Episode 253: Succulents and staghorn ferns
Transcript
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I talk succulents with Andrea Galbreath of succulent gift and design company @justsuccit, and I’m joined by fern expert Peter Blake to answer a question about a staghorn fern.
Patreon subscribers at the Ledge End and Superfan tiers can listen to An Extra Leaf 105 now, where I talk about the ups and downs of running a planty business.
Celebrating the LGBTQIA+ houseplant community
February is LGBT+ history month, so I’ll be devoting an episode on February 27 to celebrating the incredible houseplant community among LGBTQIA+ people - and I want to hear from you! Record a voice memo 30 seconds to 2 minutes long, taking up the theme ‘what houseplants mean to me’. Send your recording (or a written message if you don’t want to talk) to me at ontheledgepodcast@gmail.com by February 16.
This week’s guest
Andrea Galbreath ships succulents across the US from her business Just Succ It in southern California. She’s on Insta, Twitter and TikTok.
Andrea’s succulent shoe arrangement. Photograph: Just Succ It
Check out the shownotes as you listen…
For first time succulent parent, Andrea recommends snake plants (Sansevieria), Haworthia, Gasteria and Gasteraloe.
She recommends Echeveria for slightly more experienced parents - such as Echeveria 'Lola' and Echeveria agavoides, aka the lipstick Echeveria.
When it comes to watering succulents, it’s better to give them a deep soak once they have dried out, than occasional dribbles. Use a hose, put them in a sink or bucket, making sure that the substrate gets completely soaked, then drain.
Andrea says anything at all can be turned into a succulent planter - like this sneaker/trainer - pictured left - which Andrea spraypainted gold.
Andrea creates succulent arrangements by cutting roots off succulents and sticking them to topiary shapes using hot glue - like her succulent Christmas tree (pictured below).
This succulent living art has sparked some controversy, but Andrea points out that this display will last for months or years, and the succulent can be removed and replanted and the roots will grow back.
If you want to see my Hoya flower boutonnière/buttonhole, it’s on my Instagram here.
Andrea talks about ‘pineappling’ agaves - see a picture of this technique here.
Andrea’s Christmas tree succulent. Photograph: Just Succ It.
QUESTION OF THE WEEK
Sally got in touch about her staghorn fern (Platycerium) which had fallen off its mount: she wanted to check which way up it should be mounted. I turned to Peter Blake, the treasurer of the British Pteridological Society and an expert on indoor ferns, for an answer. He owns a number of magnificent staghorn fern specimens.
Peter explains that staghorns can grow any way up on trees as they grow in nature, but there is an up and and down - it’s a case of identifying the round, convex ‘shield’ frond at the base (which is sterile) and looking for the point where the new staghorn-shaped, dangly fertile fronds are emerging - this is the top of the plant, that should be skyward when mounting.
Staghorn ferns have creeping rhizomes which become apparent as they age - the rhizome grows upwards towards the sky. Platyceriums are often sold as potted plants, but they prefer to be mounted - Peter grows his in wire baskets, which gives them extra support as they mature. They can get very large as the number of growing points increases.
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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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 Whistle by BenJamin Banger (@benjaminbanger on Insta; website benjaminbanger.com).