Episode 262: hear an extract from Legends of the Leaf

Legends of the Leaf is out on April 27 2023.

TRANSCRIPT

Jane Perrone 00:02 [AD]

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Jane Perrone 01:18

Hello, and welcome to On The Ledge episode 262. I'm your host, Jane Perrone. But you're welcome. Come in have a feel of my plants.

Jane Perrone 01:32

In this episode, I'm answering your question about cane begonias, and reading an extract from my book, Legends of the Leaf. Plus telling you about some of the amazing things I learned about houseplants in the popular press when writing the book.

Jane Perrone 01:56

And you may or may not know that this is my second book, my first book was called The Allotment Keeper's Handbook and that came out in 2008. I've recently made that into an audiobook, which you can get from Audible and from my website, and various other audiobook sellers. And I got a lovely email from Mark who wrote a quick note to let you know we have really enjoyed your Allotment Keeper's Handbook , as well as the audio book we dug out a copy of the book from the library. In our six years plot holders we couldn't find anything you said all good advice. We enjoyed your humorous observations in particular, the description of your allotment site plan, which sounds just like ours, a work of fiction, good luck with your new houselant book to which we are looking forward to reading. Now that was lovely to hear. Thank you very much. And I'd encourage anyone who has read the audiobook to go and leave a review on Amazon or on Audible or wherever you've listened. Because it really helps to encourage people to make that purchase. And maybe if you've run through all the episodes of On The Ledge, you still haven't gotten enough of the sound of my voice, that might be a way of adding to your Perroneinness - did I just say that? I think I did.

Jane Perrone 03:21

Maybe you're sick of hearing about Legends of the Leaf. Maybe you have no idea what I'm talking about. But for those of you who are perhaps new to On The Ledge let me explain about my new book Legends of the Leaf. The subtitle is 'unearthing the secrets to'... what is the subtitle. We went through so many versions - 'unearthing the secrets to help your plants thrive'. There we go. I need to get that in my brain. And this is a book that profiles 25 iconic house plants and tells their stories in depth plus, there's a care guide for each of these species. And a beautiful, bespoke illustration by the wonderful illustrator Helen Entwistle. The book has been funded by Unbound. So it's a crowdfunding process, which means it's taken a bit longer to get into your hands. If you've preordered a copy via my publisher on bound as part of the crowdfunding stage, then either your book will have been dispatched to you or it will be coming imminently as I speak on April the 14th 2023. I think the signed copies are going out now. So it should be landing on doorsteps across the world right now. If you don't have your copy, and you've pledged or you haven't had any paperwork, please do get in touch with support@unbound.com and they can help you out. And if I can help in any way do let me know. If you haven't gone that route and you want to preorder the book. That's absolutely fine too. All the information is at Legendsoftheleafbook.com - that's Legendsoftheleafbook.com. And you'll find places to buy the book across the globe. And also information about the illustrations, and so on.

Jane Perrone 05:12

So in this week's show, I'm going to read you an extract, which is the introduction, which sets the scene for the rest of the book, talks a little bit about colonial botany and some of the things I've tried to cover in this work. So I hope you'll enjoy this introduction. And it'll whet your appetite for the real thing. I've already had a little bit of feedback from people who have received the book and it's gone down really well. You seem to be really enjoying it. But I'd love to know if you do get your copy. And if you've got your copy now, please, please, please put it on social media. Snap a picture of it with your houseplants. Let me know what's blown your mind, what species you particularly love, which illustrations you particularly love. It really helps to spread the word about the book, and I would really love you to do that. So yeah, please do let me know what you think. And once the time comes, leave a review on your bookstore of choice. Right without any further ado, let's get stuck into this introduction.

Jane Perrone 06:10

When did you first get into plants? Visitors to my home often ask, usually while disentangling awayward vine from their hair. The truth is this. I can't remember when plants weren't a source of curiosity and satisfaction in my life.

