Plantrama - Plants, Landscapes, & Bringing Nature Indoors

In this episode C.L. and Ellen explain what “bare root plants” are and why you might want them. Next, they talk about the genus Dracaena, which includes some of the most popular houseplants. They end by disagreeing about general rules for pruning (sorry Morgan). :27  Plant Noob: Bare Root plants 11:55    Eat/Drink/Grow:  Dracaena 20:21    Love Letters and Questions: Morgan requests some easy rules of thumb about pruning.

If you’re wondering if you need to protect your perennial plants with a winter mulch, this episode is for you. Ellen and C.L. go on to talk about the moth orchids, the most commonly sold orchid and an easy one to grow. The show ends with a discussion about the pros and cons of leaving the leaves in your landscape and gardens.   :30  True or False:   Perennials have to be protected with a “Winter Mulch.”   5:35  Eat/Drink/Grow:  Phalaenopsis – The most common orchid sold today. 23:43   Love Letters and Questions:    Allison wonders about if it’s wise to leave the fallen leaves in her gardens.

Ellen and C.L. give ideas for the best low-tech kitchen tools, gift suggestions for all on your list, and tips for why ordering your seeds now is a good idea. We end with some audible plant-based listening suggestions for a listener.  :29    What’s For Dinner:  Some suggestions for must-have, low-tech kitchen equipment 8:42   Eat/Drink/Grow: Our suggestions for plant/garden related gifts for the new homeowner, the first-time vegetable gardener, the houseplant lover, and the forager. 18:19   Insider Information:  Seed orders now? 20:13   Love Letters and Questions: Morgan asks for other plant-based listening suggestions.

From roots to leaves to flowers! C.L. and Ellen talk about the difference between yams and sweet potatoes, explain what a root nodule is, and discuss leaf-spot fungus, especially on house plants. The episode ends with a listener question about flowers for a Florida garden.   :30  What’s for dinner:    Yams Vs Sweet Potatoes 2:52    Insider Information:  What are root nodules 4:31    Eat/Drink/Grow: Fungal Leaf Diseases     18:04   Love Letters and Questions:  Chris asks about flowers for a Florida garden.   

It’s all houseplants all the time in this episode of Plantrama. Ellen and C.L. give advice about cleaning the leaves of indoor plants, talk about the many Calatheas that grow well with less light, and answer a question abot the tropical known as “money plant.” :36   Plant Noob: Ways to clean off houseplants in the winter 6:52  Eat/Drink/Grow: Calatheas – low-light house plants. 22:07  Love Letters and Questions Nicki asks:  “How do I grow Pachira aquatica, aka money plant?

 The Plantrama team discusses the advice to hang herbs upside down for drying, and whether you should prune evergreens now. We end with a letter from a listener about doing battle with the birds.   :31   True or False:    Hanging herbs upside down to dry them helps the flavors (or in the case of Cannabis, the cannabinoids) drain into the leaves/buds. 2:27   Eat/Drink/Grow:   Pruning evergreens now. 18:52   Love Letters and Questions: Alexander and the battle with the birds.

Ellen and C.L. talk about cranberry recipes that go beyond the traditional “cranberry sauce.” They discuss potting “soils” and their composition, and give a listener advice about a Dracaena fragrans (aka corn plant) that has gotten too tall.  :31   What’s For Dinner:  Cranberries 8:23   Eat/Drink/Grow:   Potting Mixes 24:26  Love Letters and Questions: From Bailey, a tale of the too tall dracaena

C.L. and Ellen give you some different ideas for using apples this season, discuss planting bulbs with an auger on a drill, explain the term “old wood” and answer a listener’s question about tomatillo plants.   :30 What’s for dinner:  Apples or crabapples, anyone? 7:54 The Plant Noob: Using a hand drill and an auger to plant lots of bulbs. 14:19 Eat/Drink/Grow:  What is meant by the term “old wood.”  As in “these hydrangeas flower on old wood.”         21:49 Love Letters and Questions:   Paula wrote: “I planted a Tomatillo plant for the first time in my vegetable garden and got no fruit.

The Plantrama team discusses the importance of soil temperature when planting bulbs for spring bloom. In the main segment we talk about handling the amaryllis bulbs you have kept from last winter, and how to bring them into flower in December. We end with a question about how frequently houseplants should be fertilized. :29    Insider Information:  Bulbs have their own “anti-freeze!” 7:16   Eat/Drink/Grow: Amaryllis in the fall 16:22  Love Letters and Questions: Peter asks about fertilizing houseplants.       

Ellen and C.L. discuss what root stimulator products are and if they are necessary when you plant. They also address why houseplants might drop leaves when you bring them back inside for the winter, and how to fit even more plants in your house. :32 True or False:  You should use a “root stimulator” that is high in phosphorous 9:14 Eat/Drink/Grow:  Why houseplants and tropicals drop leaves when you bring them in for the winter. 19:43 Love Letters and Questions:  Kim asks how to fit more plants in her apartment.

