poisonous, and its reputation for starving a border.
Garden Tulip
Tulipa gesneriana
How to grow garden tulips, Tulipa gesneriana. Why they go in late, how deep to plant, why the second year disappoints, and how to spot tulip fire before it spreads.
Giant Allium
Allium giganteum
Practical guidance for growing giant allium, Allium giganteum, including its tall stems, dense round flower heads, deep planting, dry summer dormancy, and toxicity to pets.
Giant hogweed
Heracleum mantegazzianum
How to recognise Heracleum mantegazzianum, tell it from common hogweed and cow parsley, remove it safely, and what to do if the sap gets on your skin.
Giant Reed
Arundo donax
Practical guidance for growing giant reed, Arundo donax, including its rapid rhizome spread, screening and biomass use, invasive status in some regions, containment, and low toxicity.
Giant Snowdrop
Galanthus elwesii
How to grow giant snowdrops, Galanthus elwesii. Why dry autumn bulbs fail and planting in the green succeeds, telling it apart from the common snowdrop by its double-marked petals, and flowering as early as December.
Glory of the Snow
Chionodoxa forbesii
Practical guidance for growing glory of the snow, Chionodoxa forbesii, including naturalising in turf, planting depth, dry summer dormancy, squirrel damage, and mild bulb toxicity.
Goldenseal
Hydrastis canadensis
How to grow Hydrastis canadensis in a shaded bed. The yellow rhizome that named it, why wild digging put it on CITES Appendix II, and dividing rather than sowing.
Grape hyacinth
Muscari armeniacum
How to grow grape hyacinths, Muscari armeniacum. Planting depth, why the leaves appear in autumn and look untidy all winter, and how to stop it taking over.
Great Bougainvillea
Bougainvillea spectabilis
Practical guidance for growing great bougainvillea, Bougainvillea spectabilis, including thorny climbing habit, drought-triggered flowering, full sun, pruning, frost protection, and mild skin irritation.
Green Chiretta
Andrographis paniculata
How to grow Andrographis paniculata, the king of bitters. A fast summer annual for a greenhouse, the most bitter leaf in this collection, and how to save seed.
Ground elder
Aegopodium podagraria
How to identify and control ground elder, Aegopodium podagraria. The Roman import that never leaves, why forking it spreads it, and the one method that works.
Guelder rose
Viburnum opulus
How to grow guelder rose, Viburnum opulus. Lacecap flowers in May, translucent red berries in autumn, and why it thrives in the wet ground that kills other shrubs.
Guernsey Lily
Nerine bowdenii
How to grow Guernsey lily, Nerine bowdenii. Why the flowers appear before the leaves rather than after, why a bone-dry summer rest matters more than any winter cold, and why dividing a crowded clump sets flowering back instead of improving it.
H
Hardy Rubber Tree
Eucommia ulmoides
How to grow Eucommia ulmoides, the only species in its family. Tearing a leaf to see the rubber strands, why it is extinct in the wild, and how tough it is in a garden.
Hart's tongue fern
Asplenium scolopendrium
How to care for Asplenium scolopendrium. The hardy native fern with undivided strap fronds, why the spore lines run in herringbone stripes, and where it grows that other ferns cannot.
Hawthorn
Crataegus monogyna
How to grow hawthorn, Crataegus monogyna. Planting a bare-root hedge, the trimming that thickens it, laying an old one, May blossom and the haws that follow.
Hazel
Corylus avellana
How to grow hazel, Corylus avellana. Coppicing on a seven-year cycle, planting two for a crop of cobnuts, the catkins in February, and losing the lot to squirrels.
Hedge bindweed
Calystegia sepium
How to identify and control hedge bindweed, Calystegia sepium. Why digging makes it worse, the glyphosate cane trick, and telling it from field bindweed.
Hemlock
Conium maculatum
How to identify hemlock, Conium maculatum. The purple-blotched stem, the mousy smell, how it differs from cow parsley and hogweed, and what to do if anyone has eaten it.
Hemlock Water-Dropwort
Oenanthe crocata
How to identify hemlock water-dropwort, Oenanthe crocata. The most poisonous plant in Britain and Ireland, the parsnip-like root tubers, why dogs die of it after floods and how it differs from watercress and celery.
