Category: HorticulturePage 6 of 59

Latest blog stories connected with horticulture at the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh

The seeds of Dead Man’s Finger

Seeds are phenomenal structures which have adapted incredible ways to disperse. One of the of the most eye catching seed pods in the garden at this time of…

….and hedge bases

Winter months are a good time to catch up with hedge cutting. Always start at the base, a clean line with the first pass of the hedge trimmer…

84 Year old Cherry felled in last nights winds at the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh

Last night (5/12/19) the forecast high winds caused us to cancel our Christmas light show. The highest gust recorded in the garden was 43mph. This was enough to…

Hedge tops

December arrives and leaf fall should be complete. Now is the time to clear the decaying remains from the lawns and corners of the garden. An area often…

Bird food

With the last of the dark green foliage just hanging onto the stem the twiggy outline of Euonymus europaeus is enhanced by the cluster of red seed capsules…

#NationalTreeWeek @TheBotanics 2019 What are we planting this year?

National Tree Week marks the traditional start of the winter tree planting season. We are celebrating from the 23rd November to the 1st December. “National Tree Week is…

Silver sensation

A plant of 1960’s suburbia. With the housing boom in the 1960’s the Pampas grass became a popular feature of British gardens. The images are of a cultivar…

Aechmea fasciata

RBGE Accession number:19982583 Living plants of this accession Aechmea fasciata (Lindl.) Baker 19982583B G11 Rainforest Riches Aechmea fasciata is a species of flowering plant in the bromeliad family, native…

Drimia maritima

Drimia maritima (L.) Stearn RBGE Accession number:19771097 Living plants of this accession 19771097A G20 Temperate Lands Collected in: Spain: Canary Is Collection number: 5602 Collected by: Long, David G….

Agave vilmoriniana

Agave vilmoriniana Berger RBGE Accession number:20030287 Living plants of this accession 20030287A G04 Arid Lands Agave vilmoriniana, popularly known as Octopus agave, is a species of agave endemic to Mexico. It is known for…

Hedychium thyrsiforme

Pincushion Ginger- Broad jungle like foliage with a dramatic inflorescence with white spidery flowers.  BGE Accession number:19825041 Hedychium thyrsiforme Sm. Living plants of this accession 19825041B G52 Lowland Tropics…

Musa laterita

RBGE Accession number:19973654 Musa laterita Cheesem Collected by: Smith, Paul S. 19973654A G25 Plants & People Living plants of this accession Musa laterita is an Asian tropical ornamental species…

Himalayan herbage

Miscanthus nepalensis has grown well from seed collected in 2016 from plants growing in Nepalese coniferous forest.  A group on the corner of the Front Range glasshouse has…

Ageing radiance

Hosta is a genus of herbaceous plants that once frost occurs in the autumn rapidly lose their colour and structure. The first image, taken mid-October shows leaves past…

Bleached, yellow, red – the range of autumn leaf colour

Bleached white through shades of yellow to the darker red; the range of colour deciduous tree canopies evolve into. There is a timely article, discussing the changes leaves…

Waiting for Rhododendron mogeanum

Rhododendron mogeanum has flowered in the Vireya research collection at Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh for what we think is the first time in cultivation. In 2011 an expedition…

Two late flowering composites

Flower colour this late in the season is always welcome as an alternative and to complement the prominence of the deciduous leaf canopy. The dwarf Michaelmas Daisy cultivar…

Autumnal beauty

In full autumn colour, the foliage of Betula papyrifera has turned a golden yellow. This native to North America is ideally situated near the east gate to catch…

Too late to hoe

As herbaceous foliage dies back those weeds that were missed when cultivating through the border during the summer months reveal themselves. With mild temperatures any annuals left to…

Fruit and foliage

The start of the leaf colour season. Stresses show up as early autumn colour. Where plants grow is soils of poor nutrient status or moisture deficit these are…