Dede Sophie

Welcome to our slide show of  Elche Garden – Huerto del Cura, Alicante Spain. This wonderful garden is home to a fantastic display of cacti, succulents, Tropical, Exotic and Mediterranean plants. The undisputed star of the garden is the specimen of Phoenix dactylifera known as the ‘Imperial Palm’, a date palm with 7 arms that emerge at a height of 1.50 m from the main trunk and an age of about 165 years! This was my second visit to Elche gardens and I can genuinely say that the standard across the whole of the garden was much improved. The displays looked well maintained and the plants themselves seemed stronger, healthier and in much better condition. However the last time I was there Spain was in the middle of a heat wave with temperatures entering the low 40’s Celsius and no one like that including most of the plants. So if you are in the area I would definitely recommend a visit as it is arguably the best garden in the area – just remember to always tak...

A Cycad is a gorgeous addition to a tropical effect, exotic garden but once they get to big for their pot how do you repot a Cycad – Cycas revoluta? Where there are couple of things you need to know to get the best out of your Cycad going forward and in this video as English Horticulturist Simon explains. The first thing to know is they they do not like to have their roots disturbed so try to avoid potting regular repotting. Instead plant them directly into as large a container as you can tolerate. Secondly use ericaceous compost. Cycads are not from the Ericaceae family but they do require a slightly acidic compost around pH 5.5-6.0. Further advise is discussed in the accompanying video. If you would like to see more content like this then consider popping over to our YouTube channel and browsing the 150 plus gardening videos which have now been posted. Also why not consider subscribing to our channel ‘Walking Talking Gardeners’. It is absolutely free and you can unsu...