Hemp
Cannabis sativa
How to identify hemp, Cannabis sativa. The leaf people think they know, the difference between fibre hemp and the drug crop, and why this page does not tell you how to grow it.
Henbane
Hyoscyamus niger
How to recognise Hyoscyamus niger, a native British poison. The veined cream flowers and the smell, what the tropane alkaloids do, and what to do if a child eats the seed.
Himalayan balsam
Impatiens glandulifera
How to recognise Impatiens glandulifera, why it takes over riverbanks, pulling it before it seeds, and the legal duties that come with having it on your land.
Hogweed
Heracleum sphondylium
How to identify common hogweed, Heracleum sphondylium. Telling it from giant hogweed, why its sap can still blister skin in sunlight, and its value to pollinators.
Hong Kong Orchid Tree
Bauhinia blakeana
How to grow Hong Kong orchid tree, Bauhinia blakeana. Why every tree alive is a clone of one nineteenth-century original, flowering through winter when little else blooms, and why it rarely sets a single viable seed.
Hornbeam
Carpinus betulus
How to grow hornbeam, Carpinus betulus. The hedge that holds its leaves all winter and takes wet clay where beech fails, when to cut it, and how to tell the two apart.
Horse Chestnut
Aesculus hippocastanum
How to grow horse chestnut, Aesculus hippocastanum. Conkers, why the leaves go brown every August, bleeding canker, and why a conker is not a sweet chestnut.
Hosta
Hosta sieboldiana
How to grow hosta, Hosta sieboldiana. Why a thick blue leaf survives slugs when a thin green one does not, growing them in pots, dividing in spring and the shade they want.
Houpo Magnolia
Magnolia officinalis
How to grow Magnolia officinalis, a large-leaved deciduous magnolia. Leaves to forty centimetres, cream flowers in May, and a tree extinct in the wild in China.
I
Incense Cedar
Calocedrus decurrens
How to grow incense cedar, Calocedrus decurrens. Why it is not a true cedar at all, the tight columnar shape it holds for most of its life, and why its aromatic, decay-resistant timber became the standard wood for pencils.
Indian Hemp
Apocynum cannabinum
How to recognise Apocynum cannabinum, the hemp dogbane. Milky sap and cardiac glycosides, the bast fibre that made cordage for millennia, and why it is not cannabis.
Italian leather flower
Clematis viticella
How to grow Clematis viticella. The group that resists clematis wilt, why pruning it is the simplest job in the garden, and growing it through a shrub.
Ivy-leaved cyclamen
Cyclamen hederifolium
How to grow hardy cyclamen, Cyclamen hederifolium. Flowers before the leaves in September, the dry shade it thrives in, and buying tubers the right way up.
J
Japanese anemone
Anemone hupehensis
How to grow Anemone hupehensis. Late summer flowers for shade, why it sulks for a year and then runs, and how to get it out of a border once it has spread.
Japanese Barberry
Berberis thunbergii
Practical guidance for growing Japanese barberry, Berberis thunbergii, including its spiny stems, autumn colour, invasive spread in parts of North America, wheat-rust resistance, and mild toxicity.
Japanese box
Buxus microphylla
How to grow Buxus microphylla. The blight-resistant box, clipping without spreading disease, spotting box tree caterpillar, and the alternatives worth considering.
Japanese holly
Ilex crenata
How to grow Japanese holly, Ilex crenata. The box substitute that resists box blight and box tree moth, how to clip it, and why it needs acid soil.
Japanese knotweed
Reynoutria japonica
How to recognise Reynoutria japonica, tell it from its lookalikes, treat it over several seasons, and the legal duties that come with having it on your land.
Japanese Maple
Acer palmatum
How to grow Acer palmatum. Shelter from wind, why leaf scorch is not a disease, verticillium wilt, and the maple that is dangerous to horses.
Japanese pieris
Pieris japonica
How to grow pieris, Pieris japonica. Scarlet new growth in spring, why frost and chalk both ruin it, and the grayanotoxins that make it dangerous to livestock.
