Wes Porter

Wes Porter is a horticultural consultant and writer based in Toronto. Wes has over 40 years of experience in both temperate and tropical horticulture from three continents.

Most Recent Articles by Wes Porter:

Image of Shakespeare Discovered in Botanical Tome July 4, 2015
John Gerard was born about 1545 in Nantwich, Cheshire. Like many from the northern shires, he came south to London where he maintained a large herbal garden in the suburb of Holborn.
Poisonous Rare Plant Used by Russian, Chinese Assassins July 3, 2015
Regardless of its grim history, extracts of Gelsemium continue to be marketed as a homeopathic remedy for migraine, asthma and even malaria
Geobotanical Prospecting: Plants Reveal Riches July 2, 2015
Eucalyptus trees draw up gold particles from 35-metre-deep deposits with their deep-growing roots, depositing it in their leaves and branches, Australian scientists reported 22 October 2013
Perennial Care, Scottish Rose, Squash Patch Sex July 1, 2015
The squash family – ‘cucurbits’ as professionals term them – are a sexually adventurous lot. And when it comes to cucumbers, none more so
Just for Yew June 25, 2015
The Ankerwycke yew of Runnymede is a mere pipsqueak to the Ashbrittle Yew, which stands in the Church of St. John the Baptist’s churchyard in the Somerset village of that name
The Waterloo Elm Chair June 17, 2015
Ulmus minor
The Raising of Roses June 5, 2015
Roses are hungry feeders. Make the first fertilizer applications when first uncovering in spring and continue until Peegee hydrangeas commence blooming in midsummer.
TIPS:  Watering, Annuals, Perennials June 2, 2015
If you garden on well-drained soil with protection from winter winds and adequate snow cover, shock the neighbours and discourage intruders with Opuntia cacti
Full Moon Turns on Small Shrub May 21, 2015
In western North America several Ephedra have found favour as beverages and in traditional medicine
Hop Aboard! May 13, 2015
Hops were formerly widely grown as a commercial crop in North America, including from coast to Canadian coast
World’s Most Popular Weedkiller ‘Probably Carcinogenic’ May 2, 2015
Glyphosate is used in more than 750 agricultural, household and forestry products
Gardening gets underway again May 1, 2015
Weeds, bugs, even accumulating ice a problem? Not to worry U.S. company Ion Productions may soon have the answer for you
Heliconia Turned On by Hummingbird Foreplay April 6, 2015
In Costa Rica, Heliconia tortuosa with its showy red and yellow blooms is regarded as a ‘keystone” species in the ecological web.
Herb of the Year: Savory April 3, 2015
Peppery in flavour, it was known to the Romans before true pepper arrived from India and to this day it may be known as Pfefferkraut (‘pepper herb’) in German
Jeepers Creepers: Annual Vines from Seed April 2, 2015
Squeezed for space, city gardeners in particular might consider annual screens of fast-growing, easily cultivated vines.
Spring has sprung—Gardening begins April 1, 2015
As the buds burst on birch trees, one might wonder if Betula papyrifera may be tapped for sweet syrup, as is the more familiar maple product
The Mighty Mugwort March 24, 2015
As with a vast number of other botanicals, Mrs. M. Grieve’s A Modern Herbal (1931) gives extensive coverage, suggesting it for many an affliction while noting that it had been used to repel the larvae of clothes moths.
The Latest on Lettuce March 23, 2015
Haemophilia treatment,haemophilia A, Queen Victoria,
Heirloom Tomatoes March 16, 2015
True, heirloom tomatoes are more disease prone and may have a shorter shelf life. They also follow their wild relatives in being of a more sprawling, vine habit.
Benefits of Prolonged Low Temperatures March 3, 2015
Last month’s extreme cold snap drove frost deeper into the ground than usual. This is expected to drastically reduce the number of white grub and crane fly larvae lurking there. Numerous other overwintering garden pests will suffer similar fates
Grasshoppers Gorging the Grapes? Call in St Urho! March 1, 2015
Facts of entomology did not interfere with the mythmakers
News with a Bounce February 13, 2015
Ficus elastica; Hevea brasiliensis; rubber tree.
Tales from the Orient’s Storied Fragrant Harbour February 10, 2015
Agarwood; Aquilaria; Incense Tree; gaharu wood
Celery: The Veggie That Does in a Crunch February 3, 2015
It was a grim time for celery through the European Dark Ages – said to have been so-called because there were so many knights
Cabin Fever? Consider Propagating February 1, 2015
About 1% of the light that strikes plants is re-emitted as a faint florescent glow – a measure of photosynthetic activity.
Questions We’re Often Asked: Deer, Rabbits and Mice January 16, 2015
Browsing deer are problem enough in summer. But when there is no longer lush, foliage within easy reach, deer will reach up to eight feet on their hind legs to tear off evergreen trees
The Sex Life of Plants January 8, 2015
Many trees, alas for Sir Thomas, are dioecious: some bear only male flowers, others female ones
High Society: Hallucinogens in Palace Garden January 6, 2015
Truly it is said that there are old mushroom collectors and bold mushroom collectors but there are no old, bold collectors.
2015 International Year of Soils—Don’t Call It Dirt January 1, 2015
Dirt is what politicians try to sweep under the carpet. Every garden nurtured, vegetables, fruit and grain raised, forest and prairie that flourish all grow in soil.
Gardener V. Bungleaucrat 2014 December 4, 2014
The EU and its tireless toilers are roundly despised in Britain which is strange as Shakespeare’s scepter’d isle falls into a class of its own when it comes to harassing innocent horticulturists.