Midweek bonus 5: I Love My Plants

Transcript

MIDWEEK BONUS 5

I LOVE MY PLANTS

[Music]

Hello and welcome to Midweek Bonus No 5, and I've got some good news. It's a very self-centred piece of good news, but hey, let's take what we can get at the moment. That is, I've had my latest set of exam results for my Royal Horticultural Society Level 2 exams. I did two units back in February and that included the Protected Cultivation unit, which is all about houseplants and I'm glad to say that I got a pass with commendation on both exams. I'm really happy about and that and I'm relieved because it would have been very embarrassing not to get a pass with commendation on the unit about the very thing I made a podcast about! I've got one more set of two exams to do, which were going to take place in June but they've been delayed until September, and then I will have my RHS Level 2 Diploma. So that's going to be very exciting.

So I'm in a good mood this morning. I hope you've had some positivity in your life -- whether that's a new unfurling leaf on your Monstera, a new orchid flower, or perhaps you spotted some peduncles on your Hoya, as I did this morning. Yes, my Hoya mathilde has a peduncle. It's a young plant so I'm very excited about finding out what those flowers look like.

So in Midweek Bonus No 5 I'll be answering a question about buying houseplants from big box stores. We will be hearing from listener, Lynne, and we'll be ending this little bonus with a song about houseplants. Yes, another one!

My thanks to Jenny, Kerry, German and Mina who have all become Ledge Ends by signing up to make a regular donation on Patreon, and to Sophia, who has become a Crazy Plant Person. Thank you to all of you and I know that some of you who are new to Patreon at the Ledge End and Super Fan level are really enjoying all the back catalogue that you can listen to once you've totally caught up with the main podcast. So thank you for your support and keep on commenting and liking those posts because it lets me know what things you are particularly into.

And I'm answering a question from Kallie in this midweek bonus. Kallie wrote to say -- I was wondering if you had any thoughts on buying houseplants from places like Hellos and Home Depot. I'm not sure if you have an equivalent store in the UK, or if that would be Ikea? I'm wanting to get more houseplants because it's springtime but because of the virus, I can't go into any nurseries in Nashville.

I have two succulents from Home Depot that have lived with me for almost a year. I just thought it would be nice to hear your thoughts on plants from those stores.

Great question, Kallie, and particularly relevant at the moment. Here in the UK I think there are a few places you can probably still pick up houseplants in person. I think there's a store called B&M that's open. I haven't been in there, so I wouldn't know personally, but I'm pretty sure they've got bedding plants, if not houseplants at the moment.

So, big box stores and houseplants. What do I think? Well, first of all, I would say that I have certainly bought plants from those kind of places in the past. I have been lured in by seeing something that I really wanted and have bought them because they were there and because I wanted them. So I'm not going to condemn anybody that goes down that route, certainly.

The issues that you need to be aware of are the fact that generally in those stores the plants are not being cared for as they would be in a boutique houseplant shop or a garden centre or a nursery because the staff, a) they're not given any time to devote to these plants and b) they've got no expertise. So if you can go into those shops and buy something that's come straight off the delivery truck then that's the best way to buy them because they will be fresh and they won't have had a chance to be overwatered or underwatered or abused in any way.

The other thing to say about those plants is that obviously you're giving money to a massive, probably multinational company rather than giving money to a local nursery that might have been in a family for generations, or an independent business person who's set up a houseplant shop. If possible, where I can, I prefer to give my money to local businesses or nurseries that have been established for a long time rather than that money just flying out the door to a multinational. That's another reason to avoid those big box stores.

The other consideration is that I have heard reports that some of those plants are being bought by people, particularly Calatheas and Maranthas and those kind of plants which are so popular and admittedly so cheap in those stores, to find that you get it home and it's already got spider mite. So obviously it's a pile-them-high mentality. The plants aren't being monitored and the plants are packed together. Ideal conditions for spider mite to spread.

So while I'd say that you need to quarantine any plant that you get, I would be particularly careful with plants from big box stores because the staff there just aren't going to be looking for problems and dealing with them. The plants are just going to die or be sold. So that's something else to be aware of.

The other thing is that if you go into a boutique houseplant shop or a nursery, you will have the staff on hand to give you expert advice. That is definitely worth having and oftentimes you'll find that those smaller stores have more of a concern about reducing plastic packaging and other sustainability issues, so hopefully your mark on the planet as a result of buying that plant is a little bit smaller.

At the moment, obviously, it's very difficult. If your local houseplant shop is offering some kind of delivery service, I would definitely try to support them. But I do appreciate right now there's a lot of strain on everybody and if you see a beautiful plant when you're out doing your grocery shopping, you're going to buy it and that's understandable.

So, there isn't really a right or a wrong answer, Kallie. I think you need to do your research and try to spend as much of your money as possible on those experts who are running houseplant businesses and really have the expertise. But yeah, we're all subject to the occasional impulse buy and that's okay.

Oh, and if you've got any thoughts on that matter, please do drop me a line and tell me. I'd love to know whether you have completely banned yourself from buying from big box stores or perhaps that's the only place you do buy. I would love to know.

Right, now we're going to meet listener, Lynne. Hope you're enjoying these Meet the Listeners. They are proving very popular and it's amazing how different the answers are to those same five questions, that everyone gives, so I'm really, really enjoying hearing from all the different listeners. There's still plenty of time to get involved. Just drop a line to <ontheledgepodcast@gmail.com data-preserve-html-node="true"> and my assistant, Kelly, will send you information on the simple ways that you can take part.

Right, now let's hear from Lynne!