Japanese rose
Rosa rugosa
How to grow rugosa rose, Rosa rugosa. The best rose for salt wind and sand, tomato-sized hips you can eat, and why it is now controlled as an invasive species.
Japanese skimmia
Skimmia japonica
How to grow skimmia, Skimmia japonica. Why you need a male and a female plant for berries, the yellowing that means the wrong soil, and its use in winter containers.
Japanese Spiraea
Spiraea japonica
How to grow Japanese spiraea, Spiraea japonica. Why it needs a hard cut back in late winter rather than after flowering, the coppery new growth that colours cultivars like 'Goldflame', and why deadheading matters where it self-seeds into wild ground.
Japanese Wisteria
Wisteria floribunda
How to grow Japanese wisteria, Wisteria floribunda. Telling it from Chinese wisteria by which way the stems twine, why an unpruned vine grows plenty of leaf but flowers poorly, and the pea-like seed pods that cause severe vomiting if eaten.
Jimsonweed
Datura stramonium
How to recognise Datura stramonium, the jimsonweed. Spiny capsules, trumpet flowers, warm-season growth and serious poisoning risk.
Judas Tree
Cercis siliquastrum
How to grow Judas tree, Cercis siliquastrum. The legend behind its name, why poor stony soil produces better flowers than a rich border, and why pruning in winter risks coral spot and canker.
K
Katsura Tree
Cercidiphyllum japonicum
How to grow katsura tree, Cercidiphyllum japonicum. Its autumn leaves smell of burnt sugar and caramel, dry soil scorches the leaf margins no matter how mild the winter was, and nurseries let you choose a single trunk or a multi-stemmed form.
King Protea
Protea cynaroides
Practical guidance for growing king protea, Protea cynaroides, including fynbos origin, proteoid roots, sharp drainage, low-phosphorus feeding, and fire-adapted resprouting.
Kohuhu
Pittosporum tenuifolium
How to grow kohuhu, Pittosporum tenuifolium. Why the tiny, near-black flowers are easier to smell than see, the wavy-edged leaves on near-black stems, and why it copes with coastal salt spray far better than a hard inland frost.
L
Lady's mantle
Alchemilla mollis
How to grow Alchemilla mollis. The leaves that hold water like mercury, cutting back for a second flush, and staying ahead of the seedlings it scatters everywhere.
Laurustinus
Viburnum tinus
How to grow laurustinus, Viburnum tinus. Winter flowering, clipping it as a hedge, dealing with viburnum beetle, and the blue-black berries that follow.
Leatherleaf mahonia
Mahonia bealei
How to grow mahonia, Mahonia bealei. Scented yellow flowers in the middle of winter, blue berries for jelly, and where to put a plant with spines like holly.
Lilac
Syringa vulgaris
How to grow lilac, Syringa vulgaris. Deadheading straight after flowering, why a shaded lilac never blooms, dealing with suckers, and renovating an old leggy bush.
Lily of the valley
Convallaria majalis
How to grow Convallaria majalis. Planting the pips, giving it the dry shade it wants, keeping it in bounds, and telling it from wild garlic before anyone eats it.
Lords-And-Ladies
Arum maculatum
How to identify lords and ladies, Arum maculatum. The orange berry spike children eat, the burning mouth it causes, and how to tell it from wild garlic in spring.
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Madonna Lily
Lilium candidum
How to grow Madonna lily, Lilium candidum. Why it needs planting shallow and early in late summer to grow the evergreen winter rosette most lilies never form, why it prefers lime rather than merely tolerating it, and the severe risk every part poses to a cat.
Maidenhair Tree
Ginkgo biloba
Practical guidance for growing maidenhair tree, Ginkgo biloba, including fan-shaped leaves, male and female trees, pest resistance, autumn colour, and seed toxicity.
Male Fern
Dryopteris filix-mas
How to grow male fern, Dryopteris filix-mas. It tolerates dry shade under trees where most ferns fail, the rhizome's history as a vermifuge carries a poisoning margin too narrow to risk, and the name has nothing to do with sex.
Martagon Lily
Lilium martagon
How to grow martagon lilies, Lilium martagon. Why a newly planted bulb can show no growth at all for a full year, the whorled leaves that mark it out from every other lily, and the fatal risk it poses to cats.
