Alex Bramwell
Garden Guides Editorial Policies
Garden Guides uses a knowledgeable team of editors, writers, and experts to create all our content. We dive deep into the ever-evolving conversations surrounding gardening and landscaping, striving to deliver the most current and helpful tips, strengthened by expert insight and tutorials from our talented team.
As we cover many fields of expertise, we make it a priority to ensure every beat remains fresh and comprehensive. Additional information on our editorial process available here.
Stories By Alex Bramwell
-
-
The Most Cold-Hardy Tropical Fruit Trees
The Most Cold-Hardy Tropical Fruit Trees. Tropical fruit trees tend to be delicate plants that wither at the first sign of cold wind. Not all species are this delicate; some will survive several degrees of frost. Grow them in a sheltered spot, exposed to as much sunshine as possible, to encourage flowering and fruiting. Protect young tropical fruit trees during cold winter nights by draping them with a blanket or frost cloth.
Read More -
Bougainvillea Infection
Bougainvillea Infection. Bougainvillea is a thorny South American creeper that is widely cultivated for its showy flowers. These are in fact bracts or modified leaves surrounding a small tubular flower. While naturally a climbing plant up to 60 feet long, you can train the bougainvillea into a free standing shrub and even grow it in containers as a house plant. Bougainvilleas are largely disease-resistant but can suffer from fungal and bacterial attack, especially when grown in damp conditions.
Read More -
Bougainvillea Description
Bougainvillea Description. Native to tropical South America, bougainvillea grows around the world as an ornamental climber and shrub. It is one of the most commonly grown plants in subtropical and tropical gardens and is a Mediterranean favorite. Bougainvilleas are easy to grow in frost-free conditions and there are hundreds of cultivars with different colored flowers.
Read More -
Rex Begonia Mold Problems
Rex Begonia Mold Problems. Rex begonias are grown for the colorful and spectacular foliage and make excellent houseplants. Their leaves can be streaked, bordered, spotted or splotched with red, green, white and even silver. While they can be harder to cultivate than other begonias and are prone to fungal attack and mold, the extra effort is worthwhile. They need cool but humid conditions and will not tolerate wet soil or still air.
Read More -
-
Aloe Plicatilis Care & Maintenance
Aloe Plicatilis Care & Maintenance. Also known as the fan aloe, Aloe plicatilis is a large, branching aloe species native to Cape Province in South Africa. It can grow up to 16 feet high and bear multiple forked branches on a woody trunk. The grey-green, strap-like leaves are flattened and fleshy with no spines on the margins except at the tips, which have small teeth. The leaves grow up to 12 inches long and two inches wide and are borne in fans at the end of the grayish stems. Each leaf fan bears a single, slender raceme of up to 50 orange to red tubular flowers two inches long during the fall and winter in the Northern Hemisphere.
Read More -
Why The Leaves On A Jade Plant Turn Yellow
Why the Leaves on a Jade Plant Turn Yellow. The jade plant, or money plant (Crassula ovata), is probably the most widely grown succulent houseplant in the world. It is popular because it is very easy to grow and because it is said to bring good fortune and money. Jade plants do make excellent houseplants, but can also grow up to 10 feet high if planted outdoors and can even be pruned into an exotic hedge. Jade plants have few problems in cultivation, but yellowing leaves are often an early sign that something is wrong.
Read More -
Why Do Leaves Turn Yellow On House Plants?
Why Do Leaves Turn Yellow on House Plants?. Leaves on plants turn yellow before they are shed. Diagnosing the cause of yellowing leaves on a house plant is difficult, as there are hundreds of different types, each with different requirements. There are a number of common causes of yellow leaves, and finding out which one is affecting your plants is a matter of analyzing the conditions in which it is growing. For example, if a house plant is happy growing in one location, it is often difficult to move the plant without stressing it and causing it to shed some leaves.
Read More -
Ficus Benjamina Disease
Ficus Benjamina Disease. Ficus benjamina is also known as the weeping fig, Benjamin fig or simply as a ficus plant. It is an evergreen species that can grow into a tree up to 100 feet tall, but is most often grown as a house plant. While mostly problem free in cultivation, it is vulnerable to several pests and diseases that are easiest to treat if recognized early. Many diseases of ficus plants are due to the plants growing in conditions that are not suited to the species. Avoid watering ficus plants from above as they are vulnerable to fungal disease caused by wet leaves.
Read More -
Problems With Aloe Vera Plants
Problems with Aloe Vera Plants. Aloe vera has become one of the most popular medicinal plants. Its natural origins are uncertain. It is believed to be North African but is so widely cultivated that a precise natural habitat is impossible to pinpoint. Aloe vera now grows across the world and is cultivated both as an ornamental succulent and a medicinal plant. It looks like a typical aloe plant, with a rosette of erect, fleshy leaves up to 2 feet long that are green but become pink in strong sunlight. The yellow flowers are borne on a tall spike up to 3 feet high. It will grow outdoors in frost-free areas or as a pot plant on a sunny windowsill. While hardy and resistant to most pests, aloe vera plants can suffer from a few common problems.
Read More -
Facts About Braided Money Trees
Facts About Braided Money Trees. Money trees are plants of the Pachira genus, but there are two similar species sold with braided trunks. Both Pachira aquatica and P. glabra are very similar but have slightly different requirements in cultivation. Money trees are sold as bonsais with five plants in a pot with their trunks braided together. They are believed to bring good luck to a home or place of business and are now widely used in fung shui design. The pachira money trees should not be confused with the money plant Crassula ovata, also known as the jade plant.
Read More -
Sword Fern Facts
Sword Fern Facts. The western sword fern (Polystichum munitum) is a fern species of the cosmopolitan genus Polystichum that is native to western North America. It can also be called the giant holly fern and the Christmas fern. There are over 260 species in the Polystichum genus, almost half of which are native to China and another 100 to Central and South America. The common name sword fern also refers to Nephrolepis cordifolia, an ornamental fern species that is considered invasive in Florida; it can also be called the tuberous sword fern, narrow sword fern or the fishbone fern.
Read More -
Do You Need To Cover Jasmine Vines In The Winter To Keep Them From Freezing?
Do You Need to Cover Jasmine Vines in the Winter to Keep Them From Freezing?. There are over 200 species in the Old World Jasminum genus, of which many are vines or rambling shrubs. Jasmines are grown for their highly fragrant flowers, which can be white, pinkish or yellow. Some species are not frost hardy, but others survive freezing temperatures and flower during the winter. Even frost-tender jasmine vines can be grown in areas prone to frost if cultivated in containers or protected during the winter. Ask at point of sale about the frost-hardiness of the particular jasmine vine you buy.
Read More -
-
-
-
-
How Much Water For A Bougainvillea?
How Much Water for a Bougainvillea?. Bougainvilleas are fast-growing and sprawling vines from South America that produce a showy display of color with minimal care. Their flowers are in fact small, white and tubular, and the plant's color actually comes from the surrounding modified leaves or bracts. Bougainvilleas are not frost tolerant but can be grown as houseplants or annuals in nontropical areas. In tropical and frost-free areas, bougainvillea vines will thrive in sunny conditions and produce year-round color.
Read More
