Episode 140: Diva Week!

Alocasia ‘Polly’. Photograph: Mireia Lacort of @borngardening.

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Transcript

Episode 140

Part 5

Jane: Hello and welcome to the final part - part five - of Diva Week! Today's plant is Alocasia Polly, a plant that certainly poses some challenges for most of us mere mortal houseplant growers. Today, I'm joined by Mireia of Instagram account @BornGardening to help you pick your way through the minefield that is Alocasia Polly care. Mireia is a gardener in the wonderful city Barcelona - did I say that well? Probably not! - in Spain, and she is a dab hand at growing this plant: a member of the Aroid clan, with those veined leaves that look so stunning when you buy them and look so terrible as they start to die. So, where have we all been going wrong? Here's my chat with Mireia so we can find out.

Jane: Mireia, we are here to talk about Alocasia Polly, which I think might be up there as the number one plant that people find a bit tricky to grow. It's a beautiful, beautiful plant though. I can understand why everyone is so captivated by it. Is it one of your favourites?

Maria: Yes, it is, it is one of my favourites. For me, it's a plant that I associate with the tropics and it just takes me straight to the tropics, with these deep green, arrow-shaped, wavy-edged leaves. It's just mesmerising, I can spend hours looking at it. It's unbelievable! Really, really nice and I think that's why a lot of people want to have it in their houses.

Jane: It does seem that it's very widely available now. I think it must have been mass-produced and so everyone can get their hands on this plant now but not everyone can keep it happy. The number of times I see a post from somebody saying: "My Polly is dead!". What are the main causes of a dead Polly? How do people kill this particular plant?

Mireia: I think the number one issue with this plant is maintaining the high levels of humidity, and warmth as well, in the house. To recreate this jungly environment in a house is quite hard. It really likes temperature from 16C to 27C so that could be a bit tricky, especially in the UK in the Winter, when the heating is on and the air gets very dry. I live in the Mediterranean, so that helps quite a bit because here it's quite warm and Barcelona is very humid, so it likes that atmosphere. Still, we're talking about high levels of humidity which are difficult to recreate in a house about 50% or so. I think what is good, is to have a humidifier a few hours a day, if you can have one. I don't have one, so what I use is a pebble tray with water. So when the water evaporates it creates this humidity around it and what I really like doing, as well, with mine, is in this environment is grouping the plants, which creates this microclimate and really works. My one is surrounded by Begonias, Calatheas, Ferns, they all require quite high levels of humidity. I think it's really nice as well as because you create a little interior landscape instead of just having them scattered all over the house, so I think this works.

Jane: That's a good point, because people often want to display this plant as a specimen plant on its own because it is so gorgeous but, as you say, it's probably going to be much happier in a group with other plants, where it's going to get a bit of a boost. I'm just looking at my little thermometer / humidity monitor in here and it's only 32% humidity in here right now, which is terrible. I think, in the winter, I don't know how your heating works, but here in the UK, we mainly have radiators which are hot water being piped through and it makes the air so dry. In the States they have that air vent, which is even worse. There is a real issue with that. As you say, a humidifier can really, really help.

Mireia: I think that would be excellent. A humidifier does the trick if you have the heating on. Here, I live in a quiet, small and old flat and you don't really need the heating on in winter, so we're quite lucky with that.

Jane: Say that your Polly was getting too little humidity, how would you know? What signs does it give off that it's really unhappy? Is it crispy edges to the leaves?

Mireia: Yes, it produces brown tips and sometimes we see yellow halos as well on the leaves, then, when we start seeing that, then that's what it needs. Sometimes what happens as well, you think "Oh my God, it needs more water!" so we get that confusion between humidity and water, which is sometimes really difficult to handle, and we start over-watering and what happens is it leads to root rot and then we've got a problem there as well.

Jane: Can it die back and go into dormancy in Winter and lose leaves and then come back in the Spring?

Mireia: Yes, that's what it does actually. Below 12C, it goes into dormancy. You need to keep it in a warm place. Don't worry if you see it not growing, no leaves are coming out. It means it's having a bit of a rest during the winter period and then in the Spring, it will come back to life and it'll be bright again and you can start again with more watering. In Winter you have to water much less, obviously.

Jane: Do you find, with this plant, that it, oftentimes, it needs repotting when you buy it because it's been potted into something that's possibly not suitable in terms of the potting mix?

Mireia: Yes. What I do with mine is I like to try to recreate as much as I can what I call Jungle Mix, I try to create my own with potting soil, potting orchid bark, if it's possible to find one, perlite and what really works as well, finely chopped sphagnum moss in the mix because it keeps the soil damp which is what this plant likes as well. It doesn't like soggy soil but it likes it damp. Sphagnum moss is great at doing that, so I think it's good if you can get hold of some sphagnum moss, or if someone can, then mixing it with the regular soil because the soil that it comes in when you buy it, you water it and water it and all the nutrients go and you need to change it a bit, yes.

Jane: With light for this particular plant, what's the regime there? We don't want it alongside the cacti and succulents, possibly?

Mireia: No, we don't want it in full sun. Full sun is not advisable because it will just burn the leaves and will kill it. It can't stand full sun. It likes bright indirect sun, actually, so that's what it really likes. My one is in an east-facing window, a fair way from the window, it gets the morning sun which is the best sun because the afternoon sun is very strong, so it's doing really well there. In a south-facing window, especially in the Mediterranean, you couldn't have it. In the UK in the winter months, it'll be alright but I would keep it a few feet away from the window if it's a south-facing window.

Jane: Is this a plant that's subject to draughts, if you did keep it near a window? Cold draughts wouldn't be good for it either?

Mireia: No, it doesn't like draughts. It'll suffer, so that's why it's better to keep it a few feet away from the window because if you have a draught it will kill it. It definitely doesn't like that at all. If you're having a shady area, it won't grow so well. What I advise, as well, is to dust the leaves at least once a month, it will improve capturing the light through the leaves. Sometimes you get all the dust on the leaves and that is difficult.

Jane: What do you use to dust? Just a damp cloth?

Mireia: Yes, a damp cloth. I think it's really good for the plant and they really like it and it's very therapeutic for me as well. It's relaxing and connects you with the plant even more, so I think it's a good thing to do. I do it with all my plants.

Jane: I love that satisfying moment when you turn the cloth over and there's dust on it and you can see that it's come off the plant and it's like: "Yes, this is great! I've just made the plant so happy!" That gives me a little bit of a kick when I see all the dust that I've collected off the leaves. That's probably because I don't do it very often and there's dust on everything! What about feeding the Polly? It's a tropical plant. I presume it needs a good old feed during the growing season?

Mireia: Yes, it does. It's a very good idea to feed it. I would feed it in the growing season every two weeks and stopping feeding towards the end of August. Maybe start again at the beginning of Spring with a half-diluted green leaf plant fertilizer. It'll be great for that. It'll thrive.

Jane: Do you have any particular ones that you swear by? Any particular brands or anything?

Mireia: I try to use organic ones, but right now I've ran out of it and it's a bit difficult because everything is closed in Barcelona still. I need to go and get some as soon as they open. I tried to get some organic ones, brands are different here, and the organic ones are good.

Jane: If you happen to be successful with this plant and end up with quite a large plant, is it a question of propagation by division or is there any other way of increasing your Polly?

Mireia: Yes, rhizome division. It's quite easy to propagate that way, when you see it grows and it's full and it has a lot of new growth, it's the time to propagate it. You just cut off a piece of the under-grow rhizome and you can pot it in a different pot, separately from the mother plant, and keep it warm, moist and it'll start growing and producing a new plant.

Jane: I've seen so many people who think they've killed the plant and then take it out the pot to find these rhizomes and go: "Hang on a minute! Is it all over or not?" And they realise that they can actually replant them which is a great quality to have in a plant and especially a plant that sometimes doesn't respond well to indoor climate.

Mireia: Yes, it's not easy. It's a diva!

Jane: I have to say I don't have a Polly. I have got an Alocasia Black Velvet, which I think is easier to grow. I think it doesn't need to be so evenly moist as Polly. I'm not great with Alocasias but that one seems to have done okay. I daren't get a Polly because I just think that I'm going to be too mean with the watering can.

Mireia: Try it! It's all about trying.