Mayapple
Podophyllum peltatum
How to grow Podophyllum peltatum as woodland ground cover. Umbrella leaves over a hidden flower, the one edible part of a poisonous plant, and the cancer drug it produced.
Meadow Saffron
Colchicum autumnale
How to grow autumn crocus, Colchicum autumnale. The leafless autumn flowers, why it is not saffron, the colchicine that makes it lethal and how it differs from a true crocus.
Mediterranean Fan Palm
Chamaerops humilis
Practical guidance for growing Mediterranean fan palm, Chamaerops humilis, including its clumping suckering habit, spiny petioles, drought tolerance, alkaline soil, and slow growth.
Mexican Orange
Choisya ternata
How to grow Mexican orange blossom, Choisya ternata. The trifoliate leaves that identify it, twice-yearly flowering, why it sulks in cold wind and the pruning that gets a second flush.
Milk Vetch
Astragalus membranaceus
How to grow Astragalus membranaceus, the huang qi of Chinese medicine. A hardy pea-family perennial for a sunny border, the four-year root, and the locoweeds it is not.
Mimosa Tree
Albizia julibrissin
Practical guidance for growing mimosa tree, Albizia julibrissin, including fast growth, pink pompom flowers, folding leaflets, seed pods, mimosa wilt, and self-seeding.
Mistletoe
Viscum album
How to grow mistletoe, Viscum album. Squeezing berries into apple bark in February, why bought sprigs never take, the trees it will accept and how toxic the berries are.
Mock Orange
Philadelphus coronarius
How to grow mock orange, Philadelphus coronarius. The scent, the one-in-three pruning cut that keeps it flowering, and why cutting it in winter removes every bloom.
Monkey Puzzle
Araucaria araucana
How to grow monkey puzzle, Araucaria araucana. A lone tree never cones, since each is either male or female, it takes a century to develop the bare-trunked umbrella shape, and the species is endangered in the wild yet common in gardens.
Monkshood
Aconitum napellus
How to grow Aconitum napellus, the most poisonous plant in temperate gardens. Handling it safely, dividing it in gloves, staking the stems, and why the root is the danger.
Montbretia
Crocosmia x crocosmiiflora
How to grow crocosmia, Crocosmia x crocosmiiflora. Arching sprays of orange in late summer, dividing congested corms, and why montbretia escapes into the countryside.
Moonflower
Ipomoea alba
Practical guidance for growing moonflower, Ipomoea alba, including night-blooming flowers, hawk moth pollination, seed scarification, day-length flowering triggers, and toxic seeds.
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Oleander
Nerium oleander
How to grow oleander, Nerium oleander. Overwintering it under cover in a cold climate, pruning after flowering, and why it is among the most poisonous plants sold in Europe.
Oriental bittersweet
Celastrus orbiculatus
How to identify oriental bittersweet, Celastrus orbiculatus. Telling it from native American bittersweet by where the berries cluster, why its tightening stems girdle and kill the trees it climbs, and why cutting it down alone rarely stops it growing back.
Oriental poppy
Papaver orientale
How to grow oriental poppy, Papaver orientale. Huge silk flowers in May, what to do with the gap it leaves in July, and propagating from root cuttings.
Osage Orange
Maclura pomifera
Practical guidance for growing osage orange, Maclura pomifera, including its rot-resistant wood, thorny hedge history, the huge inedible fruit, milky sap, and its drought tolerance on poor soil.
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Pacific Madrone
Arbutus menziesii
How to grow Pacific madrone, Arbutus menziesii. Why summer watering, the instinct behind planting almost any other tree, is what usually kills it, and why the cinnamon bark peels away in curling papery sheets each summer.
Pampas grass
Cortaderia selloana
How to grow pampas grass, Cortaderia selloana. Cutting it back without shredding your hands, why male plants have no plumes, and its invasive record abroad.
Panicle Hydrangea
Hydrangea paniculata
How to grow panicle hydrangea, Hydrangea paniculata. Why its colour change is about flower age rather than soil pH, and the trade-off between a hard prune for fewer, larger flower heads and a light one for more, smaller ones.
