Author: Antonio Pachowko

In this article, we will discuss how to grow the beautiful flowering shrub of Berberis in containers. Berberis is a large genus of around 700 species in their own family of Berberidaceae (the Barberry). Berberis are deciduous or evergreen shrubs that grow between 1 to 5m tall. They tend to be easy to grow and will thrive in most soil conditions throughout the world. They grow in temperate regions and will grow in subtropical regions, where the only country not to report a native species, is Australia.

The genus is noted for its wide diversity amongst the genus, where it …

In this article, we will discover how to grow the beautiful flowering shrub of Camellia in containers. Camellia, some experts consider it to be the queen of all flowering shrubs, because of the display of flowers it produces. Camellia is a large genus of flowering shrubs where 220 species are described (the exact number is hotly contested) and 3000 hybrids are known, belonging to the Theaceae (the tea) family.

Camellia is found naturally growing all over Eastern and South Asia, especially from the Himalayas to Japan and Indonesia. It gets its name after the Botanist and Jesuit priest Georg Joseph …

In this article, we will discuss how to grow the various members of the Vaccinium family in containers. Vaccinium is a common and widespread genus of shrubs that belongs to the Ericaceae (Heath) family. It is a large family where over 450 species are known to exist, and many of its fruits are edible in species. These include cranberries, blueberries, bilberries, cowberries, lingonberries and many more.

There are generally found growing through the Northern hemisphere but extending far south to the Malesia.

The plant structures vary from species to species where some are dwarf, whilst others grow up to 2m …

In this article, we will be discussing how to grow the herald of spring, the Forsythia, in containers. When you think of forsythia, you think of large shrubs that cannot be possibly grown in containers, but the good news is that they are small species and varieties that will do well in containers.

Forsythia takes its genus name from William Forsyth, a Scottish botanist, who founded the Royal Horticultural Society. It is a relatively small genus of 11 species belonging to the Oleaceae (the Olive) family. It is mainly native to Eastern Asia, but there is one species found growing …

In this article, we will discuss how to grow the pretty shrub of Ulex in containers. Ulex is a genus of flowering shrub that belongs to the Fabaceae (the Pea) family, where 20 species are known to exist, they have the common name of Gorge, Furze or Whin, depending on what country you are from. This is one shrub that is native to the UK, but it can also be found in Western Europe and Northwest Africa. The greatest source is found in the Iberia Region.

As you can imagine by looking at them they are closely related to Genista …

In this article, we will be discussing how to grow the beautiful flowering shrub of Teucrium in containers. Teucrium is a large genus of 300 species of flowering plants that belong to the Lamiaceae (the Mint or Sage) family. What is noted for all Teucrium, which has the common name of Germanders, is that all their stems are square in cross-section and the flowers are two-tipped. They tend to be found growing mainly in the Mediterranean regions but 13 species are found growing naturally in Australia.

Plants in the genus tend to be either perennial herbs or shrubs that have …

In this article, we will discover how to grow the flowering shrub of Stranvaesia in containers. Stranvaesia is a small genus of 5 species that belong to the Rosaceae (the Rose) family. One thing that must be stressed is that although their morphology is so similar to Photinia (so close that species have been included in this genus) they are separate. Recent DNA analysis indicates that the two genera are, in fact, not related.

It is grown as an ornamental shrub that has narrow, lance-shaped green leaves. The species of shrub that you will often find is Stranvaesia davidiana but …

In this article, we will discover how to grow the shrubby Salix in containers. We are not talking about the trees, so often seen in gardens but the smaller, minute species that can be grown in containers. These smaller, shrubby willows have an interesting and impressive display of catkins. The beauty of the plants is that they are small and not imposing like the trees you often find.

Salix is a relatively large genus of 400 species of mostly deciduous trees and shrubs belonging to the Salicaceae (the Salix or Willow) family. They have the common name of Sallows, Osters …

are In this article, we will discover how to grow Symphoricarpos, the Snowberry, in containers. Symphoricarpos, which has the common name of snowberry, waxberry or ghostberry, is a genus of 15 species that belong to the Caprifoliaceae (the Honeysuckle) family. Apart from one species that Symphoricarpos sinensis which is naturally found growing in Western China, all other species are found in Northern or Central America. Its name comes about from the combination of two ancient Greek words- ‘Sumphorein’ meaning ‘to bear together’ and ‘Karpos’ meaning ‘Fruit’. This name comes about because the berries that form in autumn are closely packed …