Jane: I should give it a go, I'm just a little bit nervous of introducing yet another high-demand plant into my life. I have got a nice little set up of Aroids now, so maybe it could add to that grouping. Is there anything else we should mention before I let you go, Mireia?

Mireia: Well, like all the members of the Araceae family, all the Aroids, the Philodendron, the Peace Lily, the famous Monstera, they could be poisonous for pets, for dogs and cats, so watch out if you have a dog or cat because if it eats it, it can produce nausea or vomiting, so it could be a problem.

Jane: That's a really good point. It's a real issue if you do have a load of plants and then get a puppy, or if you've got a cat, or any pet, or a child that likes to chew things.

Mireia: Yes, children as well, of course - little ones!

Jane: People assume it'll be all right but there are quite a few toxic houseplants and that is indeed one of them. That's a really good tip to include. I think it's one of those plants that is always going to captivate people because it's just so beautiful. Hopefully, with your help, we can keep these plants looking a bit nicer. It would be very happy in my house today because it's very hot here. In this room I'm in at the moment it's 29C, so it would be very happy apart from the lack of humidity.

Mireia: Yes, Barcelona temperatures! You're catching up with us.

Jane: I know! I don't know what's going on in the UK right now! Hopefully, we'll all be moving out of this lockdown situation together, and back to normal, and you can get yourself some plant food! Thanks very much for joining me, Mireia, and let's hope that our Pollies are on top form!

Mireia: Yes, thank you for having me! It's been a pleasure - thank you very much!

[music]

Jane: Thank you to Mireia and to all my guests during Diva Week; Matthew, Leslie, Daniel and Thomas. I hope you've enjoyed this week of mini episodes and the great news is you only have to wait for one more day for episode 141 to drop. I'll be talking to Alice Vincent about her new book, Rootbound, and another exciting seed-based product she's just about to launch. I'm going to be taking the advice of another diva, Elizabeth Taylor, who once said: "Pour yourself a drink, put on some lipstick and pull yourself together!" See you tomorrow. Bye!

[music]

Jane: The music you heard in this episode was Roll Jordan Roll by The Joy Drops and Whistle by Benjamin Banger, both licensed under Creative Commons. See janeperrone.com for details.

It's Diva Week! I'm bringing you expert advice on how to care for five demanding houseplants, broken down into bite-sized episodes every weekday. In the final instalment, I’m tackling Alocasia ‘Polly’… scroll down for previous divas…

Photograph: Mireia Lacort of @borngardening.

My guest is Mireia Lacort of @borngardening, a Barcelona-based gardener who also works as a personal plant shopper (dream job or what?!). Read Mireia’s care tips below as you listen…

• ‘Polly’ needs warm temperatures: try to keep it in the range of 16c-27C, and away from cold draughts.

• It also needs high humidity - above 50% - so pop it on a pebble tray, run a humidifier or group with other plants - or all three! Signs that humidity is too low are brown crispy tips to the leaves.

• It will go dormant in winter if the temperature drops too low - keep the soil fairly dry and it should resprout in spring from its rhizomes.

• Keep the plant moist in the growing season, but reduce watering over winter.

• This plant is often sold with an unsuitable potting mix, so it’s worth repotting in houseplant compost with added fine orchid bark, finely chopped sphagnum moss and perlite.

• Feed every two weeks in the growing season with a fed for foliage houseplants at half strength.

• ‘Polly’ is ideally suited to an east-facing window where they will get some morning light: move it away from the window if the plant is getting burned.

• Clean the leaves at least once a month to remove dust.

• If you want to propagate your plant, spring is a good time to cut off a piece of the rhizome and pot up separately. Warmth and moisture will help the rhizome to grow and produce a new plant.

• Remember, this plant is toxic to humans, dogs and cats.

Part four: the polka dot begonia aka Begonia maculata ‘Wightii’

Begonia maculata ‘Wightii’. Photograph: Daniel Minton.

Transcript

Episode 140

Part 4

[music]

Jane: Hello and welcome to Diva Week, part four. Yes, we're still going! I hope you're enjoying these bite-size episodes, with tips on caring for the plants that sometimes cause us houseplant keepers a few headaches. Today's plant is Begonia maculata Wightii - the Polka Dot Begonia that features in the On The Ledge logo, so we couldn't miss out on this one. Joining me today is Daniel from Melbourne, who is the face behind the Instagram account @Minstera_ and I'll put a link to that account in the show notes, where you can have a look at some gorgeous Begonia maculataWightiis which Daniel has been growing. He's clearly the right person to be talking to about taking care of these plants. One thing I've noticed, doing these interviews, is that all the people I speak to say: "I don't find it that hard to grow." Of course you don't find it that hard to grow because you're the expert on growing this plant, but the rest of us mere mortals, we will continue to struggle! Daniel was really helpful in highlighting lots of issues to be aware of with this plant, so let's crack right on and hear from Daniel about how to make Begonia maculata Wightii happy!

Jane: Daniel, we are here to talk about a certain, spotty plant that features on the On The Ledge logo, so I thought it was important to include it here. On your @Minstera_ Instagram, there are some beautiful pictures of this plant, Begonia maculata Wightii, so where do we start with this one? I see a lot of people putting this on their Instagram when they first buy it and it looks nice and then it doesn't appear so much any more, which may give an indication that sometimes this plant is a little bit tricksy. Can you tell us where people go wrong?

Daniel: For me, it's never been a particularly diva plant but I can understand because it is different in its care compared to a lot of those other Aroids that people tend to collect on Instagram.

Jane: The other thing I think is a problem with this plant - maybe you've got a view on this - so many people, when they put this on Instagram, they massively filter it so that it doesn't look the colour that it looks in real life. So people get their plant and they're thinking: "Why does my plant look wrong?" And it doesn't look wrong, it just doesn't look like a massively filtered Begonia on Instagram! Do you know what I mean?

Daniel: Yes, definitely. I try not to filter anything on mine, I don't ever really edit, but it is like a beautiful dark green and one of the main signifiers that people always look for is that really strong, evenly deep red, back to the leaf and if you look at it in the afternoon light, it almost sparkles - a really nice red nail polish, or similar to that. I think a lot of people edit it and it looks a lot darker, so the white contrasts but, especially for this species, I think the spots are one of its main attractions which is why so many people want it and they're just so big and silvery in themselves. Like some other plants, when they're grown inside versus outside, they can be a touch duller on the leaf, they lose that little bit of colour. And how some plants lose it when they start to dry - they go a little bit more paler. Maybe they got it and it's fresh out of a greenhouse and was looking a really rich green and it's paled-off a little bit, but, for me, that just happens with it being grown indoors because indoors is just that little bit darker than a shady spot outside.

Jane: I'm presuming that it's not going to do well with my cactus collection on a south, or in your case, a north-facing windowsill? We need that old bright indirect light thing that we're always looking for.

Daniel: Definitely, definitely. I learned that through the houseplant journal, is looking at its nearest source of light, be that of the skylight above it, or a big window next to it, and tilting your head to its angle and can you see that large patch of sky. It doesn't have to be having the direct light through it. Looking at that sky, that's light coming towards you and that's that bright, indirect light that these plants... and so often mysteriously advise bright indirect light, so I put it in a spot, tends to be a couple of metres away from a window that will get morning sun, a little bit further away if it's getting the afternoon sun. So, for me, eastern windows is ideal, or north-facing and putting it in a spot where the morning light filters through and that seems to do well for them. Growing outside, if you're lucky enough to have a spot outside in the shade, a bright shade spot or under some fairly bright shade cloth, and they'll be really happy there.

Jane: One of the things that seems to happen to these plants is dropping leaves. I know there's lots of reasons why that can happen - it's usually water-related. Is it usually water-related for Begonia maculata?

Daniel: If it's struggling, often I find I get a lot of leaf drop if it's struggling from powdery mildew, which is probably one of the main ailments it gets.

Jane: You're getting me started now. This is where I start getting very angry, because that's what I lost my last one to and I just couldn't just get rid of the powdery mildew and it drove me nuts. I'm sorry - I'm having a stress moment from remembering the stress of my Begonia!