Paper Birch
Betula papyrifera
How to grow paper birch, Betula papyrifera. The chalky bark once stripped for canoes and paper, why a hot, humid summer threatens it more than a cold winter, and why its shallow roots dry out faster than those of most trees.
Paper Flower Bougainvillea
Bougainvillea glabra
How to grow paper flower bougainvillea, Bougainvillea glabra. Why it flowers steadily for months rather than in flushes, why a slightly cramped pot produces more bracts than a roomy one, and the near-thornless stems that suit it to a bonsai or a hanging basket.
Peacock Flower
Dietes bicolor
Practical guidance for growing peacock flower, Dietes bicolor, including its rhizome rather than true bulb, iris-like fans, one-day flowers, drought tolerance, and mild toxicity.
Pennyroyal
Mentha pulegium
How to recognise Mentha pulegium, the mint that kills. Why it looks and smells like a culinary herb, what pulegone does to the liver, and its status as a rare British native.
Perennial Flax
Linum perenne
How to grow perennial flax, Linum perenne. Sky blue flowers that open at dawn and fall by lunchtime, a wiry plant for dry chalk, and a rare British native at one edge of its range.
Perennial Pepperweed
Lepidium latifolium
How to grow perennial pepperweed, Lepidium latifolium. A British salt-marsh native that seasoned food before pepper was affordable, and a listed noxious weed across the western United States.
Perennial ryegrass
Lolium perenne
How to grow perennial ryegrass, Lolium perenne. The grass in almost every cool-climate lawn, choosing a hard-wearing cultivar, and overseeding worn patches.
Photinia
Photinia fraseri
How to grow Photinia x fraseri. Clipping to force the red flush, treating the leaf spot that defoliates it, why chalk turns it yellow, and disposing of the clippings safely.
Pink Lady's Slipper
Cypripedium acaule
How to grow pink lady's slipper, Cypripedium acaule. It depends on a soil fungus no garden bed reliably has, a wild-dug plant almost always dies within a season or two, and genuine nursery-propagated stock is rare.
Potato Vine
Solanum laxum
How to grow potato vine, Solanum laxum. Why its flowers look so much like a potato plant's despite producing no edible tubers, why a hard winter can kill the top growth and still leave the base to resprout, and why no part of the plant, including the berries, is safe to eat.
Primrose
Primula vulgaris
How to grow the native primrose, Primula vulgaris. Planting, dividing, pin and thrum flowers, and which primulas cause a rash.
Purple Coneflower
Echinacea purpurea
How to grow Echinacea purpurea. Why it hates being moved, leaving the seed heads for goldfinches, keeping stems upright without staking, and why year one disappoints.
Pyramidal Orchid
Anacamptis pyramidalis
How to grow pyramidal orchid, Anacamptis pyramidalis. Its flowers clamp pollen onto a moth's tongue to guarantee cross-pollination, it colonises disturbed chalk ground faster than most wild orchids, and a bought plant rarely establishes in a border.
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Quaking Grass
Briza media
Practical guidance for growing quaking grass, Briza media, including its trembling heart-shaped spikelets, poor thin soil, self-seeding, dried flower arrangements, and its lack of barbed awns.
Queen Palm
Syagrus romanzoffiana
Practical guidance for growing queen palm, Syagrus romanzoffiana, including fast feather-palm growth, nutrient deficiency, fusarium decline, frost tenderness, and heavy fruit drop.
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Ragwort
Jacobaea vulgaris
How to identify common ragwort, Jacobaea vulgaris. The law that applies to it, why it kills horses through cumulative liver damage, safe removal and why dried ragwort in hay is worse than the living plant.
Red Elder
Sambucus racemosa
How to grow red elder, Sambucus racemosa. Why the ripe berries are safe cooked but the raw fruit, leaves, bark and seeds all carry cyanide-releasing compounds, and telling it from black elder by its upright flower clusters.
Red Maple
Acer rubrum
Practical guidance for growing red maple, Acer rubrum, including early red flowers, wet-soil tolerance, brilliant autumn colour, and toxicity to horses.