In this episode we are making purées for use later in the winter, and considering when you might need to water in the fall. Ellen and C.L. discuss managing those pesky fungus gnats (tiny black flies) that can emerge from your houseplants, and we answer a question about using red pepper to deter rabbits, deer and other critters. :29   What’s For Dinner:  Fall purées 6:53  Eat/Drink/Grow: Fall watering. 14:48 Insider Information:  Fungus gnats – again.  21:18 Love Letters and Questions:   Anne asks about using hot pepper flakes for animal repellants.

Hear about nuts for dinner, houseplants that will make you smile, and late-to-migrate hummingbirds. We also answer Kim’s question about perennial garden cleanup in the fall. :30     What’s For Dinner  Nuts! 11:17    Eat/Drink/Grow:  House Plants that will make you happy all winter 20:30   Insider Information: Supporting late-to-migrate hummingbirds. 23:18   Kim writes: Do I need to clear out a perennial garden? Does a garden really need to be “put to bed?”

Hear about nuts for dinner, houseplants that will make you smile, and late-to-migrate hummingbirds. We also answer Kim’s question about perennial garden cleanup in the fall. :30     What’s For Dinner  Nuts! 11:17    Eat/Drink/Grow:  House Plants that will make you happy all winter 20:30   Insider Information: Supporting late-to-migrate hummingbirds. 23:18   Kim writes: Do I need to clear out a perennial garden? Does a garden really need to be “put to bed?”

Ellen and C.L. talk about root crops – potatoes, and sunchokes – and what “open pollinated” means. We discuss the pros and cons of protecting plants for the winter, and answer a listener’s question about plants that draw flies. :36 What’s for dinner:   Root Crops: Potatoes and Sunchokes 5:55  Insider Information:  What does “open pollinated” mean? 10:34   Eat/Drink/Grow:  Should Your Plants be protected for the winter?     23:00  Love Letters and Questions: Chris emails: “First time writer, long time listener. I have a fly question.”

In this episode Ellen and C.L. talk about how to decide which tender or tropical plants to save indoors through the winter, how to preserve your garden or foraging harvest, and whether weeds choose to grow where they blend in.   :32  Plant Noob:    Deciding which tropicals/annuals to try and save through the winter. 9:05   Eat/Drink/Grow:  Preserving The Harvest 19:45   Love Letters and Questions    Morgan smart, chameleon weeds?

Is compost – homemade or purchased – a good substitute for fertilizer? What is that thick growth in a tree? Ellen and C.L. answer these questions and respond to a listener about uses for pressed flowers.   :26 True or False:   Compost is fertilizer.   3:50  Eat/Drink/Grow:  Witches’ Brooms 19:58 Love Letters and Questions: Kelly asks for ideas about what to do with pressed flowers. Check out the pressed flower art by Peggy Turner Zablotny

The Plantrama Partners-in-Plants start by discussing how to eat the parts of plants we often toss out or put into the compost. Next, we talk about growing new plants from the seeds that you might see right now in your perennial garden. We end by answering a listener’s question about what might make a shrub or tree turn bright colors very early in autumn.   :36  What’s For Dinner:  Parts of plants we often ignore: Carrot stems, beet stems and queen Anne’s lace flowers. 11:12  Eat/Drink/Grow:  Growing perennials from the seeds you find in your garden 19:28  Love Letters and Questions:    Shelley writes:  What would cause a tree to turn colors and drop its leaves early in the fall? 

In this end-of-August episode, C.L. and Ellen discuss how to tell why the leaves on your plant are turning yellow. They explain that noticing which leaves are yellowing, and where they are, can help explain why this is happening. Next the Plantrama team explains some botanic terms, and discusses what to forage for or plant in your vegetable garden right now. The episode ends with advice to Sandy about when to bring her houseplants back inside after they have spent the summer out of doors.     :38 Plant Noob: Yellow Leaves – how to know what causes this? 9:42 Insider Information: Angiosperm and Gymnosperm – what do these terms mean?   11:26 Eat/Drink/Grow: Fall Planting and Foraging      22:23 Love Letters and Questions: Sandy wonders “when does houseplant summer camp end?” The link to Ellen's rose hip soup recipe: https://backyardforager.com/rose-hip-soup-recipe-nyponsoppa/

The Plantrama team talks about ideas for pasta salad and reipes using pineapple weed. We get you thinking about transplanting in the fall, discuss how to manage plants that self-seed just a bit too enthusiastically, and answer a listener’s question about scale. :30 What’s for dinner:    Pasta Salad and Pineapple Weed 5:14 Eat/Drink/Grow:  Preparing for Fall Transplanting 15:10 Insider Information:   Preventing plants from self-seeding too much. 21:09 Love Letters and Questions    Shannon asks about scale.

The Plantrama duo discuss caffeine as an insecticide, and talk about corn, which is a grass and a great deal more. The episode ends with a discussion of picking green apples. :36    True or False:      Caffeine is a natural insecticide. 7:42    Eat/Drink/Grow:  Corn: it’s a vegetable! It’s a biofuel! It’s livestock food! It’s an autumn decoration! 18:49   Love Letters and Questions:  Mary wrote to ask about picking green apples.