Daniel: No, one of mine is looking a little bit worse for wear because, for me, it worsens a lot in those cooler, off-season months, so that's either in Autumn, when it's warm and then cold in the evening, and there's that little bit more rain around, which can create that perfect environment for the fungal disease to exist and to be able to get into the leaves. Often, watch out for it in those seasons and you'll often find on those plant Facebook groups, there'll be a rush within a one-month period of "What's happening to my Begonia? Why are these white spots starting to appear? They weren't here before?" That's usually the beginning of the powdery mildew growing, or white fluff, as it takes hold, it will turn it into a black disease spot and then they'll start appearing everywhere and if you let it get really, really bad, you can have the mildew growing over all of the stem and over the large surface of the leaf. At that point, I would call that quite bad. When you're just getting those few spots, that's the perfect time to get on top of it with the fungicide. A lot of fungicide that are marketed towards roses for black spot issues etc works fine. That's just Myclobutanil, is the compound in that one that I use. It's not too harsh. It's not too toxic and you can get away with using that fine. I did hit it with copper once and that was definitely way too strong and I semi-defoliated the plant, but I've learned that lesson now and no one else will have to do that! If you're worried, spray a little bit of it, but getting on top of it sooner rather than later will always be better for those Begonias because it will just weaken and weaken the plant and then if it's in unideal, as I imagine a UK winter is for a tropical Begonia, that could cease to be the end of it. A lot of mine, because I grow quite a few outside, if I'm feeling particularly lazy they'll just have it and have it until I can finally get to the point of treating it and they'll pull through. If you end up with a really leggy Begonia, or quite a bare one after a battle with mildew, in the Spring you can give it a cutback almost quite hard down to where you see a nice healthy shoot coming out and that will blossom off from there. You can use the other parts for cuttings as well and that should give you encourage some nice strong growth from the plant into recovery.

Jane: Excellent, that is good advice and I guess you're right, the British winter is not ideal for these plants.

Daniel: No.

Jane: Why are we trying? Why are we struggling? That's the question I often ask myself! Yes, it is a beautiful plant - that's why it's on the On The Ledge logo - and so recognisable. I do remember reading, I think it was on your Instagram, that there is some issue with the identity of this plant? Can you just briefly give me a summary of that because I thought that was quite fascinating.

Daniel: I was getting quite frustrated with people selling any Angel Wing. Angel Wing, or Polka Dot Begonia, can be a generic term for the vast number of species and hybrid Begonias which have the dotty leaves. There are some particular characteristics if you were to look out, being the leaf is usually quite large on the Maculata. The spots are really large and they're very consistent where they lay on it, where they sit on the leaf. It is a bit of a taxonomic debate as to whether it is a species or a cultivar. I've dug really deep online and it comes back to this one article in the American Begonia Society Magazine from 1933 and the description of it there is quite poor, which doesn't help. Whether it's a legitimate and a recognised scientific name or not, it is very helpful and people explaining what they want to you - "I want that Begonia with the big spots, with the white flowers" - and then that it exists in that way and I might find confirmation later down the track or not, but it tends to lean towards it being a variation of the Maculata species, of which there are four of them. There's Maculata var. maculata, I'm going to get them up now because I don't want to give you the wrong names. Begonia maculata Wightii. Then there's Argenta as well - is the other one - there are three variations on the one species which is from South East Brazil.

Jane: I think it's really great you're digging deep and going back to articles from 1933 American Begonia Society. That sounds like me, two years ago my trying to understand Monstera adansonii and reading academic papers and just scratching my head. It's wonderful. Well, I'm glad that you've done that research. I presume there's somebody somewhere doing some taxonomic Begonia work that might come up with an answer hopefully, eventually.

Daniel: Yes, in the Royal Edinburgh Gardens, there's a gentleman up there who has got a department and he has a website which is actually really good if you have Begonia questions. I can give that link to you, but he has a way of searching for specimens which links to you the herbarium scans and different names and synonyms and it's trying to be one website for it and there's an Australian one as well which is the International Database of the Begoniaceae and that has all of your hybrids and all of your species. So you can use that if you think they're selling a plant under this name, then you can look it up in there and often people post photos of it and you can compare that way. My one gripe is people having a plant, loving it, doting over it, finding out it's not Wightii and being, like, "I hate it now! I don't want it any more!" You initially liked it and how it looked!

Jane: That's sad, isn't it?

Daniel: Please keep it and enjoy it for what it is! It's only a name.

Jane: Exactly! We've established that our plant is at least some form of maculata, hopefully Wightii. What else do we need to know? With watering, this is another big downfall for many people. With my Begonias, I tend to leave them until they're nearly wilting before I water which is probably not good.

Daniel: I'll start with the soil and then onto the water because they are connected. I personally use an aerated potting mix medium, I think the UK is different in that a lot of your bags mixes are maybe peat-based and quite wet, if I understand correctly? I'm trying to work it out from what people say. As a composted pine bark is where the base of our potting mixes come from, so it's a bag of soil mix and then I add to it a finer orchid bark, not super chunky, just for a little bit of aeration, along with some charcoal and perlite. I label that my general potting mix that's a little bit aerated and that's kind of like an all-purpose one. I've seen across the many members of the Begonia Society, some grow in a heavy sand potting mix, others add polystyrene or some just use a bagged compost straight away. So I don't think they're particularly fussy, but you will be adjusting your water to your mix. So, with mine being airier, it will dry a little bit quicker and I wait for that standard, the top layer, to dry out. I often go by the weight of the pot - is very helpful. If it's still quite heavy, then that's telling me it's not quite dry yet, but once it's starting to get some lightness to the fuller size, then that's when I'll give it a really good drink. Then sitting it in that saucer over the next half an hour and then draining it away and popping it back where it lives, so it has a chance to take out water from the soil and any of the extra water to thoroughly rewet the soil in between each watering.

Jane: Do these ones like to be a little bit snug in the pot, or is it one of those things you've got to pot-on really regularly?

Daniel: I'm a sceptic of this "I love it rootbound" situation! You get that a lot with Hoyas being, like, they love to be rootbound and leave it in the same pot for 30 or 40 years and you'll finally get a flower. I tend to give them room to grow. A lot of cane Begonias, which is what Maculata is, they send up a lot of basal growth from below the soil which gives you a bright, new fresh water shoot and that will generally grow taller and healthier than the previous one. You want to give it a little bit of room for that base to spread out underneath as it fills out because often you'll buy it and it'll just be one cane and then over time you'll get another coming up from under the soil and another one with each burst of growth. So you want to give it a little bit of room and I like keeping the mix nice and fresh. With a pine bark potting mix they can break down over years, so if you leave it in that for many, many years, to keep it snug, that will just deteriorate the plant in other aspects. Every season, I'll give it a repot, up one size, from a 14cm or a 6" to a 17cm. If it grows really fast, I might double upsize it, or if it's super-slow, then I'll leave it for two years.

Jane: What else do we need to cover? Feeding? Anything particular on the feeding front?

Daniel: With the potting mix, when I replace it, I use a premium, good-quality potting mix. I think that's definitely important - no matter what you use - to use one that's good quality because that will give you the longevity and often it has fertiliser. So that will be the slow-release fertiliser hit, will be in that mix and then over the growing season, which is getting into late Spring once it's shaken off Winter, all through Summer into mid-Autumn, I'll be feeding it every fortnight to a month, depending how on top of it I am with just the liquid feed. Nothing too fussy. Don't go out and buy a special one just for it. Using any of your all-purpose ones will suffice, for sure. Any good feeding regime will give you really, really good results. I think it's very scary, the thought of over-fertilising, but a lot of people under-fertilise massively because they're too scared. So once a month will give you really good results.

Jane: That's a really good point. I don't see many over-fertilised plants, but I see quite a few under-fertilised plants!

Daniel: If you do water it quite frequently, because it's airy, you will be flushing away lots of nutrients in the soil. If you're barely watering it because it's quite a heavy mix then that mix will probably be holding on to those nutrients longer than if it's quite airy and you're washing it all through. So, quickly it can deplete a pot of its nutrients by watering it quite frequently, so you can actually up your fertiliser more than you think.

Jane: That's a really good point, it does depend on how well the substrate is grabbing onto whatever nutrients are coming through. Okay, we've covered light, we've covered water, we've covered feeding and potting mix. Anything else, Daniel before I let you go?