Red Sage
Salvia miltiorrhiza
How to grow Salvia miltiorrhiza, the red sage of Chinese medicine. A hardy border salvia with brick-red roots, and why it interacts with warfarin.
Regal lily
Lilium regale
How to grow Lilium regale. Planting deep for the stem roots, growing it on chalk, controlling lily beetle, and why every lily is lethal to cats.
Rose of Sharon
Hibiscus syriacus
Practical guidance for growing rose of Sharon, Hibiscus syriacus, including late-summer flowering on new wood, Japanese beetle, self-seeding, hardy pruning, and mild toxicity to pets.
Rowan
Sorbus aucuparia
How to grow rowan, Sorbus aucuparia. The best small tree for a cold exposed garden, berries for birds from late summer, and why summer heat rather than winter cold is what limits it.
Royal Palm
Roystonea regia
How to grow royal palm, Roystonea regia. It shows nutrient deficiency in its fronds without a dedicated feeding programme, the landscape-scale space a mature specimen needs, and the slow early growth before the trunk shoots up.
Russell lupin
Lupinus polyphyllus
How to grow lupin, Lupinus polyphyllus. Cutting back for a second flush, why lupin aphid arrived and what it does, and the seeds that poison livestock.
Russian vine
Fallopia baldschuanica
How to grow Russian vine, Fallopia baldschuanica. The mile-a-minute plant, what it will and will not do to a building, and how to get rid of one.
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Sacred Fig
Ficus religiosa
Practical guidance for growing sacred fig, Ficus religiosa, including its heart-shaped drip-tip leaves, obligate fig wasp pollination, its role as the Bodhi tree, frost tenderness, and its milky irritant sap.
Sasanqua Camellia
Camellia sasanqua
How to grow sasanqua camellia, Camellia sasanqua. Why flowering in autumn rather than spring means the buds miss the frost risk that comes with Camellia japonica's later season, and spotting petal blight before it browns a flush of open flowers.
Saucer magnolia
Magnolia x soulangeana
How to grow saucer magnolia, Magnolia x soulangeana. Goblet flowers on bare wood in April, why frost ruins them, and where to plant one so it does not happen.
Scots pine
Pinus sylvestris
How to grow Scots pine, Pinus sylvestris. The most widely distributed pine on earth, the orange upper bark that identifies it, and why it suits poor sandy soil that defeats other trees.
Sea Island Cotton
Gossypium barbadense
How to grow Sea Island cotton, Gossypium barbadense. The long staple behind Egyptian and Pima cloth, the yellow flower that separates it from upland cotton, and the reason it is grown so little.
She-Oak
Casuarina equisetifolia
How to grow she-oak, Casuarina equisetifolia. Why it is not a conifer despite looking like one, the shallow roots that can topple even a healthy tree in a storm, and why it is a listed invasive species in parts of the world it thrives in.
Siberian Ginseng
Eleutherococcus senticosus
How to grow Eleutherococcus senticosus, a hardy prickly shrub from the Russian Far East. Why it is not a ginseng, where the name came from, and how easy it is in a temperate garden.
Silk Tassel Bush
Garrya elliptica
Practical guidance for growing silk tassel bush, Garrya elliptica, including its winter catkins, male and female plants, coastal wind tolerance, pruning timing, and low toxicity.
Silky Oak
Grevillea robusta
Practical guidance for growing silky oak, Grevillea robusta, including fast growth, fern-like foliage, toothbrush flowers, skin-irritant sap, and cultivation well outside its native range.
Silver Birch
Betula pendula
How to grow Betula pendula. Why a short-lived tree is the right choice for a small garden, what the black diamonds on the bark are, the root system to plan around, and tapping the sap.
Sisal
Agave sisalana
How to grow sisal, Agave sisalana. The leaf fibre that made the world's rope, the pole that appears once and kills the plant, and the spine at eye height.
Smoke Bush
Cotinus coggygria
Practical guidance for growing smoke bush, Cotinus coggygria, including its hazy flower plumes, purple foliage colour, drought tolerance in poor soil, and verticillium wilt.
Snake's head fritillary
Fritillaria meleagris
How to grow Fritillaria meleagris. Planting the fragile bulbs on their side, naturalising in damp grass, when to cut, and the lily beetle that strips them.