Jane Perrone 06:30

I call it wearing my plant glasses. No wispy weed growing in the pavement, no climber romping over a fence. No flower pressed against the glass of a greenhouse is too insignificant to escape my glance. But my heart really lies with houseplants. Searching for the roots of my obsession takes me back to primary school. In the library, the shelves were draped in yellowing spider plants. My friend Ruth and I must have shown some kind of flair for horticulture. As we were let out of lessons to water these plants back to life. It may have stunted my understanding of arithmetic, but it did set me up for a lifetime of love for gardening.

Jane Perrone 07:19

In turn, the spider plants responded to our care by producing many babies at the ends of long stalks. I later learned to call inflorescences I started to build my own plant collection. Using my pocket money to buy fat bodied cacti, whose sudden spectacular flowers made me Gasp

Jane Perrone 07:39

40 years on, and my love affair has not abated, but it feels as if everyone else has joined the party. The distinctive leaves of the Swiss cheese plant are all over Instagram, and snake plants are on sale everywhere from Urban Outfitters to Tesco. There are many books on houseplants covering everything from propagation to styling, and yet most of them remain silent on the matter of where houseplants actually come from how they've evolved to thrive in those landscapes, and how they have found their way into our homes. Filling in these rich backstories links our specimens to history, culture, botany, and horticulture. More than that, it deepens our understanding of their needs. We cannot get houseplants into focus without this context.

Jane Perrone 08:31

Just what makes a houseplant iconic? I selected plants that would be instantly recognisable to most people, whether houseplant obsessed or not. Species found growing on windowsills in almost every country around the world, and repeatedly referenced in art and culture from paintings to films. This is by no means a definitive list. I may have excluded your favourite species. Apologies. But I hope this book will inspire you to dig deeper into your chosen plants stories too.

Jane Perrone 09:07

Many times in the course of this book, you will find the words we don't know. While botany has uncovered some of the mysterious workings of leaves and flowers. house plant species have often been overlooked by scientists. Most research has focused on the species that provide us with food and medicine. This is unfortunate, because we are only now discovering some of the potential practical applications of these plants from decontaminating polluted soil to helping us understand how to collect water in arid landscapes. One of my greatest challenges was delving beneath and beyond the narrative of colonial botany. The white men who fanned out across the globe in the 18th and 19th centuries to capture, categorise and exploit plants and people in an attempt to discover how indigenous people understood and use the species. Much of this information has been a raised or is still viewed through the lens of structural racism. And while the white male plant hunters who risked their lives to track down new species are celebrated, the indigenous people and enslaved people who carried their bags, cooked their food, and shared with them a rich plant knowledge almost always remain nameless. They did not and do not receive the same accolades and financial rewards. And many of them died horrible deaths in pursuit of plants. I hope that by understanding the histories of houseplants, and recognising the sacrifices of the people who were caught up in the damage done by colonial botany, we can put a different kind of value on the things we grow and look at plants and new with respect, deeper insight, and an even greater passion. So put on your plant glasses. And let's discover the incredible stories our houseplants have to tell.

Jane Perrone 11:08

As you can imagine, the book involved an awful lot of research, looking at things like scientific papers, old catalogues, from nurseries, and - what else did I look at - well books from, you know, the last decade and way before that, and there was a lot of research that went in to doing this book, but the most fun I had was looking through newspaper archives in search of articles about the plants in the book, and this is what I want to share with you in today's episode. And one of the richest chapters in terms of newspaper archives was Monstera deliciosa. Because, of course, there is such a huge enthusiasm for this plant for many, many years. And one of the things that I found fascinating was the fact that from the late 1890s people in the UK were eating Monstera deliciosa fruits. Now in 1898. I'm not saying this was widespread. There's a report that people gathered at the Botanic Gardens in London, which I'm guessing is referring to Kew, and they sampled Monstera deliciosa fruit for the first time. But I also found several reports stating from December 1912, telling me that Covent Garden Market in London had for the first time stocked a new tropical fruit from Madeira - that was grown in Madeira. And that was the fruit of the Monstera deliciosa. And so this was only, what, 14 years after the fruit was very first really being tried. As far as I can tell, this fruit is being imported as an edible crop into the UK, at Covent Garden Market.