Daniel: Temperature, generally, as it's a warmer species, I'm sure it gives some people grief for it. I find them relatively tough in temperature. They are a warm-growing species. Keeping it warm and humid will pump out the growth a lot faster but they are definitely adaptable to home temperatures. I live in a temperate climate, so we have really, really hot summers, that are quite dry, and very cool, wetter winters, and it copes fine with that - both those extremes - getting up to 40C and then down to, not quite frost-level, but just above it, in winter. They'll often look really terrible in those cooler months, but I prune back and a feed in Spring will bounce them back. If you want to go to the effort to up the humidity and keep it in a warmer spot, they will give you some love back for that, but it will just grow a little bit slower outside of those ideal conditions and still survive perfectly well and look really good. You only know you have a problem with humidity if, much like some Philodendrons, the leaves never quite unstick properly when they're unfurling and that humidity is needed to undo that glue, as I like to call it.

Jane: That's a very good point and a very familiar scenario to me. That is excellent advice, Daniel. Powdery mildew is the disease issue but what are the pest issues then?

Daniel: I think the worst one would be mealybugs, as with a lot of indoor plants again. The Maculata, it holds on to the stipules, which are, at each of the nodes you'll get this dried papery leaf bract. It sits just below where all those leaves come out, and mealybugs love places like that to hide in, similar to on Calatheas and Philodendrons. If you want to, you can tear them off, to clear it away and remove the hiding spots as a preventative. In terms of getting rid of them, if it's really, really bad, because often they'll colonise around that base where all those shoots come out and in there, so I'll manually try and get rid of them with an old toothbrush dipped in alcohol is a really good way of getting rid of it. If it's in a pot you can repot it, get rid of lots of that soil and wash away any around the base. I often they find to nest and hide in that little rim on the edge of your pot, so I give the pot a wash as well if I see any of that. That's in a bad infestation. I know it's bad, and we're not all about chemicals these days, but if it's an indoor one especially, and I'm worried about it spreading, I'll use a systemic insecticide. I'll use that as a water. I'll water that into the plant as well and then that will help it go up into the plant, or using the systemic granules you can, which'll give you longer action. If you want to use a soap spray, I really like the ones which have the potassium salts, fatty acids, rather than the oil-based ones. I find that works really well and using a bit of manual action for mealybugs when you're wiping where they are, really helps get rid of them because you need to break through that white coating.

Jane: I think that's one of the most satisfying jobs in house plant care: destroying mealybugs! I'm a sick puppy, I know, but there's nothing more satisfying!

Daniel: When you find a little nest, it's feral!

Jane: So satisfying.

Daniel: Why do they have so many babies at once? It makes it so hard.

Jane: I know. That's why they are very successful houseplant pests, I guess, but yes it is infuriating but it's a satisfying job, I find. You've just got to be ready to keep going. I think the tip about getting rid of the soil and washing the pot is also excellent because they can hide in so many nooks and crannies and then I think they can just come back in and reinvade.

Daniel: It sometimes, it shocks you when you finally notice that they're there and the mealybugs tend to be hiding and hiding until they're really bad.

Jane: Gosh, this is bringing back horrible memories. We'll end on a positive note of saying Begonia maculata Wightii, it's a beautiful plant and let's hope we can keep them mealybug-free.

[music]

Jane: The music you heard in this episode was Roll Jordan Roll, by The Joy Drops and Whistle, by Benjamin Banger. Both tracks are licensed under Creative Commons. See janeperrone.com for details.

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

Part four’s diva plant is Begonia maculata ‘Wightii’, the polka dot begonia: Daniel Minton of Instagram account @minstera_ offers up some expert care tips on how to keep it looking lush…

View fullsize

Photograph: Daniel Minton.

• This plant needs the classic ‘bright indirect light’, maybe a couple of metres away from a window that gets morning sun, or a bit further away from a window that gets evening sun.

• Dropping leaves can be a problem - it’s usually a sign of stress, especially during a powdery mildew problem. Use a fungicide spray for rose blackspot to treat it - the active chemical is Myclobutanil: the disease is worse in spring and autumn when there are bigger temperature differences day to night. In the spring after a powdery mildew battle, a hard prune down to healthy growth will help.

• There is controversy over what actually counts as a ‘Wightii’ as there are other polka dot Begonias. The picture on the right shows what Daniel thinks is the true cultivar.

• Two great Begonia resources are The International Database of Begoniacaea and The Begonia Resource Centre.

• When it comes to potting mix, they are not too fussy, but if you use an airy mix, you will need to adjust watering accordingly, watering more regularly. Any general houseplant fertiliser is fine, but if your potting mix is light, you will need to feed more often as the substrate won’t hold onto the nutrients as well.

• Repot every season, one size up.

• When it comes to temperature, warm and humid will mean maximum growth, but they will be OK at ‘normal’ room temperature, say 18-20C - just a little slower growing. If the leaves won’t unfurl properly, that means humidity isn’t high enough.

• Mealy bugs are the main pest: for a bad infestation take the whole plant out the pot and wash off the soil and wash the pot, and using an old toothbrush soaked in alcohol will dislodge hidden mealies. A systemic insecticide watered onto the soil or added as granules can help to solve the problem long term. If you are using soap spray, Daniel recommends the ones with potassium salts of fatty acids rather than oil-based sprays.

Part three: maidenhair ferns

A maidenhair fern at West Dean gardens in England. Photograph: Jane Perrone.

Transcript

Episode 140

Part 3

Jane: Hello and welcome to On The Ledge podcast, Diva Week, part three. I am very glad that today we're talking about the Maidenhair fern and I'm joined by Matthew of the Plant Daddy Podcast to find out some expert tips on how to make this plant happy. Now, the Maidenhair fern, there's a number of species that come under this common name. The one that's probably most associated with the name is the Delta Maidenhair fern, Adiantum raddianum, but there are a few others, as Matthew will reveal in this episode. Their common characteristic is those very fine leaves, like tracing paper, which crumble and crisp at the very slightest sign of conditions they're not happy with. So, this is the challenge you are set - how to take care of this beautiful, but slightly fragile, plant.

Jane: I am terrible with ferns, Matthew.

Matthew: Yes, I'm trying, and I think I'm making some progress, but they're not easy plants, indoors.

Jane: I think it's one of these things where it just depends on your style of care and I think if you're one of these people that can offer certain things then maybe it's easier, but the Maidenhair fern seems to be one of the things, in my earlier houseplant career, I've bought and gone: "Oh look, it's £5! It's a beautiful airy-fairy thing," and then it's just gone downhill so fast! It doesn't help on Instagram I keep seeing these amazing Maidenhair ferns that are the size of a planet. Why!? Why!? I'm hoping, Matthew, you can give me a few tips that might not necessarily lure me back into growing this plant, but might help some listeners who are feeling a bit sad because their Maidenhair is just crispy.

Matthew: We'll see what we can do to help them.

Jane: I guess the first thing to say is the leaves of this plant are so paper thin. How does that impact on care? I'm guessing that means very high humidity is required?

Matthew: Yes. What I have found is that those really, really, light thin leaves, any amount of drying in the soil that's beyond what the plant wants will just result in the plant drying up and shedding those leaves. I try to keep my indoor humidity around 50% to 60% as a goal. It often goes down to about 40% when the weather is warm and sunny but the number one thing that I've found that helps prevent that, is making sure that you are watering appropriately. I think humidity gets a little bit over-played in how important it is for healthy foliage, when really it's the amount of water that the roots have in the appropriate substrates so that they can make of use of it without the roots having any stagnation and rot set in. That's where I found the sweet spot of success with these.

Jane: That's a really interesting point. I think that's very true. The water around the roots has a lot more to do with it. I do remember the famous English gardener Monty Don did a thing on houseplants in the very popular TV show, 'Gardeners' World' here a while ago. I don't really watch that show, which is a bit of a shock-horror thing to some people, but there you go - I don't really do gardening TV! Anyway, when I was watching, I did watch this episode on houseplants and he was saying he mists his Maidenhair fern eight times a day. I'm thinking, "Wow! I don't think I have time!". That's kind of setting up a care regime that sounds pretty intense that I'm not sure I'd be able to maintain, so I'm glad to hear there's another answer.

Matthew: It's the same reason that I don't really grow a lot of things under glass or in terrariums, as a temporary thing. If I'm going to ever put something in that high humidity environment to acclimate and look nicer, it just needs to stay there because I don't want to have to get it back out in my typical open-air houseplant world. I do set my Maidenhair fern grouped closely with other plants, it's always in combination with orchids and Aroids and stuff like that, that want similar light, that want similar amounts of ambient humidity and because I water them fairly regularly it's easier to keep the Maidenhair as watered as necessary. Just having that little microclimate together is really a fantastic way to give the plant as much of a boost as you can that's still realistic or just general houseplant life.

