You almost certainly own one — or have owned one, or will own one. Aloe vera is the most widely grown succulent on Earth: produced by the hundreds of millions for the houseplant trade, cultivated on industrial plantations across four continents for its gel, and sitting right now on windowsills, kitchen counters and bathroom shelves in virtually… Continue reading How to Grow and Care for Aloe vera — Indoors, Outdoors and Everything You Need to Know
Category: Culture
Growing Agaves in Pots: Substrate, Watering, Repotting and Winter Care
Container culture is the key that unlocks agave growing for gardeners in cold or wet climates. A Agave ovatifolia in a large pot on a sunny terrace, spending summers outdoors and winters in a bright, unheated room, will thrive for decades — in London, in Chicago, in Tokyo. Without the pot, it would die in its first… Continue reading Growing Agaves in Pots: Substrate, Watering, Repotting and Winter Care
Agave Flowering: Why It Happens, What to Expect and What Comes After
One morning you notice something strange at the centre of your agave. Where there was always a tight rosette of leaves, a thick, asparagus-like shoot is pushing upward. It grows fast — visibly fast, sometimes five to ten centimetres per day. Within weeks, it towers above the plant, two metres, three, sometimes six or more.… Continue reading Agave Flowering: Why It Happens, What to Expect and What Comes After
Spineless Agaves: Safe Alternatives for Gardens With Children
Agaves are stunning plants — sculptural, drought-proof, unlike anything else in the garden. But most species are also genuinely dangerous. This is not an exaggeration: a mature Agave americana is a weapon. Its terminal spine — the hard, needle-sharp point at the tip of every leaf — can puncture a leather glove, perforate a knee through denim,… Continue reading Spineless Agaves: Safe Alternatives for Gardens With Children
How to Grow and Care for Agaves: The Complete Guide for Every Climate
Agaves are among the most architectural plants you can grow — and among the most misunderstood. Their sculptural rosettes, their spines, their sheer defiance of drought and heat make them irresistible to gardeners looking for something bold and low-maintenance. A mature Agave americana — two metres wide, blue-grey, armed with teeth like a saw — is a… Continue reading How to Grow and Care for Agaves: The Complete Guide for Every Climate
My Cycas Is Producing New Shoots
You notice a cluster of new growth emerging from the centre of your Cycas revoluta — and you’re not quite sure whether to celebrate or worry. That sudden flush of tightly coiled fronds, or a strange compact structure rising from the crown, can look alarming if you’ve never seen it before. In reality, it is… Continue reading My Cycas Is Producing New Shoots
When and How to Repot a Yucca — The Complete Guide to Containers, Substrates, and Timing
Repotting is one of the few maintenance tasks that a Yucca genuinely needs. The genus Yucca encompasses roughly 50 species, many of which adapt remarkably well to container culture — Yucca elephantipes is one of the most widely sold houseplants in the world, while Yucca rostrata and Yucca linearifolia are increasingly popular as potted architectural specimens on patios and terraces. But a yucca left in… Continue reading When and How to Repot a Yucca — The Complete Guide to Containers, Substrates, and Timing
My Yucca Has Yellow Leaves — Causes, Diagnosis, and Practical Solutions
Yellow leaves on a Yucca are one of the most common complaints among gardeners and indoor growers alike. The genus Yucca includes roughly 50 species, from the compact rosettes of Yucca filamentosa to the towering trunks of Yucca elephantipes, and virtually all of them share the same alarming symptom: leaves that turn from healthy green to sickly yellow, sometimes seemingly overnight. The… Continue reading My Yucca Has Yellow Leaves — Causes, Diagnosis, and Practical Solutions
The Simon Lavaud Method: Grafting Cycads onto Cycas revoluta to Grow Difficult Species
There is a group of cycads that every collector covets but almost no one in Europe or temperate North America can grow well. The Australian blue cycads — Cycas couttsiana, Cycas ophiolitica, Cycas cairnsiana — along with tropical Asian species like Cycas siamensis “Silver”, are among the most beautiful plants in the genus Cycas. On their own roots, in a European… Continue reading The Simon Lavaud Method: Grafting Cycads onto Cycas revoluta to Grow Difficult Species
My Cycas revoluta Has Brown Tips, Why? Causes and Solutions
Brown tips on the fronds of Cycas revoluta are not a disease in themselves — they are a signal. The leaflet tips are the furthest point from the root system and the last tissue to receive water and nutrients, which makes them the first to show stress from a wide range of causes. Understanding the pattern of… Continue reading My Cycas revoluta Has Brown Tips, Why? Causes and Solutions