This growing guide provides practical information on choosing and sowing seeds and caring for your plants as they grow. Read more about seed pre-treatment, substrates, germination conditions, water and light, flowering and fruiting, and common pests.
Choose a topic below to read more.
Our collection consists of over 600 species, with various categories and filters to help you make your choice. If you still find it difficult to choose species, you will find additional information here to make that easier.
You can make your choice based on where you want to grow the plants. The natural origin of a species determines whether a plant is suitable for the garden, indoors, or in a container on a terrace or balcony.
Plants suitable for growing in the ground in temperate Europe need to be able to withstand challenging conditions, with surviving winter frost being particularly important. Suitable garden species usually originate from temperate regions (or colder), such as parts of northern Asia, North America and southern South America, Australia and New Zealand. These regions, like much of Europe, have relatively cold winters, making many species suitable for growing in the garden.
Outside these regions, there are also species from the subtropics that can survive winters in parts of Europe, partly as a result of climate change. Examples include species from the Mediterranean region, such as the strawberry tree (Arbutus unedo), or from southern China, such as the tea plant (Camellia sinensis).
Many garden species also come from cooler mountainous areas in the subtropics and tropics. The Himalayas, the Chinese province of Yunnan and the Andes are home to numerous species that tolerate lower temperatures well and can therefore also be grown successfully in European gardens. One example is the Himalayan cobra lily (Arisaema consanguineum), which occurs naturally in mountainous parts of Asia.
We have selected species from the regions described above that are suitable for growing in the garden. You can find all these species in the garden plants category, and the natural origin and minimum temperature are stated for each species.
A separate category within the garden plants consists of annual species. These plants complete their entire life cycle, from seed to seed, within a single growing season. They can broadly be divided into three groups.
The first group consists of species from temperate climates. These plants die as a result of low winter temperatures, but often self-seed after flowering. The seeds are adapted to survive the winter and germinate in spring. This is also why we refer to them as garden plants rather than hardy plants.
The second group consists of species from warmer and drier regions. In their natural habitat, they die at the end of the growing season as a result of a dry period. In Europe, they will also produce seeds and die at the end of summer. However, the seeds are often less well adapted to cold and wet European winters, so it is usually better to harvest them and sow them again in spring.
The third group consists of tropical plants that are naturally perennial but grow quickly enough to flower and produce seed within a single summer. This means they can also be enjoyed within one growing season. Although the plants do not survive the winter, the seeds can usually be harvested easily and stored dry to be sown again in spring.
Container plants mainly originate from subtropical regions and mountainous areas in the tropics. These include the Mediterranean region and parts of Australia and New Zealand, South Africa, South America and East Asia. These plants can be kept outdoors very well during the summer months, but are not hardy enough to remain outside all year. In winter, they are preferably overwintered in a cool, frost-free location.
Many container plants are adapted to warm days, cooler nights and a relatively cool winter period. This distinguishes them from many tropical species, which tolerate cool nights less well. Houseplants are therefore often less suitable for being kept outdoors during summer, whereas container plants are particularly well suited to this.
Putting the plants outdoors in summer has several advantages. Because they receive much more light, container plants often grow better and more compactly than indoors. Flowering and fruiting in many species are also influenced by fluctuations between daytime and night-time temperatures, changes in day length and a cooler dormant period in winter. These conditions are difficult to reproduce indoors.
Well-known container plants include the bird of paradise (Strelitzia reginae) from South Africa and oleander (Nerium oleander) from the Mediterranean region.
You can find all species in the container plants category, where you can also pay particular attention to the minimum temperature. Many species can tolerate a few degrees of frost, but there are also species that must be kept frost-free.
Most houseplants come from tropical regions around the equator in Central and South America, West Africa and Southeast Asia. They occur naturally in tropical rainforests, where temperatures fluctuate little throughout the year. Differences are often small not only between seasons, but also between day and night. This makes these plants well adapted to the relatively constant conditions found in European homes.