Jane: Terracotta or plastic? What is the best thing to put these in? Bearing in mind that if you've got terracotta, it's going to be porous, it's going to be evaporating more, so I guess you're going to have to water a bit more?

Matthew: A lot of my interest in Maidenhair ferns in general comes from growing up in an area where there's a lot of them that live in the woods around here. You'll often find them growing along stream sides, or waterfalls, and sometimes they're even on ledges where there's very little substrate at all, but they're getting a lot of water. So, seeing them grow that way changed how I thought about them in terms of pots. I don't think the pot itself is terribly important. Conventional wisdom is going to tell you "Use plastic. Use a glazed clay pot to help retain some of that water". I think you could get away with using a terracotta pot. What I think is critical, however, is that it should always be sitting in water. I think that the substrate is important, it should be light and airy and there should be a lot of moisture retaining stuff like sphagnum moss, but I also make sure that it has really good drainage, that I can just set my Maidenhair in a deep saucer with a few inches of water and just with capillary action the medium stays lightly moist, it's never soggy and saturated, except for at the bottom, that's in water. In fact, for that, I might even just have two inches in the bottom of the pot, with either leca pellets, or horticultural charcoal, so that the media itself stays above the water level but it just draws the right amount of liquid up into the potting substrate so that the fern roots can venture down as much as they want. I have found there's no leeway in the amount of dryness that you can achieve. I think that the worst-looking ferns that I've grown are ones that I've gotten sloppy about how much water I'm keeping the saucer full of and if it dries for a weekend the fern tells me by wilting and shedding crispy brown fronds, so they really do like a lot of water. One of our Instagram friends who is based in Australia, they're growing a Maidenhair fern in a goldfish bowl, it's sitting in water almost as though it's a marginal pond plant and I've been really surprised keeping up over the last few months with the success of their fern. I think that this is one that wants and needs a lot of water and that's going to be much more important than the pot material itself.

Jane: If you do make a terrible error and let that plant dry out, will it come back from the rhizomes if you correct the conditions, or is it done for?

Matthew: They are fairly hardy and a lot of the temperate ones are even deciduous. They are pretty good at being able to come back from that rhizome. It's like a thick clump. It doesn't form those long stolons that you see in other ferns, sometimes. If my plant just looks really terrible, I'll just prune most or all of the foliage off and then that's the only time that I might boost its humidity for a little while to help it recover. As soon as I see new fresh fronds growing out, which happens pretty quickly within a matter of days or weeks, depending on the warmth and humidity of your space, you just want to make sure that you don't give them too much sun at that point, but they come back nicely. It can take a while to get a beautiful thick full plant again, but if it's one that you're particularly attached to and don't want to replace it outright you can usually start over. Just make sure that you haven't let it approach bone dry because it's probably going to die at that point.

Jane: Indeed, yes, I've been there with that. Are there any particular pests that like to have a nibble on the old Maidenhair fern?

Matthew: There are various pests that are going to bother them. I think that the ones that I've seen are mealy bugs and aphids, especially on the new foliage, but to me this isn't one of the more pest-prone houseplants. It tends to grow enough new foliage quickly enough that if you do notice any pests you can pretty easily remove the affected parts. They're pretty sensitive to sprays and chemicals. I would never use Neem Oil on one of these, so I am crossing my fingers and hoping that I never get a bad infestation, but so far, so good, and they're fairly hardy and resilient in that regard.

Jane: I've said on the show that I've never used Neem Oil because it's not something that you're really allowed to use as a pesticide here. I don't have any direct experience of how it works. I'm sure it does work, but it does concern me sometimes that people seem to be, because it's a "natural substance", people seem to be literally spraying and sloshing it around quite carelessly. Neem Oil, you have to be a little bit careful with it. One would presume and also be careful about dilution rates and so on, particularly with those kind of tender leaves, as you say.

Matthew: I actually really don't love Neem Oil myself. It's very popular here in the States, just as a general pesticide, fungicide, miticide. It's really important to read the instructions on the packaging because the dilution rate needs to be at a level that's not going to harm the plant and some plants are very sensitive to it, like Hibiscus or ferns, some roses. There's a lot of plants that do really, really well, but there are some outliers. I think that the real key to using Neem Oil successfully though is that you use the correct dilution rate and you use it consistently. It's not an outright pesticide that's going to kill everything that it touches, instead it weakens the adults and the eggs, the larvae, it keeps them from having strong reproductive fitness which then means they'll diminish over time, but if you use it here and there, as a spot treatment, it's really not going to give you want you want and you're just using a natural chemical in your home to no effect. I would be much more inclined to use a strong spray of water to help dislodge, knock pests off, maybe an insecticidal soap spray with Castile soap, something that's a little bit, maybe, harder on the pests at first, a little bit less frequent reapplication necessary.

Jane: The main thing, your main weapon against pests... my dog is having a dream here... your main weapon against pests is what we call here in the UK, and I'm sure you have this phrase too, is elbow grease. You've got to work at it. You've got to be persistent. You've got to keep checking, keep checking, keep spraying, keep spraying, not necessarily, as you say, just a spray of water. I'm talking about as opposed to some kind of pesticide, and that way, eventually, you will get rid of them. It's this idea that it's a one-time deal - you spray something and it's gone. That, I think, is where lots of people fall down.

Matthew: I think the truth of the matter is when you have a high plant-density inside, you're literally just recreating a biome and it has all of the plant species that you bring in along with whatever pests might happen to be lurking, hiding, that might come in and find them. Because it's this living ecology in your own home, it's important to have constant vigilance, to make sure that nothing gets out of control. You wouldn't let just one plant overgrow all of the rest of yours, so you should think about mites, or scale, or mealybugs, all those things are living parts of your biological ecosystem, but you're going to have to just continually monitor them. I think one of the coolest means of pest control that I've used is I just let ladybugs free in my apartment. Lace flies are another that we use for biological pest control and I'm really interested in getting some of the eggs so that I can put them throughout my plants - see if using actual insects, that are just going to live within my houseplants, helps me to keep things down without my having to be quite so involved. I'm still going to be monitoring and looking for things and checking for pests but I'm hoping that I can see some improvement in using some beneficial insects indoors, just to help balance this ecology that I've developed.

Jane: I think that's very, very sensible and don't freak out when you see one pest, because you've seen it, you've spotted it, and now you can deal with it. Everything happens for a reason, otherwise there wouldn't be anything for all the birds. At the moment, there's lots of birds nesting around in my garden and I'm thinking: "Gosh, if you were gardening in a very harsh way, there really wouldn't be a lot for those birds to feed on". They're relying on there being lots of little caterpillars and stuff around, for their babies. Obviously, that doesn't apply indoors, but it's the same principle, isn't it? If you try to recreate the outside, you recreate all elements of outside, which includes the insect world. We've slightly gone off Maidenhair ferns, but getting back on track, what's the deal with light? Are they a north-facing windowsill-type deal, or is it more complicated than that?

Matthew: They do tend to like fairly bright light. Just, as you've pointed out, they have such thin leaves, they obviously burn very easily. I do burn some of these outdoors on my balcony. Some of the hardier species that are native here or can tolerate our winters. Some of them are growing in almost unobstructed, east light on a balcony, where they get a lot of morning sun. Then the sun has passed by the time that the sun is properly warm and hot and everything. They're really quite adaptable. Indoors, I have the ones that I'm growing under grow lights. These are LED lights. They can produce a lot more light without all of the heat. They're probably getting some of the higher light that they can tolerate. They're totally fine. They look great, but it's also a plant that's going to thrive really well if it just has consistent bright, ambient light on northern hemisphere north windowsills / southern hemisphere south windowsills. I would even group them on east windows that have some shading from other plants. I would really worry about getting some of that hot afternoon, late-in-the-day sun. That's where it's going to be too intense for them. This is not really a shade plant. Outdoor shade is quite different from indoor, dim-growing conditions. Treat this how you would a Calathea and you're going to find some success with new growth, especially.

Jane: Awesome! Have we covered everything that we need to talk about with this plant? We haven't mentioned feeding. I'm guessing there's no magic tricks here, other than feed it a little bit during the growing season and don't over-do it?