[Music]

Lynne: My name is Lynne Cattafi and I am speaking to you from the north eastern United States. I live in New Jersey, about ten miles outside of New York City. As you may or may not know, New Jersey is known as the garden state because of all the produce that comes from us here.

I actually come from a long line of gardeners and houseplant lovers. My grandfather had an amazing urban garden and we grew up eating lots of fresh vegetables, including, of course, Jersey tomatoes. My aunt had a garden and my uncle has an amazing garden as well, so we are gardening people and definitely houseplant people. My great grandmother and my grandmother had plants, lots of African violets. I remember my grandmother once telling me that plants grow better when they're touched and loved, so that's something I've tried to keep up with. My mother always had houseplants, lots of spider plants and she had Marantas. We didn't call them Marantas. We called them prayer plants, obviously, and I just loved how the leaves would open and close and it fascinated me. So I recently purchased my first Maranta and it's doing quite well, so I'm following in her footsteps.

I actually started collecting when I was a teenager. I believe my first plant was a Hoya carnosa, quickly followed by lots of peperomia. However, soon after college I moved to a smallish Manhattan apartment and I adopted two cats and I didn't have that many places to place the plants where the cats wouldn't eat them, so I stopped collecting for a while. Now I'm in a house and I have plenty of room for my plants, so each room has at least one, more likely ten, plants in it. I'm just adding and adding to my collection.

Question 1 -- There's a fire and all your plants are about to burn. Which one do you grab as you escape?

Lynne: If there were a fire in my house, the one plant I think I would grab is my Hoya pubicalyx, which is currently my favourite. I just love seeing those tiny little leaves come out and the tendrils and the silver markings on it are just beautiful, and it's small enough so that I could actually make it out of the house on time.

Question 2 - What is your favourite episode of On the Ledge?

Lynne: My favourite episode of On the Ledge would be the peperomia episodes, Part 1 and 2 with Sally Williams. I found them so lovely and informative and peaceful and calming, and I love peperomia, so I learned a lot. I was particularly interested in hearing about her technique for propagating peperomia and so that was a really great episode.

Question 3 -- Which Latin name do you say to impress people?

Lynne: I don't know if this impresses people, but I just love the sound of Peperomia obtusifolia. I think it has a nice ring to it, so I'm going to start using that to impress people.

Question 4 -- Crassulacean acid metabolism or guttation?

Lynne: Guttation, for sure. I've seen this on some of my plants and at first I thought I had a leaky ceiling, but then once I figured out that the ceiling was just fine and this was something that plants naturally did, I thought it was pretty awesome. So guttation is my thing!

Question 5 -- Would you rather spend £200 on a variegated Monstera or £200 on 20 interesting cacti?

Lynne: I know this may be heresy for some people. I'm not a huge cacti fan and even if I were, I don't know that I would have room for 20 cacti in my house. So I would go with the Monstera. I have a Monstera deliciosa and I so enjoy seeing the leaves come in. They're just beautiful.

I saw a variegated Monstera, a huge one, at my favourite nursery, and it was just absolutely stunning, but it was $2000. So spending £200 on a variegated Monstera, I think that's a bargain and that would be my choice.

[Music]

Jane: Great to meet you, Lynne, and thank you for contributing to On the Ledge, because that's what this show is all about - you listeners!

Just a reminder that if you want to see some pretty much daily, not quite daily but almost daily short videos from me, follow me on Instagram @jlperrone and as often as I can, I'm putting up Perrone's Plants, which is a little hashtag series of short videos about the plants I own with some care tips and me being a little bit silly. If you're on Instagram, go and check that out. Perrone's Plants is the hashtag and you can see in person some of the plants that I talk about on the show.

I was contacted by Mark Truesdell who is a songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, whose song "I Love My Plants" was first recorded in the mid-90s and has apparently been a consistent favourite at his live shows over the last couple of decades. Mark sent me this track and I thought that you might like to hear it too. So here it is in full to end this midweek bonus -- "I Love My Plants".

Find out more about Mark's music at spiralsmusic.com and I'll include that link in the show notes.

I'll see you again on Friday when we will be joined by Maria Failla of 'Bloom and Grow Radio' for a little chat between houseplant podcasters. Can't wait. Bye!

[Music]

The music you heard in this episode was "Roll Jordan Roll" by the Joy Drops, which is licenced under Creative Commons, and "I Love my Plants" by Mark Truesdell.

For details on both tracks, visit the show notes at janeperrone.com.

Subscribe to On The Ledge via Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Player FM, Stitcher, Overcast, RadioPublic and YouTube.

In this bonus episode, I answer a question about buying houseplants from big box stores, we meet listener Lynne and we hear a song about plants from Mark Truesdell.

Mark Truesdell’s song I Love My Plants is all about his spider plants and philodendrons - the kind of song you or I might write! You can find out more about Mark at spiralsmusic.com and more about the song I Love My Plants here.

Kallie wanted to know whether it’s OK to buy houseplants from big box stores - during lockdown, and more generally. My view is that, where you can, it’s great to support specialist sellers, local nurseries and houseplant shops: yes, big box stores may be a bit cheaper, but the plants you buy will most likely not have been cared for while they waited to be sold. That can mean you end up with a weakened plant that could be harbouring pests. Shopping with smaller specialist outfits means the money tends to stay local, plus you can tap their expertise in terms of choosing the right plant for you. That said: we’ve all (me included) spotted a beautiful plant across the aisles while shopping for something completely different, and succumbed… so if you occasionally buy houseplants from a big box store, I understand!

HOW TO SUPPORT ON THE LEDGE

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CREDITS

This week's show featured the track Roll Jordan Roll by the Joy Drops.

Logo design by Jacqueline Colley.