Snow Crocus
Crocus chrysanthus
Practical guidance for growing snow crocus, Crocus chrysanthus, including its earliest flowering time, naturalising in turf, corm dormancy, bird and rodent damage, and mild toxicity.
Snowdrop
Galanthus nivalis
How to grow snowdrops, Galanthus nivalis. Why to plant them in the green, how to divide a clump, and how poisonous the bulbs are.
Soft Tree Fern
Dicksonia antarctica
How to grow soft tree fern, Dicksonia antarctica. Watering has to reach the crown and trunk surface rather than just the soil, and the single growing point needs frost protection that the fibrous trunk itself does not.
Spanish Broom
Spartium junceum
How to grow Spanish broom, Spartium junceum. Why its rush-like green stems, not its leaves, do most of the plant's photosynthesis, why overwatering an established plant is riskier than drought, and why the seed pods carry the highest concentration of its alkaloids.
Spanish Jasmine
Jasminum grandiflorum
How to grow Spanish jasmine, Jasminum grandiflorum. Why it scrambles rather than twines and needs tying to a support, its almost year-round flowering in a warm climate, and why a plant sold as "Carolina jasmine" is a different, dangerous species entirely.
Spindle
Euonymus europaeus
How to grow spindle, Euonymus europaeus. The pink capsules and orange seeds that make it the brightest native shrub in autumn, its value to wildlife, and why the fruit must not be eaten.
Spotted laurel
Aucuba japonica
How to care for Aucuba japonica. The gold-splashed shrub that grows in dry shade where nothing else will, why you need two plants for berries, and what causes the black patches.
Spring Crocus
Crocus vernus
How to plant and naturalise spring crocuses. Planting depth, why the leaves must stay, why sparrows shred the yellow ones, and how to tell them from the dangerous autumn crocus.
Star jasmine
Trachelospermum jasminoides
How to grow star jasmine, Trachelospermum jasminoides. Evergreen scent for a sheltered wall, why it bronzes in winter, and whether it is hardy where you live.
Star Magnolia
Magnolia stellata
How to grow star magnolia, Magnolia stellata. Why a late frost can brown its open flowers within hours of a cold night, why it dislikes being moved once settled, and why its compact size suits an ordinary-sized garden.
Star of Persia
Allium christophii
Practical guidance for growing star of Persia, Allium christophii, including its huge starry flower head, short sturdy stems, dry summer dormancy, self-seeding, and toxicity to pets.
Strawberry Tree
Arbutus unedo
Practical guidance for growing strawberry tree, Arbutus unedo, including its flowers and fruit together in autumn, lime tolerance unusual for its family, peeling red bark, and edible but unremarkable berries.
Sugar Maple
Acer saccharum
Practical guidance for growing sugar maple, Acer saccharum, including sap tapping, slow shade-tolerant growth, salt sensitivity, and brilliant autumn colour.
Summer Snowflake
Leucojum aestivum
How to grow summer snowflake, Leucojum aestivum. Why it flowers weeks before summer starts, needs soil that never dries out even in summer unlike almost every other bulb, and why several bells hang from each stem rather than the single flower a snowdrop carries.
Sunflower
Helianthus annuus
How to grow sunflowers, Helianthus annuus. Sowing, staking, why young plants follow the sun and mature ones face east, and the spirals in the seed head.
Sunn Hemp
Crotalaria juncea
How to grow sunn hemp, Crotalaria juncea. A fast nitrogen-fixing green manure with a fibre history, the rattling pods that name the genus, and why it is never grazed.
Sweet Olive
Osmanthus fragrans
Practical guidance for growing sweet olive, Osmanthus fragrans, including its edible flowers, apricot scent, slow growth, frost tenderness, and non-toxic care.
Sweet Violet
Viola odorata
How to grow sweet violets, Viola odorata. Shade, spreading by runners, the hidden flowers that set the seed, and why the scent seems to vanish.
Sycamore
Acer pseudoplatanus
How to identify sycamore, Acer pseudoplatanus. Telling it from field maple and Norway maple, the seedlings that kill horses through atypical myopathy, and managing it in a garden.