Jane Perrone 12:58

And the flavour is described as being "a custard apple in the shape of a cucumber", and this was selling for one shilling, six pence. So how amazing! I found that report in several newspapers. So it was obviously news that people were interested in. And then we scroll forward to the 1930s, where there's was a piece I found, which was talking about the "elongated pine cone of the ceriman" and talking about how you could eat this as a fruity breakfast. And they cost I think it was six pence at that time. So again, widely available enough that people would be talking about them in this rather, rather, well scary in a way women's page of the newspaper, which is full of you know, fashion advice and very lightweight news. There we go. That was how things were back then. But don't think that the ceriman was just available in London, I did find an advert for a greengrocer in Hull that was stocking Monstera deliciosa fruits listed among various other fruits, rare fruits like mangoes and medlars and this was in 1922. As I say, they were available in this Hull greengrocers so that was fascinating to me to think that you could go to these places and buy Monstera deliciosa fruit. I certainly don't know of anywhere in the UK to get this today. Maybe you could get it in Covent Garden Market. I haven't been for many years but I'd be interested to know if anyone has seen it for sale in the UK.

Jane Perrone 14:37

And I think the story is probably quite similar in America, possibly more available in places like Florida where this plant can grow wild but I did find a report from the 1980s of Monstera deliciosa being available at Balduccis which is a Sixth Avenue kind of deli. I think Balduccis still exists but I don't think it's on the same site anymore. And you could buy Monstera deliciosa for $3.98 each. So that really fascinated me, to read that people were eating Monstera deliciosa, perhaps in a more widespread way than we do today, and wondering why perhaps it never became a fruit that is widely eaten in the same way as other tropical fruit like mangoes and avocados. And I think the main reason is it's got a really long period of maturation, it takes about 12 months to mature. And the other aspect being that the fruit has to be perfectly ripe in order to be eaten, because if you eat it when it's not totally ripe, it can cause your mouth to tingle. Or worse than that you can have quite an allergic reaction, which is due to the calcium oxalate crystals in the fruit, which gives you that sort of tingly feeling they tend to ease off as the fruit ripens, but they can still make your lips and mouth tingle. Sometimes people's sensitivity is greater than others. So yeah, you've got to get that timing right. And I imagine that's probably the reason why the fruit has never become as popular as some of its other tropical counterparts.

Jane Perrone 16:15 But I just loved delving into this world of newspaper archives. And the other thing I found in the newspaper archives was a report from a UK newspaper in 1972, confirming that the Swiss cheese plant, variegated form had one of RHS AGM which stands for Award of Garden Merit. Now, the RHS does a lot of plant trials, testing out different species and varieties and cultivars to find out which they consider to be the best. And back in 1972, they were obviously trying out Monstera deliciosa variegated form, which I guess we'd call Albo Variegata these days. So I'm going to contact the RHS and see if I can find any more information about this trial and what, who did it and what they thought and so on, I'm gonna dig back in the archives for that too, because I love to know that.

Jane Perrone 17:10

And one of the things it says in the article is "this plant is suitable for modern decor", which kind of made me laugh, because obviously, you know, this was 1972: we think we're so terribly up to date, but of course, this plant was already being grown in houses. And you know, it's nothing new. And sneak peek - I am going to be doing more on RHS plant trials in the future on the show, because I've been asked to take part in the RHS trial of Tillandsias. So yeah, that I'm going to be getting involved in that and finding out what RHS trials are all about, and bringing that to you, which will be exciting.

