Plant of the Day
Thursday 25 January 2018At the start of Holly Walk, originally known as Love Lane, at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Ilex aquifolium ‘Silver Milkmaid’ (variegated holly) forms an impressive specimen. The majority of the holly plants here are over a century old and constitute one of the largest collections of these plants. The route of the walk, for much of its length, is a former public lane which separated Richmond Garden, belonging to Queen Caroline, from Kew Garden, the residence of her son, Frederick, Prince of Wales in the 18th century.
Jill Raggett
Tag: jillraggett
Plant of the Day
Wednesday 24 January 2018Flowering early in the new year Camellia rosiflora (Camellia rosaeflora) was originally described in 1858 from a specimen growing at Kew, in London, which is the location of this plant. These evergreen shrubs thrive in an acidic, well-drained soil with consistent moisture in partially shaded locations, ideally with protection from strong winds.
Jill Raggett
Plant of the Day
Friday 22 December 2017Still creating a great decorative display are the fruit on this Malus ‘Evereste’ (crab apple). This small deciduous tree in the spring has white flowers opening from red buds which result in these yellowish-orange apples.
Jill Raggett
Plant of the Day
Thursday 14 December 2017The large, sculptural, dead leaves of Quercus dentata ‘Carl Ferris Miller’ (daimio oak, Japanese emperor oak, cutleaf Japanese emperor oak) are retained on the stout twigs for much of the winter. Quercus dentata is a slow growing tree ranging through China, Japan, and Korea with some of the largest leaves of any oak. This cultivar was propagated from a plant collected in Korea in 1976 by Robert and Jelena De Belder of Hemelrijk, Belgium.
Jill Raggett
Plant of the Day
Thursday 7 December 2017The fruit of Malus × robusta ‘Red Sentinel’
(crab apple) seem like seasonal baubles at this time of the year. This small deciduous tree has a display of single white flowers in spring while the clusters of red fruits that follow last well into winter and are normally eaten by the birds after they have been softened by the frost. This tree will grow in moderately fertile soil and will tolerate partial shade.Jill Raggett
Plant of the Day
Monday 25 December 2017Named after the traditional 17th century carol “I Saw Three Ships (Come Sailing In)“ this early flowering Galanthus plicatus ‘Three Ships’ is an unusually early flowering form. The original was discovered flowering under an ancient Quercus suber (cork oak) at Henham Park, Suffolk in 1984. My small, but precious clump, have been flowering for two weeks but are still ‘sailing in’ on Christmas morning – festive greetings to you all – keep enjoying our wonderful green world.
Jill Raggett
Plant of the Day
Wednesday 29 November 2017Covered in red berries the Cotoneaster horizontalis (wall spray, rock spray, herringbone cotoneaster) was the star of the show at Great Dixter, Sussex. This
spreading, low growing deciduous shrub has
distinctive flat sprays of foliage with small glossy leaves that turn orange and red in autumn. There are white flowers in early summer which the bees appreciate and then result in the spectacular red berries.Jill Raggett
Plant of the Day
Tuesday 28 November 2017Even from a distant the berries on Ilex × koehneana ‘Chestnut Leaf’ (chestnut leaf holly) were catching the eye. This hybrid is a French selection of a cross between Ilex aquifolium and Ilex latifolia. The plant has glossy green serrated leaves that measure up to 15cm (6in) in length and are similar to Castanea sativa (sweet chestnut) foliage. The downward sweeping branches are covered with red berries in autumn and the tree has a strong central leader resulting in a pyramidal habit.
Jill Raggett
Plant of the Day
Saturday 25 November 2017Ilex verticillata ‘Winter Gold’ (Winterberry holly) is a female cultivar with peachy-salmon coloured fruits. It needs a male pollinator that flowers at the same time to produce berries and Ilex verticillata ‘Southern Gentleman’ is recommended by nurseries. One male is sufficient for pollinating 6-10 female shrubs. These plants need an acidic, humus rich, moist soil and they can be pruned in early spring just before new growth appears.
Jill Raggett
Plant of the Day
Tuesday 21 November 2017Grown as a half hardy annual Capsicum annuum ‘NuMex Twilight’ (chilli pepper) is surviving the late autumn protected from frosts in the glasshouse of the World Garden at the Royal Horticultural Society’s garden at Hyde Hall, Essex, UK. This cultivar was developed at New Mexico State University and is covered with peppers that start out white, turn purple, then move through yellow and orange, becoming red when fully ripe. The fruits produce a colourful rainbow effect on the green plant.
Jill Raggett
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