Matthew: Yes, and I think the only other thing that I'll mention here is that I tend to use a pretty rich potting substrate. It'll have a lot of perlite, humus, horticultural charcoal, sphagnum moss, and actual compost and leaf detritus, like mulch, that helps to mimic its natural root environment in its ecosystem. Some of the really cool species, if you don't mind me pointing them out?

Jane: Yes, do!

Matthew: One of my favourites is Adiantum hispidulum and this one is great because it has these palmy-looking leaves that the new ones grow, in this beautiful pink-bronze colour, and then they mature to green. It's one of the nicer overall appearances that I've seen on these ferns. They're fairly easy to find, at least here in the States. I also really like the Rosy maidenhair fern, which is one of the cultivars of Adiantum tenerum and it has the similar pink growth, but it's more like that light, fluffy, formless appearance that you see on some of the more common ones. I think that the coolest one is Adiantum peruvianum and that one has huge leaflets on these black, wiry, very airy-looking fronds. So those are three species that are my favourite for indoors and they elevate the Maidenhair appearance a little bit. So if you want to grow several different kinds, it's beautiful to have all these different textures, and different colours of the different ages of growth, blending in together. I think they make a really beautiful mass-planting, if you're doing a really crazy fern moment.

Jane: I'm going to have to stop you there, Matthew, because before long you're going to get me wanting Maidenhair ferns again and that cannot happen, for my sanity and for the sanity of my family, but thank you for those brilliant tips!

Matthew: These are divas and you will have some struggle with them, but it is very worthwhile, I think.

Jane: For those hardier members of the listening clan who want to take up this challenge, I'm sure that advice you've given will give them much to work on, so thank you very much, Matthew!

Matthew: Absolutely.

Jane: May your Maidenhairs continue to put out those beautiful, papery leaflets for many years to come.

Matthew: Thank you.

[music]

Jane: Thanks to Matthew. If you haven't checked out Plant Daddy Podcast yet, well, why the heck not because it's rather excellent!? I highly recommend. Go and have a listen. They've just done their 50th episode. Do check out my show notes at JanePerrone.com for a list of Matthew's care tips for Maidenhair ferns and the species he mentions. I'll be back tomorrow with part four, Begonia maculata 'Wightii'. Can't wait! Bye!

[music]

Jane: The music you hear in this episode was Roll Jordan Roll by The Joy Drops and Whistle by Benjamin Banger. Both tracks are licensed under Creative Commons. See janeperrone.com for details.

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

Maidenhair fern, from the genus Adiantum, are some of the biggest divas of the houseplant world. The most widespread - and the one that’s best known, is Adiantum raddianum, the delta maidnehair fern. Matthew from Plant Daddy Podcast joins me to find out how to get your plants on fleek.

The papery leaves of A. raddianum. Photograph: Jane Perrone.

• Maidenhair ferns have very thin papery leaves, which makes people think they need to constantly mist their plants. However Matthew suggests that plants like their growing medium to be consistently moist - this can be achieved by placing the pot - whether plastic, glazed ceramic or porous terracotta - on a saucer of water, with a layer of expanded clay pebbles at the bottom of the pot so the potting medium is not under water. That way the plant can suck up the moisture it needs - probably more than you think!

• If your leaves do get crispy, they will revive by putting out new growth from the rhizomes. Don‘t be afraid to prune off substandard foliage. Whatever you do, never let your plant get bone dry.

• Mealy bugs may bother maidenhair ferns, along with aphids on new growth, but it’s not a pest magnet like some plants. Just remove the affected plants as the foliage is sensitive to sprays.

• Light-wise, they do burn very easily, so a big north-facing window is good, as is morning sun from east windows if they are shaded by other plants. They can grow under growlights when they have been acclimated to them.

• When it comes to growing media, try to emulate their natural environment by using a rich potting substrate with perlite, pumice, horticultural charcoal, sphagnum moss, compost and leaf detritus.

• The species Matthew mentions as his favourite maidenhairs to grow indoors are the rosy maidenhair fern, A. tenerum and A. peruvianum.

Part two: begonia vine aka Cissus discolor

Cissus discolor aka the begonia vine. growing at Kew Gardens in London. Photograph: Leonora (Ellie) Enking on Flickr.

Transcript

Episode 140

Part 2

[music]

Jane: Hello, it's Diva Week part two and I hope you are all looking at your Fiddle Leaf Figs in a slightly different light after Thomas' advice on Friday. Some of you did say "Oh, I find the Fiddle Leaf Fig is super easy," but, of course, not every diva is a diva in every situation, so good luck to you if you find the Fiddle a good and easy plant. Today's plant isCissus discolor, the Begonia vine, and I'm joined by professional horticulturalist and plant geek, Leslie Halleck.

Jane: Leslie, we are here to talk about Cissus discolor. I was surprised when I suggested this to you because you seemed to think that this was a really easy plant, well, not an easy plant, but not a diva! Let's talk about Cissus discolor and why some people struggle with it and why it's easier for others.

Leslie: As a plant parent, as with human children, different plants are going to present different challenges to different houseplant keepers, depending on your particular situation and your personal habits and your personality, your approach towards plant care and water. What may be easy for one person may present challenges for another and that is no judgement on anybody's plant parenting skills. So, even though I can't say that I have a lot of challenges with Cissus discolor, I know why some people do because they can be a little persnickety about things like temperature. So, temperature - it likes it warm, so this plant, some people call it tapestry vine or Begonia vine, even though it is not a Begonia, it's actually in the Vitaceae family, so it's related to grapes, but it is from warm regions in Java and Cambodia. So, what can often happen, where I think people run into struggles with it, is if it gets a little chilly, if it gets cold in your house in the winter, or maybe you have it next to a window, or a windowsill where it gets cold, it will just drop leaves on you all of a sudden. It doesn't like it below 65F / 18C range and what people will do when it starts to drop leaves is they'll start watering it more, to try and compensate for that and that's the opposite thing you need to do, so I think that's where people run into trouble. It may get a little too cool and they probably over-water and then you can rot it. So the trick is, if your plant starts to drop leaves, maybe because it's gotten a little cool, hold back on that watering, let plants stay a little drier. Then, in the Spring season, when that active growth kicks in again, usually you'll start to see some new growth again and you can start watering it again.

Jane: That's a really good point because that is the lethal combination, isn't it? It's cold but also those roots are really wet. That ain't Cambodia, is it? That's a pretty miserable environment for that kind of plant. What about humidity? Is that another potential pitfall for growers?

Leslie: In a home where you may be running air conditioning, it's going to be cooler and it's going to dry the air out. Or, if you're running heaters, that can also be a challenge. So you want to be careful where you place it. If it's near a heat vent, or something like that, in the Winter, that can dry it out. Certainly, if you feel like conditions are dry, or edges of the leaves seem to be crisping from low humidity, you can certainly do some misting to help your plant out. Certainly a low, relative humidity, cool temperatures or overwatering at the soil level, those are probably your three main challenges there with this plant.

Jane: What about potting mix? So often plants come from the nursery in not quite ideal compost. Is it hungry?

Leslie: They are fast growers, so typically they want to grow fast and you want to give them some support. So if you feel like you're struggling and leaves are fading in colour, then you may need to feed it. I generally don't like to grow this plant in a potting mix that's heavier in organic matter, just because you run into that issue where things can stay a little too wet. So I usually try to use a lighter mix that will drain better, that will hold consistent moisture. I like to use coir, coco fibre, that's something I like to mix into potting mix where I want to hold consistent moisture but I don't want things to be soggy wet. Certainly, if plants are growing vigorously and they're happy, I don't worry about feeding too much, but if things look a little peaky, then one thing to check, is to make sure the soil is not too soggy and then certainly a liquid humus, natural liquid fertiliser is something I like to use on my houseplants during the growing season. Nothing too strong. I generally don't use synthetic fertiliser because I get too much salt build up in my potting soil.

Jane: That is great advice, Leslie. Is there anything else we need to know about this plant, or is that a potted summary, if you can excuse the pun!?

Leslie: That's a good one! I think, probably to sustain its girth, if you will, because it does like to grow long and vine, it's a great plant for hanging baskets or large wall planters where it can drape down. Think hanging baskets, or a basket where you can add a pole for support, or a trellis for it to grow on. That's where it's going to be happiest.

