Gardening, gardens, plants and weed killers on Fuerteventura

But Fuerteventura's excellent climate is ideal for sub-tropical plants. But don't just rush out and buy the first plants that come to hand. A well designed garden combines plants, lighting and materials giving a finished product that will give pleasure for years.

There are hundreds of beautiful, exotic and colourful plants to chose from that thrive in the climate on Fuerteventura.

The terrace, ofcourse, is really an extra room which you can adorn with all sorts of colourful plants.

But if you are presented with a garden that looks more like a desert of black volcanic stones (picon) never plant directly into it. Picon is good at acting as mulch, keeping weeds at bay and absorbing moisture from the air but it cannot sustain plant growth.

Use plants which suit local conditions. In exposed and windy conditions, aloe and cacti are useful plants. In more sheltered conditions, taller shrubs and trees like hibiscus and even roses can be grown.

Fuerteventura has many indigenous plants including cornua, tabaiba dulce, verode and the Canarian palm or palmera canaria.

It obviously pays to grow plants that need little water - gardening in northern Europe bears no resemblance to gardening on Fuerteventura.

Try to look for plants that have been grown in "tierra de Fuerteventura" - a mixture of soil and picon because these adapt more easily.

And make use of raised beds as these give the plants a chance to get a decent depth on the roots. The chances are that the picon in your garden is lying on top of tons of builders' rubble.

Weed killers

Make sure you keep just one can for applying weedkiller. One of the hazards is that the wind can blow fine particles of the weed killer on to healthy plants so make sure you apply it on a calm day.

Native plants of Fuerteventura

Cornua	Tabaiba dulce
Tabaiba amarga	Tajinaste
Verode	Cardon

The Canarian palm or palmera Canaria (phoenix Canariensis)

 Most sprays on Fuerteventura use the chemical glysophate (glifosato) which is a herbicide (herbicida). It is the basis of a popular UK weed killer and work by getting inside the plant and killing it from within.

If you look for the world "glifosato" on any weed killing product it will do an effective job. Another good product on the market in Fuerteventura is Herbicida Total which although slow - it can take up to 10 days to act - produces good results.

If spraying weed killer, place a board around the weed to be sprayed to protect neighbouring plants.

As with any weed killer, be careful not to let it get into contact with your skin or eyes and always wash your hands after use. Use a a nose and mouth mask and rubber gloves when handling chemicals.

Other pages