Build Raised Beds for AMAZING Plant Growth! (Especially palm trees!)

[@ARW.7]

Officially now my favourite UK tropical plant channel - producing great regular & relevant content 👏🏼 cheers George

[@GeorgesJungleGarden]

Thanks Adam, I’m trying to get a few more shorter videos out over the next few weeks (I can only do the longer ones at the weekends when it’s light!). Bring on Spring!

[@GeorgesJungleGarden]

It’s great to know the vids are appreciated too, thanks again for your comments 😃

[@yvetteclayton3773]

Hi George, Firstly thanks for sharing your knowledge, thumbs up from me everytime

[@GeorgesJungleGarden]

Thanks Yvette 😃

[@victorianicol-smith9436]

Fantastic, I'll make sure I raise my beds before planting. Thanks for the tips! :)

[@GeorgesJungleGarden]

Thanks Victoria. It depends on the plants (I wouldn’t raise the soil level for Gunnera or bamboos necessarily) but for palms and a lot of other exotics it works great!

[@Labraxsquad20]

I love raised beds for my very bad back to.

[@GeorgesJungleGarden]

There is that side of it too, although luckily tropical gardening is a bit lower maintenance than say, vegetables once the plants are in.

[@DJGlobalRay]

Raised bed are great you know exactly what's in them soil wise

[@GeorgesJungleGarden]

That’s very true. It’s also potentially easier to get big plants in as you don’t need to dig down as much!

[@steverichardson4374]

Thanks for the advice I'll think on itc😊

[@GeorgesJungleGarden]

No worries! It’s not the only way forward but definitely helps with a lot of exotic plants 👍

[@fernandotomz]

Garden tour / let's see what your doing projects etc

[@GeorgesJungleGarden]

There’ll be one coming very soon after a bit more progress! It’s still very wet out there but it looks like the weather might be improving... 🤞

[@myownterracegardenatlingas8187]

Beautiful 💖

[@GeorgesJungleGarden]

Thanks 😃

[@vincenzecalzone8666]

You'll know I'm a massive fan of raised beds. My soil is crap heavy clay. I've got lots of raised beds I've developed over the last 3 years. Made a huge difference for me with improving drainage as I've added loads of grit. The compost/grit combo is more expensive than the wood but worth the money 100%. The bananas do much better also in the beds for me. I paint them the same as the fences and garden furniture to keep one united theme. Up in the north east with heavy clay it was the best investment I've spent on the garden. Cheers 👍

[@GeorgesJungleGarden]

You’ve done a great job with your garden, the design and putting the effort in to help the plants grow despite the soil you have. Top job and it’ll be amazing to see it mature 👍

[@vincenzecalzone8666]

@@GeorgesJungleGarden Thanks mate👍

[@northeasthardytropicals541]

Great stuff, I’m a fan of the raised beds 👍🏼

[@GeorgesJungleGarden]

Thanks, they definitely make a difference! The other thing I didn’t mention is that level changes just make a garden more interesting, there’s so many practical and design benefits 👍

[@northeasthardytropicals541]

@@GeorgesJungleGarden 100% agree

[@GeorgesJungleGarden]

@@northeasthardytropicals541 It’s going to take some graft to get the rocks around the Jubaea placed but hopefully worth it, it’s probably my favourite palm tree!

[@northeasthardytropicals541]

@@GeorgesJungleGarden definitely worth it 🌴

[@davidbanner9001]

I'm really trying to avoid raised beds, at least the railway sleeper type. I just like a more natural look. However saying that I am already planning a raised bed for next year and planting a Butia as a focal point. I also think a little forward planning can really help. For instance one side of my garden is wetter than the other. So a Gunnera will be left to run wild on that side. There are certainly times in certain areas that raised beds are almost the only solution, so it's all still great advice.

[@GeorgesJungleGarden]

I get that and your Gunnera / Butia plans sound great! I’m with you on the natural look too, that’s why I’m using rocks and the mound in my jungle area. Forward planning is great, yes, especially if it leads to the right plants being put in the right places 👍

[@Nhoj31neirbo47]

Raised beds and mounds are a must in my area as the drainage is terrible.

