Horticultural tour: the island of Madeira

This week on The Horti-Culturalists come with us on a journey to the remote and magical island of Madeira where Stephen recently lead a horticultural tour. The island has a host of endemic plants which Stephen was thrilled to see in the wild, including some very popular plants in cultivation like Echium and Geranium maderense. But you'll have to watch the whole video to find out which plant was the highlight of his trip!
The plants we talk specifically about in this video are:
Semele androgyna
Erica arborea
Dendrobium loddigesii
Strongylodon macrobotrys - the Jade Vine
Daucus decipiens
Geranium maderense
Echium
Globularia salicina
Ruscus streptophyllus
Cyathea cooperi now Sphaeropteris cooperi
Vaccinium padifolium
Laurobasidium lauri

[markusjahnichen]

I still haven't figured out if I watch your films for the plants or the unique commentary. But I love it.

[sannaericditsler]

You guys are making very interesting videos and are charming also.

[angelaobrien]

Thank you for an extremely informative and interesting video. Love your channel.

[MarcAotearoa]

Another great video. I love Stephen’s botanical/horticultural knowledge and passion

[grandmothergoose]

I'd LOVE to see a video about our quarantine system and how it all works, that would be fascinating. Love your videos because I'm either learning information I actually want to learn, I'm vicariously visiting parts of the world I'll never get to see myself, and often discovering delightful plants I didn't know existed. The only problem is that I have now watched every video you have released, some of them more than once, and now I just have to wait for Fridays, which has made Friday the day of the week I most look forward to.

[sushidawgz]

Lovely video. I visited 2 years ago and much of what you said resonated and makes me want to go back asap!

[hilkkahirvonen]

Oh my😮 your video just popped on my screen !! As I’ve just been reminiscing about my past. I was in Madeira in 1958 with my parents on our way to Australia from Finland !! I was only 10 but I remember getting off the Ship 🚢 & some one gave my sister & I a special shaped Straw Hat, alas I no longer have it! I know this is nothing to do with ‘plants’ but this meant something special to me at this moment ❤

[daniellegrows]

This was an amazing video thank you so much for taking the time to share it with us.

[kerryjean]

The whole earth was watered with a mist and dew prior to the first rain and flood in the known world where men and animals had the breath of life breathed into their nostrils during the time of Noah.
I'm only halfway through the video and would like to thank you for showing other parts of the world, got to love the Internet, so thank you once again.

[WindyYucca]

Thanks for the videos here from the USA.

[Salmagundiii]

Great video as usual. There are actually several tree ferns native to the freeze-free parts of China, such as Alsophila spinulosa, but they are little known in the west. These are found as far north and inland as Sichuan.

[joanne-etpm]

Thanks Stephen & Matt really natural island but my favourite the pink geranium glad u got to find the ruckus in fruit how exciting for u bet that made ur day Stephen I'll also look up utube the monte palace T garden to view it in more detail
Thanks Guys
Happy gardening 🌸

[jenjoy]

What beautiful gardens. I want to go there!

[blueberrypieology]

Always learning a lot from you. Thanks for another interesting video!Also looking forward to the one on quarantine. As a European (mainland) I have heard a bit about the Australian strict quarantine but hardly know anything about it.

[GardeningatDouentza]

I really enjoyed that video and Stephen's insights. Thank you for the honourable mention vis-à-vis the orchid nursery. I look forward to your video on plant importation and sanitary considerations.

[stevenrowson]

Great video! I read that there had been a huge fire that had destroyed most trees on Madeira so that when Darwin visited they smelt the island from 10 miles away because of the subsequent enormous bloom of freesias.

[wanderlustnursery]

We grow Vaccinium padifolium here in the Pacific Northwest of the USA. It's quite a prolific fruiter!

[youngalistairyou]

Still can't find the address of the organisation that takes botanical trips?

[mawkernewek]

There is a YT channel called Ethereal Light Photography who recently vlogged their 110km multi-day trek across the island of Madeira. It looks their route was very rugged and quite varied.