The GIANT Book on Growing Trees and Bushes

Table of Contents

Introduction
Which Fruit to Grow?
Fruit Production Charts
Cold Hardiness zones
Apples
Citrus fruits
Buying the Right Trees and Bushes
Soil Conditions
Nitrogen Fixing Crops
Planning your garden
Natural Weedkillers
General Planting
Supporting Your Fruit Trees
Bird Protection
Frost Protection
Planting Fruit Trees Against Walls
What Are Espaliers?
Keeping Your Bushes and Trees Healthy
Fertilizers and pesticides –
Cow Manure – the Best Organic Fertilizer/Compost Base
John Innes Compost
Basic Healthy Compost Mixtures
How to Make Leaf Compost
Natural Pesticides
Neem Pesticide
Preparing Neem seeds
Chilis
Tobacco
Bougainvillea Leaves
Fungicides for Soil
Onion – Garlic Antifungal Solution
Papaya Cure –
Using Cow Manure Ash as a Pesticide
Nutrient Deficiency Symptoms in Plants
Spraying
Garden Pests
Pollination
Fruit Plant Propagation
Harvesting your fruit
EVERGREENS AND SHRUBS
Planning Your Garden – Evergreens for Screens
Evergreens – Planting Tips
Recognizing the “Right” Evergreen
Why Would Not I Choose a Conifer
Tips for Planting Evergreens
Choice of Evergreens
Arbutus – The Strawberry Tree –Arbutus menziesii
Camellia
Heath Plants – Erica
Gorse– Ulex
Bottlebrush – Callistemon
Magnolias
Daphne – the Spurge Laurel Family
Box [Buxus]
Mimosa
Lavender – Lavandula
Holly – [Ilex]
“Gold” and “Silver” Hollies –
Rhododendrons
CONIFERS
Growing Conifers
Tips before Choosing Your Conifers
The Scots Pine [Pinus species]
Growing a Scots Pine Successfully
Silver [white] Firs
The Douglas Fir
Spruce [Picea]
Cypress – Cupressus
Junipers
Cedars
Planting Your Conifers
Conclusion
Author Bio
Publisher

Introduction

When Mother Nature blessed the new born earth with life forms milleniums ago, the diversity of one celled creatures took up different lines of evolution due to climatic changes and mutations. That is when plant life evolved along with animal life. And that is how the surface of the earth was covered with lush fruitful vegetation, which flourished and evolved in different climates.

As time went by, climatic changes also changed the nature and the appearance of these plants. From multicelled algae and fungi, they became huge multicelled giant trees, like the Sequoia, which are remnants of those glorious days of giant Green trees gone by.

And soon man found out that trees were very useful to give him shelter, to give him food, and to provide him with essential fruit, leaves, and seeds to supplement his diet. That was because he was imitating the animals around him.

They nibbled at leaves, he did the same thing. Sometimes he ended up with a tummy ache. Sometimes the animals ended up sick while he was left hale and hearty. But down the ages, and through lots of trial and error, he found out that every single plant out there could be put into use, even those plants we consider weeds today.

The mythological and historical hanging Gardens of Babylon, which were supposed to have been built by Nebuchadnezzar, but in actuality were built by Sennacherib in Nineveh, Assyria, about 300 km away from Babylon.

These were lush with green trees from all over the world. And historians who are not really bothered about historic authenticity and the names of kings, did not bother much about the locality or the creator of one of the seven wonders of the ancient world.

First-hand accounts of that time were not available, and when Babylon conquered Assyria, they called it the new Babylon. And so centuries later historians wrote about the wonders of marvelous trees and green vegetation, growing in Babylon.

So that is the reason why since ancient times, trees, especially fruit trees have been an important part of cultured and civilized landscaping. They were and are planted in gardens for the pleasure of the general public or for your own private enjoyment.