Do we need another book on houseplants? ‘Not Another Jungle’ shows there’s still room on the bookshelves.
I realised that Tony Le-Britton was houseplant obsessed when I interviewed him some years ago for a feature. Anyone who puts a greenhouse in the spare bedroom of their garden-less flat has to be fanatical about growing.
Since then, he’s moved to a house with a garden and opened the Not Another Jungle shop. Yet, despite now being able to grow veg and flowers, it’s the houseplants that hold his heart.
A gardener since childhood – one of his earliest memories we’re told is pricking out plants with his grandmother and he was a teenaged orchid collector – he fills his house and shop with the rare and the beautiful from all over the world.
And it’s these plants rather than the commonly grown houseplants that fill the pages of Not Another Jungle. This is a book not for those with the odd cactus or spider plant (Chlorophytum comosum). Rather this is for people who want to know how to care for Aglaonema pictum ‘Tricolor’, which has camouflage-like markings, or the rare Epipremnum pinnatum ‘Cebu Blue’, which has leaves of steely blue.
(I was given a copy in return for a fair review.)
Yet, the information and guidance distilled in the book are relevant whether you grow the highly sought after or the commonplace.
The book starts with the basics: how to buy your plants, something that’s important when prices can be high for rare specimens. In person is best as it gives you a chance to check over your purchase and there’s a warning about online scams.
The rest of the book is devoted to advice on the best way to care for your plants from light, watering and humidity to how to feed and what soil, or substrate, to use. Tony mixes his own and the book includes his recipe. There is also a section on propagation with clear step-by-step photos.
Light, we’re told, is the key to having plants that grow well and knowing where they grow in the wild will give you an idea of what they need.
“No matter what fertilizers, watering regime, substrate mix, or wizardry you employ, you can’t grow plants to their full potential without sufficient light,” Tony says.
He also disputes the idea that there are some plants that will thrive in ‘low light’, pointing out that at best they will just die slowly. What they need is linked to where they grow naturally: “Just because they moved into a two-bedroom semi doesn’t change millions of years of evolution.”
Light can also be used to manipulate plants, to encourage flowering, for example, and Tony uses a light meter to determine the best spot for them.
More than most houseplant books, Not Another Jungle goes into the science behind growing, explaining photosynthesis, pollination, and thigmomorphogenesis – where plants react to movement.
Alongside this is practical advice on everything from planting a terrarium to making a moss pole for climbing plants and an explanation of variegation – it’s more complicated than you’d think!
Meanwhile, ‘plant profiles’ put the spotlight on some of the more unusual plants in Tony’s collection, including Monstera obliqua ‘Peruvian Form’, which is smaller than the more commonly grown members of the monstera family.
So, if you grow the odd houseplant and want to try something different, or even if you just want to grow more effectively, Not Another Jungle is a great place to start.
Not Another Jungle by Tony Le-Britton is published by DK with an RRP of £16.99. You can buy it here for £13.99. (If you buy via this link, I receive a small commission. The price you pay is not affected.) Alternatively, you may wish to buy from an independent bookseller here. All prices correct at time of publication of this post.
You can read more of my garden and gardening-related book reviews here.
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