Jane: That's great advice! Thank you so much, Leslie, and I'm sure our diva Cissus discolors will be thriving before long, with your expert advice.

Leslie: Spring is here, so that hopefully should be the case! Good luck, everyone!

[music]

Jane: Thanks to Leslie for her Cissus discolor tips and if you haven't listened to her episode on plant propagation and grow lights, I'll stick a link to those in the show notes because they are well worth a listen. There, you'll also find links to Leslie's website and social media handles. I'll be back tomorrow to talk about the Maidenhair fern. It's a scary one, but I think you can handle it! See you then. Bye!

[music]

Jane: The music you hear in this episode was Roll Jordan Roll by The Joy Drops and Whistle by Benjamin Banger, both licensed under Creative Commons. Visit my show notes for details.

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

Part two looks at Cissus discolor, the begonia vine, and horticulturist Leslie Halleck joins me to offer her care tips.

Begonia vine is a member of the grape family. Photograph: K M on Flickr.

Guest Leslie Halleck is the author of several gardening books and a guest on a couple of previous OTL episodes: growlights and the science of plant propagation. Here are her top tips on Cissus discolor…

• Begonia vine is NOT a begonia! It’s a member of the Vitaceae so is more closely related to grapevines.

• This plant likes it warm (minimum 18C/65F) as its native home is Java and Cambodia - if it gets too cold in winter, or is set by a draughty window, it will drop leaves.

• When it drops leaves, people tend to compensate by watering more, which is precisely the wrong thing to do as it will then be wet and cold and respond by rotting. If it starts to drop leaves, keep plants drier. In spring when active growth kicks in, you can start watering it again.

• Avoid placing Cissus discolor near heat vents or radiators which promote dry air (low relative humidity): this results in the edges of leaves crisping up. Misting and moving to a spot in a moister room such as the kitchen or bathroom will help.

• The begonia vine prefers a potting mix that is not heavy in organic matter: something that drains better but will hold consistent moisture - Leslie uses coir. A weak liquid fertiliser can be applied regularly during the growing season, but don’t overdo it!

• Cissus discolor is great plant for hanging baskets or wall planters where it can drape down or pole for support or trellis.

Part one: fiddle leaf fig, Ficus lyrata

Ficus lyrata… is your fig on the fiddle?

Transcript

Episode 140

Part 1

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Jane: Hello and welcome to On The Ledge podcast episode 140. It's Diva Week! Yes, this is the week we'll be giving some R.E.S.P.E.C.T. for those house plants that are a little bit extra and if you don't know how to keep them happy, they will turn up toes and die and make you feel terrible in the process. The format for this week will be a little bit different from normal. Those of you who are regular listeners will remember back to Trailing Plants Week and it's the same format. One short podcast every day. This time I'm only doing weekdays though, so there'll be today's episode and then four more on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday next week. Each one covering a different plant. Today's plant is Ficus lyrata, the Fiddle Leaf Fig.

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Jane: Tiny bit of house-keeping before we begin. Thanks to Nancy and MsHolly for becoming Patreon subscribers this week, unlocking exclusive extra content. And a big thumbs up to Calso who wrote a lovely review of On The Ledge on Apple Podcasts. He says the show is "relaxing to listen to while cleaning dishes, repotting and working from home." Thank you, Cal. It is great to have your support!

Also just a quick reminder that Houseplant Hour, a whole hour of chat on Twitter about houseplants, takes place at 21:00 BST and you can get involved by following the #HouseplantHour or following the @HouseplantHour account. That way you can show off your plants, get advice and generally hang and shoot the breeze with fellow houseplant lovers.

Right, on with Ficus lyratas! Why did I pick this as my first diva plant? Well, as I confess in the upcoming interview, this is not one of my favourite plants from the genus Ficus, but it is one that many, many, many of you grow and quite a few of you struggle with. So this is one that I really wanted to cover. I couldn't really offer a lot in the way of advice on this plant, not being a grower of it myself, so I turned to @PlantTrekker of Instagram, who is a houseplant advisor and botanical influencer, aka Thomas from Belgium, for his expert advice.

Thomas: Hi everybody, I'm Thomas. I'm a 29 year old plant daddy from Antwerp, Belgium. I'm currently living in an apartment with one boyfriend, one cat and about 400 house plants.

Jane: 400?! Oh my gosh, okay. The plant we're talking about today, that's iconic but also a little bit tricksy, a lot of people struggle with this plant - the Fiddle Leaf Fig. I asked you to pick a plant to talk about and this is the one you went for. Why do you think it's up there as a diva plant?

Thomas: I think it's a diva plant, in a way, like Grizabella from Cats is a diva. So she's a bit, like, outshone. People don't really think about them that much any more. They used to be very popular in the 70s and the 80s, then they fell off, for some reason, and now I think they're coming back and they're gorgeous. If you know how to do it, they're really easy to care for - that's mostly the case - but they can give such a vibe to a room. They can be really big, or keep them small if you want, so you can do anything with them and the leaves can be up to 30cm big, 40cm if you're really lucky. They're, like, huge boas and glitter-stylish. They remind me of a real diva actually. She's like a drag queen of the plant world.

Jane: That's good to hear. I've never grown one, I'm going to be honest with you, Thomas. It's not my favourite of the genus. It's probably my least favourite of the genus. I don't know what it is. I'm really not that keen. Occasionally, a leaf will freak me out and there's something about those leaves I don't really like and I can't explain why. But I appreciate, however, lots of people do love this plant and they're desperate for your tips as to how to get this plant growing well. Light seems to be a big issue with this plant. It needs quite a lot of light, is that right?

Thomas: Yes, you're right. They do need quite a lot of light but they're not too fond of constant direct light. For example, the afternoon sun can be too harsh for them. For example, my plant, that I have in my plant room which has a north window, constantly lots of light but only indirect light, and it was growing extremely slowly, we're talking one leaf a year, which is really slow for them. A lack of light makes under-developed leaves. I recently moved it to a window by the south, so now she gets about six hours of direct light and she's blooming like crazy. So they love direct light, but the one o'clock or two o'clock sun - really hot, south-facing window - that's too much for them. It will be burn the leaves, for sure, in the beginning. They can adjust to it and adapt to it, but it takes some time for them to do that.

Jane: Those are two really good points. The really significant points there I think you've made, are that sun at 13:00 and 14:00 in the afternoon is different from sun at 09:00am. I think lots of people don't understand that. That midday sun is just so much more powerful, therefore a plant that can take a couple of hours in the morning in an east-facing window is not necessarily going to be happy at 14:00 being blasted. Then, secondly, the fact that you've got the plant used to the level of light, you can't just take it from a dark corner and put it in the sunlight. You've got to gradually move it. So if somebody thinks they've got their plant in the wrong the place, maybe gradually introducing it to a sunnier spot is wise?

Thomas: That is indeed wise. If it's springtime and the sun is slowly coming out, then you can just put it in a future sunny spot and let it adapt. If you take it home from, for example, a garden centre, where the light is very well filtered, then put it in direct sun afterwards, it'll be too much and the leaves that are already grown in a shadier spot will start to get burn marks. So if that's the case, for example, if you have a south-facing window, put it on the corner and just slowly, every day, move it a little bit towards the sun so it can adapt to that sort of lighting. We're in Belgium and the summers aren't always that hot, that sunny, so you can easily adjust. I think the UK is probably the same. It's a bit more cloudy in summer, so that should be okay, actually. If they are always grown in a sunny spot, they'll probably be fine, but they need time to adapt. That's always really important.

Jane: If you were talking about getting different shapes and forms out of this one species, how do you go about doing that? I know you can buy the bambino form, but if you've got a big sprawling one, pruning, I guess this time of year is a good time to tackle it?