Many houseplants naturally grow beneath the canopy of larger trees. They are therefore accustomed to filtered light and can also grow well indoors in relatively shaded locations. However, remember that shade plants still need sufficient light. A plant that tolerates shade does not belong in a dark hallway, but will do better in front of a north-facing window or a little farther away from a south-facing window.
Unlike many container plants, tropical species are usually less dependent on fluctuations in temperature and day length. As a result, many species can also flower indoors under favourable conditions. Sufficient light nevertheless remains an important requirement.
Our large collection of tropical trees is a different matter. Although some species naturally grow in the forest understorey, such as cacao (Theobroma cacao), many tropical trees actually require a lot of light. Young seedlings often cannot yet tolerate strong sunlight. Just as in nature, during their first stage of life they often grow sheltered beneath other plants until they have developed a stronger root system and more leaves. This enables them to cope better with the additional water loss and higher temperatures associated with direct sunlight. Once the seedlings are well established, they can gradually be acclimatised to more sunlight and eventually grow into beautiful trees.
The minimum temperature for tropical species is usually between 10 and 15 degrees Celsius, and this is stated for each species.
Succulents and cacti actually form an intermediate group between houseplants and container plants. Although the natural origin of many species is more reminiscent of container plants, with warm days, cooler nights and a relatively cool winter period, in Europe they are usually kept as houseplants.
The reason is that the climate in many parts of Europe does not always match the conditions to which these species are adapted. In particular, the combination of relatively wet summers, limited sunshine and wet winters can make it difficult to keep many cacti and succulents outdoors all year. They are therefore often grown indoors or in a greenhouse.
The disadvantage is that the natural conditions that stimulate flowering, such as abundant light, fluctuations between daytime and night-time temperatures and a cool, dry dormant period in winter, are difficult to reproduce indoors. As a result, many species remain vegetative and flower less readily.
Our advice is therefore to look carefully at the natural origin of a species and reproduce these conditions as closely as possible. Although most deserts have in common that they are dry, their climates can differ considerably. Succulents from North American deserts are, for example, adapted to cold winters, while species from the dry spiny forests of southern Madagascar are adapted to a much more stable and warmer climate. As a result, species such as the Madagascar ocotillo (Alluaudia procera) and the beaked yucca (Yucca rostrata) require quite different conditions to grow well and eventually flower.
The difficulty level relates to germinating the seeds and not to caring for the plant. We use 3 levels, and here you can read what we mean by them.
These are species for complete beginners. With a covered pot and some seed and cutting compost, you can often get a long way. Germination is usually quick and no pre-treatment is required, keeping the risk of failure low. Sowing these species is comparable to sowing typical vegetable seeds from a garden centre.
These species require more steps to achieve a good result. A pre-treatment may be necessary, such as scarifying the seeds, breaking dormancy or germination may simply take a longer time. If you follow the sowing instructions provided for each species, you have a good chance of success with these species. Later in this guide, we provide more tips for successful germination.
These species are intended for enthusiasts who enjoy a challenge. The difficulty can have various causes. Room temperature may no longer be high enough, relatively sterile conditions may sometimes be required (as with tree ferns), germination may take months, or one or more pre-treatments may be necessary. It may also simply be a species that is naturally difficult to germinate. Patience and experience are certainly useful in this category!
Part of our tropical range is offered already germinated, which means that the seeds have already started to form a shoot and/or roots. These are often recalcitrant seeds that lose their viability if they dry out, such as the well-known jackfruit (Artocarpus heterophyllus). We store these seeds in moist, warm conditions and will also send them in moist Sphagnum moss or tissue paper.
By offering these species already germinated, we can guarantee their quality and you as a customer can be certain that these, sometimes costly, seeds will continue to develop. They can be planted in the appropriate substrate immediately after arrival. If you receive a small seedling, it is important to cover it well with plastic film or place it in a propagator. The plants are accustomed to high humidity and will dry out quickly if this changes abruptly. You can gradually acclimatise them to the new conditions.
The difficulty category for these species is usually ‘intermediate’, with temperature and substrate type being particularly important for successful growth.