Jane Perrone 17:49

Now, I also promised you a fact from the book for every week of the show leading up to the launch. And this week's fact concerns Zamioculcas zamiifolia. The last plant in the book, The ZZ plant, or the Emerald gem, as many other names, too. And the fact I'd like to share with you about this plant that concerns one of its incredible superpowers, it's an aroid a member of the Araceae family, so in the same family as the Swiss cheese plant monster Deliziosa, funnily enough, but it grows in places like Tanzania and Kenya. And it has to cope with boom and bust cycles in terms of water, it can deal with quite a lot of moisture, but it can also deal with drought. And it deals with drought by having that sort of rather potato-ey looking rhizome that it grows from, but it has another tactic as well. So those meaty stems with leaflets all along them. In times of drought, those leaflets just fall off. The plant just becomes a load of stems effectively, and that's how it saves water. And if conditions improve, the plant can then reproduce because those leaflets have the unique skill amongst the thyroids of being able to propagate themselves, root, and in fact, they grow a little mini rhizome at the bottom of the leaflet and that turns into a new plant so the plant can clump and spread to a new area. So I think that's pretty amazing. It's it's a bit of an oddball aroid, the Zambioculcas. And there's lots more about that in the chapter on this plant, and I'd love you to read it and let me know what you think.

Jane Perrone 19:34

Well, that's all about Legends of the Leaf for this week, I will have an interview with my illustrator Helen Entwistle coming up next week, where we go into the detail about the artistic process, and how we collaborated. And that's really fun. So we'll have that next week. But now it's time to move on to question of the week and this one comes from Bas and concerns pruning a cane begonia and I've had actually had a question from Kelly, my assistant about this very same thing as well, and it's something I've been doing recently, so it seemed an apposite moment to talk about it, particularly, as here in the UK right now it's spring, and it's a good time to get propagating.

Jane Perrone 20:15

So Bas tells me that it's one belonging to Bas's mum, and was passed on by Bas's late grandmother through cuttings, and then they inherited the specimen after she passed away. And it's been pruned many times, but now it's in desperate need of pruning. Bass says the stems are long, unwieldy and bare. It only has leaves on the outer tips. However, it's in flower, and bass is wondering, should we wait to cut it back and propagate the cuttings until it finishes flowering? Or can we go ahead regardless, so I'll put a picture of this in the show notes. It does have some beautiful flowers on it, but it is rather threadbare. It's what we call in the business of gardening, having bare legs. Suppose got all these leafless stems, which obviously in a cane begonia can be quite long. So this is something that's fairly common to cane begonias, particularly as they get older, they lose those lower leaves. They can also drop them when they're stressed, or particularly when they've got too much water around them. But sometimes they just do it through age. And you know, as best as already said, the key is keeping them cut back. And then you can route those cuttings and put them back in the pot to have a more bushy effect. But do you do it when the flowers are on will traditionally, the answer would be no, wait until those flowers have finished and then propagate.

Jane Perrone 21:43

Now I suspect that you will probably find that cutting will still route even if you cut it off while it's flowering, then again, you don't get to enjoy the flowers. I don't think cane begonia flowers are tremendously long lived, I think you'll probably get about three weeks out of them, and then they'll drop off. I think in that case, I would just wait until that flowering has finished and then do your propagation. And if you want to avoid getting in this situation again, the best thing to do is just pinch out the tips of the longest and luckiest canes as you go along. And that will stimulate the plant to produce more growth at the bottom. And in terms of what you do with the stem cuttings, my method is very, very simple. Get a cutting that's between about well usually about two nodes, you can make it longer if you like and stick it in a glass of water or I've got a couple in a milk bottle at the moment. You can put them in a sump damper light that works just as well. Either will work: they do root very easily, and then you can just pop them back into the pot or you can start a separate plant.

