Curator

Debbie Williams is currently contracted by Warwick District Council to maintain the plant collection.

Debbie graduated from Pershore College with a BSc (Hons) in Horticulture in 2003. Between 2003 - 2008 she was employed by Warwickshire College (Moreton Morrell) as a part-time lecturer. In 2004 she took over the management of the studio within the Temperate House and in 2007 became responsible for the maintenance of the plant collection.

On a part-time basis Debbie maintains all of the plants, duties include:

• Watering – not as easy as one may think, you really need to know each plant’s individual water requirements.
• Pest and disease monitoring and control – a constant challenge.
• Pruning – annual hard pruning tends to take place during the winter months when growth reduces. Maintenance pruning throughout the year helps to maintain shape and also controls growth.
• Nutrition – similar to water, plants require nutrition at different rates, some plants require more feed than others. If a plant is lacking in nutrients they will display disorders, such as leaf yellowing or poor growth.

Each month Debbie will be looking at a different plant from the collection, go to Plant of the Month for more information, and giving out handy tips for all those keen gardeners. Debbie works most days, except Wednesday, if anybody has any problems with growing their own house plants and would like some advice.