Thomas: These guys love to be pruned. If you prune them, it's amazing because if you buy bambino they usually like one stem and lots of leaves and are gorgeous and beautiful. If you keep it like that at home, you don't prune at all. It'll usually just stay one stem for quite a long time. Up to 1m to 2m, you'll just see one stem. However, especially in springtime, usually when you cut out the top part, which you can propagate by the way, they'll always form two or three branches even, so, slowly you would get a tree shape. So if you don't prune them, they usually stay one, conical plant. If you prune them, two or three branches, a real tree, will begin to form. So that's really amazing. Let's say you have a really big one and you're, like, "Oh my God, my living room is too small, I can't let it get any bigger until we move or until I get a huge greenhouse or whatever!" put it in a darker place because when they receive less light they will grow really slowly. They'll still survive, it's okay, but they need lots of light to grow bigger and bigger and bigger. One thing you'll also see in garden centres is the Ficus lyrate, or the Fiddle Leaf Fig, and the bottom trunks are completely naked, completely baron, those are actually often rather expensive plants because their bottom stand is naked because they're older, so the leaves at the base have already fallen off. It really gives you the idea of how it can be as a real tree. It's lovely! You can get the same thing at home if you just let it grow and grow. So these plants can last a lifetime in your house. It's amazing!

Jane: That sounds good and one of the things I've seen people do, which I understand doesn't work, is to take a single leaf and try rooting that and while it roots, it doesn't form anything other than . . . you don't get further than a leaf. You need a stem to get that. Is that right?

Thomas: You do need a stem. It's rather easy to let the leaf get roots and I've known people who have been successful getting a plant out of it, but that's like one in 100, so it is really hard. Even though a little bit of the stem, you need the stem part, that's where all the good things are. When you propagate, if you cut off the top, make sure you cut a top of the stem as well, not just a leaf but it needs something to regrow out of. Also, if you put it in water, make sure they can float in water because they're really big leaves, they're also really heavy and if the stem is pressed against the bottom of the bowl, or whatever, it's tougher for the roots to come out. So always make sure that they float a little bit, just a centimetre, everything that is propagating is always floating. You have to make sure the roots have a place to go.

Jane: That's a good tip.

Thomas: It's a really small detail but it really helps.

Jane: That's a great tip. What about watering? Do they have any special requirements, is it the usual thing of you're more likely to kill them from over- than under-watering and leaving too much water around those roots?

Thomas: I always say, if you're doubting -- 'Should I water?' - don't water because these guys, usually, when they're in a sunny spot, water them once a week. However, they're very prone to over-watering, so when they get too much water, too fast, they will start developing - I don't know the word in English - Oedema?

Jane: Oedema, yes.

Thomas: Oedema, yes. These massive leaves are very prone to that. So what happens is the small cells in the leaves will just burst open and leave tiny brown scars. They'll never really go away. You can find it very easily in new leaves, of course when the leaves get bigger the cells stay equally small, so you don't spot them that easily, but they're actually prone to that, so keep an eye out for it.

Jane: That's really interesting because I've seen those people commenting about the brown spots on Fiddle Leaf Figs and because I've not had them before, it had crossed my mind about oedema but I hadn't, quite literally, connected the dots that that was the cause of it. You always see that, don't you, when you look at plants for sale, there's always those brown spots and, of course, it's oedema? You've solved a little mystery for me there! That's great, that's really useful to know.

Thomas: It's always better to water them once a week instead of a little bit of water every other day. So give them, like, a huge bucket of water -- well, maybe not a bucket; depends on the size - but half a bottle every week when it's wintertime, or even every two weeks, and summertime every week because they have big leaves, water evaporates really easily, so they need their water, for sure. Before, it can be dry before watering, but never completely dry to the bone - that's too much then.

Jane: And feeding, presumably, is the usual thing? When they're growing, you're feeding?

Thomas: They're extremely hungry. Growing season is spring and summer and actually I feed them every single week. My other plants, usually, it's about every two or three weeks and these guys every single week and they love it. For example, mine have been in a sunny spot now for two weeks. He's got three new leaves. It's immense! They grow so fast when you feed them. I feed them every week now. It's bonkers!

Jane: Finally, spider mites seem to be an issue with this plant and, I guess, sometimes people mistake those oedema spots for spider mites?

Thomas: Yes, so often.

Jane: What do we need to look for with spider mites and the Ficus Lyrata?

Thomas: First sign is the little white cobwebs. If it's just one on the bottom, it could be just a normal house spider having a bit of fun there! If they're more on top, then it's usually spider mite. Little small clusters of white, fuzzy things and you touch them and they spread out. Tat's usually spider mite in a basic stage. So, if you see anything like that, just spray them off your plants. Put it in the shower, put it in the bath tub, put the blaster on it, shower head and spray it up.

Jane: I think people think they can spray it once and then it's gone away whereas you do need to repeat, repeat, repeat, I find.

Thomas: Oh yes, definitely.

Jane: Yes, "I've just sprayed it, so the problem is gone!", but no!

Thomas: It's like a good shampoo: rinse and repeat, rinse and repeat. Always the best with those things. Other than that, they're also rather prone to a mealybug actually. I've had that quite a few times as well. But then the easiest thing, for me, it's never really environmentally friendly, just take some rubbing alcohol or nail polish remover on a cue tip and just dab them and they're done. People say it's really sad for them, I'm, like, yes, but they're bugs!

Jane: If anyone wants to start a Save The Mealybug campaign, they can, but I'm not joining that campaign, that's for sure!

Thomas: Likewise!

Jane: Thomas, that is a really great summary. Is there anything else we've missed about this plant that we need to mention before we go?

Thomas: Actually, maybe one thing, because they get really immense leaves, you need to take care of those as well. So, once a month you should dust them. Take a damp cloth and go over it and they're good to go. When the leaf is blocked, it's harder for them to photosynthesise. I spray mine with organic leaf spray every two weeks as well. They stay nice and shiny: big plant stands there, radiating like a diva!

Jane: Well, thank you so much, Thomas. That is a great summary and I hope everyone's going to be able to have extra-glorious Fiddle Leaf Figs now, as a result of your expert advice. Thank you so much!

Thomas: You're ever so welcome. Thank you for having me.

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Jane: So, let's see your Fiddle Leaf Figs! If you've got a fine-looking Fiddle Leaf, send me a photo - OnTheLedgepodcast@gmail.com - and those of you whose divas are misbehaving, I hope this will help get them back in full fig, if I may say so! Thanks so much to Thomas, aka @PlantTrekker, for offering up his advice. Check out the show notes for links to his Insta and a summary of his Ficus Lyrata tips. That's all for this mini-episode. I will be back on Monday to talk about Begonia vine, that's Cissus discolor. Until then, enjoy your plants. Bye!

[music]

Jane: The music you heard in this episode was Roll Jordan Roll by the Joy Drops and Whistle by Benjamin Banger. Both licensed under Creative Commons. See janeperrone.com for details.

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Part one looks at Ficus lyrata, the fiddle leaf fig (FLF for short), with care tips from expert grower @planttrekker, aka plant daddy Thomas Goyvaerts from Belgium. 

• You can find out more about today’s guest expert Thomas, aka @planttrekker, at www.planttrekker.com and on Facebook.

• FLFs like loads of light, but won’t be happy in full sun all day long. Thomas’s plant gets six hours of direct light, but avoid too much midday sun: your plant can gradually get used to the powerful midday sun, but this needs to happen gradually. Too little light will result in slow growth.

• FLFs love to be pruned, especially in spring. To get a tree shape, prune out the growing point. You can also prune to reduce the size of a large FLF: and/or slow growth by moving to a shadier spot.

• When it comes to propagation, you may be able to root an individual leaf, but it’s most likely that it won’t grow into a plant. So, you need to take a stem cutting. When you water propagate, make sure the stem is not pressed against the base of the glass so that the roots find it easier to grow.

• When it comes to watering FLFs, if you are in doubt, don’t water! It’s better to water a large amount in one go every so often than little and often. In a sunny spot, water once a week, but keep a close eye on the compost. It’s common for FLFs to suffer from oedema when the cells in the leaves burst open, leaving behind small brown spots.

• FLFs are very hungry, so you can feed them every week in spring and summer with any general houseplant feed.

• Spider mites can be an issue - blast them off in the shower and/or wipe the leaves with a damp cloth. Rinse and repeat!

• Mealy bugs can also be an issue - these can be removed with a cue tip/cotton bud soaked in rubbing alcohol/surgical spirit and apply to the mealies.

• Clean the leaves monthly with a damp cloth to remove dust, and spray with an organic leaf spray every two weeks to keep leaves shiny.

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CREDITS

This week's show featured the tracks Roll Jordan Roll by the Joy Drops and Whistle by BenJamin Banger (@benjaminbanger on Insta; website benjaminbanger.com).

Logo design by Jacqueline Colley.