Hardiness

Assigning a rating for the frost hardiness of our plants is far from an exact science as each of them are along way from their native conditions. But based on their known tolerances we have created a system in which to help you decide which plants are most appropriate for your location.

The chart below shows the United Kingdom broken down into a series of zones. The intention here is to provide you with an idea as to which zones each of our plants will find most acceptable. You will see each plant's description comes with a series of icons, some, shown below on the left, offer information regarding growth habit. The other colour icons in the plant description relate to zones on the chart which are considered acceptable to that plant.

You can help the frost hardiness of your plants by making sure their soil is free draining, and also by mulching to insulate the roots in winter. But if you are in doubt, you can always plant into containers, which allows you to bring your plants in during the winter months.

Key to symbols


Suitable for part shade	Suitable for sun

Suitable as hedge or screen	Suitable for growing in a pot or hanging basket

Feature plant	Resistant to salt spray

Attractive foilage	Attractive bark

Rating needs confirming	Suitable for growing in water

Aromatic

Key to Hardiness

Plant Care

Having one of our plants living in your garden will be a new experience for both you and your plant. Below are a few thoughts to help you both with the adjustment.

The two major factors in selecting which of our plants is the right one for you is frost-hardiness and soil condition.

Soils

The vast majority of our plants will wallow happily in moist, open, and aerated soil. A good soil structure is of fundamental importance; most of our plants will struggle in heavy, poor draining soils. If this is the case, look to improve the soil by incorporating organic matter, such as composts or bark, or even raising the bed will also help. Digging in gypsum is also effective at improving heavy soil structure. Our plants generally prefer a slightly acidic soil, if your soil is alkaline, you may see yellowing of the foliage (chlorosis). This means the plant cannot find sufficient iron in the soil, therefore additional iron will need to be added.

Frost

Our plants are a long way from home, therefore it is impossible to be exact with regards to their frost-hardiness. But bear in mind that young plants will be more susceptible to frost damage than mature plants. If you suffer prolonged harsh frosts, here are a few ideas:

Pot the plants, they can show-off on the patio all year, and when you think that frost is close just move them into the greenhouse or conservatory.
Hessian sacks or equivalent can be used to cover the plants and is another way to protect the tender ones from frost.
Poor draining soils will cause a deeper freeze in the soil, either improve your soil, or mulch to avoid this.

Each of our plant descriptions comes with a series of symbols to indicate the areas of the UK that will best suit it. Mulching is a great idea:

In the summer, mulch shades the soil from direct sun in summer, reducing water loss in the soil and keeping roots cool.
In the winter, mulch insulates the soil, keeping the soil warmer, preventing root damage in freezing conditions.
Provides erosion and weed control

Fertilizer

Our plants when planted in open ground (not containers) will grow happily without the need to fertilize. In fact fertilizing to try to force growth may have adverse effects. If you do decide to fertilize your plant it is essential to use a very low-phosphorus fertilizer. Using a slow release fertilizer is also beneficial. Plants in containers Just about all our small to medium sized plants will make interesting container plants. Plants in containers will require fertilizing, because nutrients are so readily leached from the soil. A slow release fertilizer ensures a gradual release of nutrients over time, and is highly recommended due to the fast draining nature of the growing medium in containers. Outdoor potted plants, again, due to the free draining nature of the growing medium, should as a rule of thumb be watered every other day.