[@GeorgesJungleGarden]

At least you’ve adapted and made it work for you! A wet garden is a tricky challenge when it comes to overwintering a lot of these kind of plants.

[@alexlalonde4190]

Thanks, I was thinking of doing one for my trachycarpus / needle palm. They'll look taller. 👌👌🌴

[@GeorgesJungleGarden]

It’s a great way of them looking more impressive straight away, as long as they’ve got access to enough moisture 👍

[@Mir.cvetov.]

Good day. As rastyushkam great you have, all so cool

[@GeorgesJungleGarden]

Thanks, you too! Happy gardening!

[@forestdweller3210]

Brilliant! I've been thinking about building a couple of raised beds to give some extra height. Any help with drainage and growth is real bonus. Great suggestions about using different materials too. I was thinking wood, but now you're given me some ideas for the various bricks, slabs and lumps of concrete I was wondering what to do with. Thank you for a very informative video!

[@GeorgesJungleGarden]

Thank you Danielle, it’s great to know it’s given you some ideas! In my latest vid I plant another palm in a raised bed but more informally with some huge boulders going round it soon. It’s well worth using a bit of imagination!

[@TartanScrubs]

Another very helpful video, thank you so much. Would you consider a video on how and what you feed your plants? My partner is currently changing his oriental garden into a fully tropical theme and has found your content extremely helpful. Keep up the great work 👍

[@GeorgesJungleGarden]

Thank you Laura! I’ve actually got one planned, there’s general watering and feeding videos coming up on my basics series over the next few weeks, but I have to save them for a weekend as they take longer to film. It’s great to hear that they’re helpful 😃

[@garethvanderwesthuyzen6420]

Do you grow any varieties of Kniphofias (hot pokers)?

[@GeorgesJungleGarden]

Hi Gareth, I had a couple at the old garden and will add some to this garden in time, just because they are familiar doesn’t mean they can’t look really exotic! Have you got any favourites?

[@garethvanderwesthuyzen6420]

@@GeorgesJungleGarden the Caulescens John May have added a really exotic touch to my garden, underplanting my palm trees

[@GeorgesJungleGarden]

@@garethvanderwesthuyzen6420 I can definitely see that, they work really well with other spiky plants with thin leaves but also tie in with the bright flower colours of cannas and dahlias etc. They resemble more exotic aloe flowers too!

[@ARW.7]

The concern I had with raised beds was the costs of getting so much good quality soil into a large raised bed. I suppose there’s no short cuts you can take to reducing the amount of soil required and theoretically like you said, it raises the height of the foliage enabling you to purchase smaller plants at lower costs if you still want a quick impact within a year or so.

[@GeorgesJungleGarden]

That’s true and a good point. I’m trying to reuse a lot of the soil I’m digging up from some areas to make the raised beds so it’s luckily not costing a huge amount but I completely understand. It’s definitely a worthwhile investment in growing these plants in my opinion.

[@raphlvlogs271]

do Raised Beds make mulching easier?

[@GeorgesJungleGarden]

Interesting question and not one I’ve really considered, I’m not sure it makes a huge difference. A lot of the arid style plants like Agaves don’t really get mulching as such, more a decorative surround, they don’t really need the rich soil a lot of the other plants do.

[@octavenoize]

Great video again,if there is one bit of criticism from me it would be step back from the camera a foot or so 👍

[@GeorgesJungleGarden]

Cheers, I appreciate the feedback! To be honest I have quite a basic microphone setup at the minute and it was quite windy so it was intentional but I’m looking at getting a better option soon 👍

[@octavenoize]

Then we can see your garden at the same time 😎🌞

[@GeorgesJungleGarden]

@@octavenoize Maybe that’s subconsciously why I hid it, the garden is far from impressive right now but I’m really looking forward to lighter evenings and getting on out there!

[@B4dlands]

Excellent natural, unscripted video

[@GeorgesJungleGarden]

Thanks, I appreciate it! I try to keep to the points, speak about what I know and not waffle on. Reading from a script would be way more difficult!