Episode 60: Nepenthes with Domonick Gravine
Domonick Gravine with some of his Nepenthes collection. Photograph: RedLeaf Exotics
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Carnivorous plants don't get more colourful, clever and downright dramatic than the tropical pitcher plants, aka Nepenthes. Domonick Gravine, founder of Nepenthes nursery RedLeaf Exotics, has been running his business for about 18 months now, bringing Nepenthes to a whole new generation of growers.
You can find Domonick's personal Instagram account at @domonickgravine and his RedLeaf Exotics account is here. Here's a collection of resources for the plants we talked about...
Nepenthes attenboroughii is the largest of the clan at up to 1.5m tall.
Domonick's favourite hybrid is N. lowii x N. truncata
Nepenthes veitchii is Domonick's favourite species and the inspiration for his company logo.
Nepenthes 'Miranda' and N. x ventrata are common 'starter plants' which are easy for beginners to grow, as is N. ventricosa and N. sanguniea.
When Domonick mentions 'RO water', he's referring to water that comes from a reverse osmosis system which is a filtration system. More details on the pros and cons here, and there's a really detailed page on Wikipedia.
Nepenthes nirvana: Domonick's polytunnel. Photograph: RedLeaf Exotics
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Question of the week
Stephanie and Brenda both wanted suggestions for places to see houseplants in London. here's what I came up with:
Prick London on Kingsland Road (subject of episode 24 )
SkyGarden (although I have to admit I haven't been)
The National Gardens Scheme has a search function here to find private gardens opening for charity during your visit.
The Global Generation Skip Garden and Camley Street Natural Park (although neither are particularly houseplanty) in Kings Cross
If you have your own suggestions, do comment below and I'll add them in!
Want to ask me a question? Tweet @janeperrone, leave a message on my Facebook page or email ontheledgepodcast@gmail.com. There's an episode about moth orchids coming soon, so I'd particularly like to hear from anyone with a Phalaenopsis problem to solve.
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Credits
This week's show featured Roll Jordan Roll by the Joy Drops, Rashem Pidity, Pokhara by Samuel Corwin, and Overthrown by Josh Woodward, licensed under Creative Commons.