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Tiger lily
Lilium lancifolium
How to grow tiger lily, Lilium lancifolium. Growing lilies from the bulbils in the leaf axils, beating the lily beetle, and the danger to cats.
Tree Dahlia
Dahlia imperialis
How to grow tree dahlia, Dahlia imperialis. Why it needs the short days of autumn to trigger flowering, how often frost cuts the canes down before the buds open, and staking the hollow, several-metre stems against an autumn storm.
Tree Peony
Paeonia suffruticosa
How to grow tree peony, Paeonia suffruticosa. Why the graft union is planted 10 to 15 cm deep to let the scion root itself, the frost that can blacken swelling spring buds overnight, and why a young plant can take five years to flower.
Tree Rhododendron
Rhododendron arboreum
How to grow tree rhododendron, Rhododendron arboreum. Why seed provenance determines how much frost a plant can take, the felted leaf underside that identifies it, and why its nectar can turn into a dangerous "mad honey".
Trumpet Vine
Campsis radicans
Practical guidance for growing trumpet vine, Campsis radicans, including its vigorous suckering growth, hummingbird flowers, aerial-root climbing, hard pruning, and skin-irritant sap.
Tufted Hair-Grass
Deschampsia cespitosa
How to grow tufted hair-grass, Deschampsia cespitosa. Why it tolerates full shade when most ornamental grasses need sun, combing out dead leaves rather than cutting the clump back, and the humid summer heat that stresses it far more than any frost.
W
Wall Cotoneaster
Cotoneaster horizontalis
How to grow wall cotoneaster, Cotoneaster horizontalis. The herringbone branching that identifies it, training it flat against a wall, berries for birds and the law on planting it in the wild.
Waratah
Telopea speciosissima
Practical guidance for growing waratah, Telopea speciosissima, including sandstone heath origin, lignotuber resprouting after fire, phosphorus-sensitive roots, and cool-root, full-sun placement.
White Jute
Corchorus capsularis
How to grow white jute, Corchorus capsularis. The fibre that built Dundee and Bengal, how retting turns a stem into thread, and the round pod that names the species.
Wild Daffodil
Narcissus pseudonarcissus
How to grow and naturalise wild daffodils, Narcissus pseudonarcissus. Planting depth, why the leaves must be left alone, the sap that kills other cut flowers, and why the bulbs are dangerous.
Wild Ginger
Asarum canadense
How to grow Asarum canadense as woodland ground cover. The maroon flower hidden at soil level, the rhizome that smells of ginger, and why it is not a culinary substitute.
Wild Tobacco
Nicotiana rustica
How to identify wild tobacco, Nicotiana rustica. The shorter, coarser, far stronger tobacco of the Americas, its ceremonial history, and why the page stops at identification.
Winged Spindle
Euonymus alatus
How to grow winged spindle, Euonymus alatus. Why its corky-winged stems identify it even in winter, the cardiac glycosides that make every part of the plant toxic, and the invasive spread that has led several US states to restrict its sale.
Winter aconite
Eranthis hyemalis
How to grow winter aconite, Eranthis hyemalis. Yellow cups in February, why dry tubers rarely establish, and planting it in the green instead.
Winter Daphne
Daphne odora
Practical guidance for growing winter daphne, Daphne odora, including its severe toxicity, sudden root rot collapse, planting depth, winter scent, and shade requirements.
Winter Jasmine
Jasminum nudiflorum
How to grow winter jasmine, Jasminum nudiflorum. Flowers on bare stems in January, pruning straight after flowering, training a scrambler, and why it has no scent.
Witch hazel
Hamamelis mollis
How to grow witch hazel, Hamamelis mollis. Why the graft matters, spotting rootstock suckers before they take over, the soil it needs, and why the flowers survive frost.
Wood anemone
Anemone nemorosa
How to grow wood anemone, Anemone nemorosa. The ancient woodland indicator, why it spreads a few feet per century, and planting it in the green.
Woolly Foxglove
Digitalis lanata
How to recognise Digitalis lanata, the foxglove behind digoxin. Cream flowers with a big white lip, why this species supplies the drug, and the same danger as every foxglove.
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