Jane Perrone 22:56

One thing to say about cutting begonia cuttings off the main plant is they don't exactly make the plant bush out when you take that cutting, what happens is you get generally you get one side, about one side will develop. So it kind of gives you this sort of - I can't describe it - sort of Lego-like effect of the plant kind of Rick racking up. It doesn't necessarily make that particular stem bush out, but cutting that stem, as I say should produce new shoots from the bottom. And cane begonias are worth keeping compact because they can get very tall and leggy and heavy. And I didn't I did note actually looking at the American Begonia Society website on cane begonias recently, that they suggest that you can give them a slightly heavier substrate than other types of begonias because of the size of them and the fact that you you've got this growth, that's huge. So that's worth bearing in mind when you're repotting - so I would wait a few weeks pass and let those flowers do their thing. and then take the cuttings. It is best practice not to take cuttings of flowering stems, but sometimes it's unavoidable. And in this case, I think it will be fine. The main thing is, as I say in the future to just little and often pinching out those stems to get that new growth going. Well I hope that helps Bas, and if you've got a question for On The Ledge, you can drop me a line to ontheledgepodcast@gmail.com.

Jane Perrone 24:25

And just catching up on a previous q&a. Do you remember Penelope's jade plant which we talked about, which had basically gone very mushy? Well, Penelope got in touch to say that the plant has been brought back from the brink if you want to hear the original question, it's in Episode 251. But I'm glad to say it has started resprouting. So well done Penelope, that's great news. And please if you've got an update on your plant that I've helped you out with, do let me know because I love to hear those updates.

Jane Perrone 24:59

Well, that's all for this week's show. I do hope that you have a fabulous week and that an exciting houseplant book drops into your mailbox or onto your doormat this week for you to enjoy. Bye!

Jane Perrone 25:39

The music you heard in this episode was Roll Jordan Roll by The Joy Drops, The Road We Used to Travel When We Were Kids by Komiku and Overthrown by Josh Woodward. The ad music was Candlelight by Jahzzar. All tracks are licenced under Creative Commons. Visit the show notes for details.

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

Hear an extract from my new book Legends of the Leaf, plus I answer a question about pruning cane begonias.

About Legends of the Leaf

My book is out on April 27 2023, although people who pledged during the crowdfunding are already receiving their copies! It profiles 25 iconic houseplant species, from boston fern to zamioculcas, with illustrations by the talented Helen Entwisle.

• How houseplants went from the wilds to our windowsills

• Care guides for each species explaining how to make them feel at home

• Practical care advice from a houseplant expert

Want to get your hands on a copy of Legends of the Leaf? All the details are at legendsoftheleafbook.com.

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QUESTION OF THE WEEK

Bas’s cane Begonia.

Bas wanted to know whether it was wise to prune cane begonias while they are flowering. His venerable plant has got leggy and needs cutting back, but is also currently flowering. I advise Bas to enjoy the flowers for a few weeks then take cuttings once they have faded. Cuttings should be at least two nodes long, and can be propped in water or damp perlite. Then the cuttings can be placed back into the original pot or made into a new plant.

To avoid this issue, keep pinching out the top growth of the plant, and it should encourage it to grow more canes from the base. The stems when cut usually only produce a new bud from one side of the stem so the stem on its own won’t bush out as such.

The American Begonia Society suggests potting cane begonias in a heavier substrate than that of other begonias (eg rex begonias) because they get so big and tall.

Want to ask me a question? Email ontheledgepodcast@gmail.com. The more information you can include, the better - pictures of your plant, details of your location and how long you have had the plant are always useful to help solve your issue.

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THIS WEEK’S SPONSOR

Thanks to True Leaf Market for supporting this week’s show. True Leaf Market have been supplying of superb seed since 1974: check out their website for a huge choice of seeds including vegetables, herbs, flowers, microgreens and seeds for sprouting, plus their free growing guides to help you get started. Get $10 off when yout spend $50 off now at trueleafmarket.com with promo code ONTHELEDGE10. Limit one use per customer.

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CREDITS

This week's show featured the tracks Roll Jordan Roll by the Joy Drops, The Road We Use To Travel When We Were Kids by Komiku and Overthrown by Josh Woodward. The ad music is Candlelight by Jahzzar.