Become a Creator today!Start creating today - Share your story with the world!
Start for free
00:00:00
00:00:01
From Porch to Windowsill: A Houseplant Transition Guide
32 Plays2 hours ago
In this cozy winter episode of Hort Culture, the hosts chat about early sunsets, shifting routines, and the comforting hobbies that come with the season before diving into the real topic: helping houseplants adjust after being brought indoors. They explain why plants often decline a few weeks after the move—lower light, low humidity, and indoor heating all play a role—and note that some leaf drop is simply a natural response to shorter days. The team discusses why many people summer their houseplants outdoors for better growth or to trigger blooms in plants like Christmas cacti, then cover what stress looks like when those plants return indoors. They share practical tips including using the lift test or finger test to gauge moisture, avoiding overwatering, grouping plants for microclimates, and keeping sensitive species away from heat vents. With a blend of humor and experience, the hosts remind listeners that winter is a season of slowing down—and that with patience and a few adjustments, houseplants can thrive through it.
Caring for houseplants in the winter
Winter Considerations for Houseplants
Acclimating outdoor plants to the indoors for winter
Questions/Comments/Feedback/Suggestions for Topics: hortculturepodcast@gmail.com
Recommended
Transcript
Winter Bedtime Adjustments
00:00:17
Alexis
Okay, it gets dark early now. what time Is everybody going to bed at the same time they go to bed in the summer, or are you going to bed early?
00:00:22
Plant People
Yeah.
00:00:24
Alexis
like what's the what or late, what's the vibe?
00:00:26
Plant People
You mean, you mean for the winter nap or actually going to bed and staying to bed for a while?
00:00:28
Alexis
Yeah, yeah, yeah. Oh, well, I mean like the daily bedtime.
00:00:30
Plant People
I mean, i mean,
00:00:34
Alexis
Has it ah has it changed with the- with the
00:00:37
Jessica
I have some excitement with that. It has for my children.
00:00:41
Plant People
Oh, yes.
00:00:42
Jessica
They've gone to bed a little earlier, I'm still going to bed later because now I'm like, what do I, what am I going to do with myself?
00:00:44
Plant People
Yeah.
00:00:49
Jessica
I have so much time for activities now because they are asleep a little earlier.
00:00:54
Plant People
I didn't think about that.
00:00:54
Jessica
as of today, I saw my little weather app. It's like the sun will set at 526 PM. And I'm just like, man That's really early.
00:01:06
Alexis
you know we uh the other day we like straight up ate dinner at like 4 30 and we're in bed at like 8 30 and I was like I don't know if we should keep doing this or do this more don't know
00:01:06
Plant People
It's very early.
00:01:19
Plant People
Yeah, it's it definitely changes schedules. And I i forgot that with re I liked that time of year when it got dark a little bit earlier because he did go to bed a little bit earlier, but I dreaded when it changed back and stayed light in the summer when he was much younger.
00:01:32
Alexis
Mm-hmm.
00:01:35
Plant People
and it stayed light to like nine 30 cause he didn't want to go to bed at all. Then even when he was three or four or five, i mean, he just fought it even harder.
00:01:39
Jessica
Thank
00:01:42
Plant People
So we invested in blackout curtains and it was amazing.
Embracing Winter's Slower Pace
00:01:45
Plant People
So we, we made our own seasonal changes with him, but yeah, I don't know. It seems like, I don't know. This is the season of napping for me.
00:01:53
Plant People
ah come home and, And I want to take a nap. I just want to take a nap.
00:01:56
Alexis
I'm kind of into like, I, I'm trying to embrace instead of being like really like irritated that it gets dark so early, embracing that like sense of, you know, like slow down and calm that it brings because it's like, I can't really be outside doing the stuff.
00:02:12
Plant People
It goes against your nature.
00:02:12
Alexis
Oh, oh darn.
00:02:12
Plant People
Is that what you're saying?
00:02:14
Alexis
Yeah. I'm trying to embrace it more. It's getting easier
Winter Hobbies and Identity
00:02:17
Alexis
the older I get. I'm like, oh, I guess I got to go inside.
00:02:21
Jessica
It has been nice because we've like, okay, let's go and get chores done, you know, get stuff done early and then have dinner and then we're just in for the rest of the night.
00:02:28
Plant People
Hmm.
00:02:32
Jessica
Right.
00:02:32
Alexis
And you're like, what if what if we did this all year round?
00:02:33
Jessica
And we're having like,
00:02:35
Alexis
And then you laugh because you know you'll never do it. But it's a nice thought.
00:02:39
Jessica
yeah.
00:02:40
Brett
Do you have particular cozy dark time activities, the like knitting or playing games or baking cinnamon rolls or anything like that that you do mainly when it's when it's in this time?
00:02:56
Brett
Besides sleeping.
00:02:57
Alexis
Yeah, I pick my hobbies back up.
00:02:58
Brett
I love to sleep, but what was that?
00:03:01
Alexis
I pick my like my little hobbies back up like crochet or make it just making something or doing something just like little like little things that remind me that I'm a human outside of my farm, which is very nice.
Cinnamon Roll Saga: Patience and Math
00:03:14
Alexis
It's like I regained some of my personality.
00:03:16
Jessica
Mm-hmm.
00:03:18
Alexis
That's good. That's nice.
00:03:19
Brett
well just a different part of your personality not yeah it's like the leaves like you've shed the leaves of the farm season and now you're a deciduous tree which has its own a leafless deciduous that has its own new identity yet again contain alttudes you contain multitudes contain multitudes
00:03:19
Alexis
Jessica Bates.
00:03:21
Plant People
Yeah.
00:03:21
Alexis
Yeah.
00:03:22
Plant People
A seasonal part of your personality. Yeah.
00:03:23
Alexis
Yeah.
00:03:36
Plant People
Your growth doesn't stop.
00:03:36
Alexis
I'm just bare, my bare bones.
00:03:37
Plant People
It only slows.
00:03:40
Plant People
How you, Brett? have any seasonal changeover? Yeah.
00:03:44
Brett
Um, I, I love to sleep just so many, just different, different times.
00:03:48
Jessica
What is that?
00:03:48
Plant People
yeah Different kinds of sleep?
00:03:50
Jessica
What is sleep and then in this period of my life?
00:03:55
Brett
Yeah, it's it's pretty awesome. You like lay down and you close your eyes and you sort of let go of the psychic reins. And then you have crazy you can have crazy dreams and thoughts that you don't have to be in control of.
00:04:07
Brett
And and then you wake up either rested or wondering why you're and more tired than when you lay down. It's a great a great experience. But as far as...
00:04:16
Plant People
It's ah interesting. You can dream. Yeah, that's i have mythic dreams that during the seasonal changeover. always have. They go in color and everything else. I thought it was Walmart melatonin melatonin for a while. Not to call out a boxer.
00:04:30
Plant People
I thought, is this what is going on? But I think it's seasonal. It's interesting. You mentioned like the quality of sleep. I don't know what it is. But here lately, I have been jotting down book ideals because I dream the entire rise and fall of alien civilizations this time of year in one dream.
00:04:45
Brett
Wow.
00:04:45
Plant People
And I wake up exhausted and trying to jot down details. But yeah, it's interesting you mentioned.
00:04:49
Brett
To Walmart, to Walmart perchance to dream.
00:04:51
Plant People
Yeah. to to Yes, that's exactly right.
00:04:53
Alexis
you
00:04:54
Plant People
Melatonin, my friend.
00:04:55
Brett
Uh, but we've been, we've been playing, um, some like card games, uh, not playing card games, but, uh, trading card games. We've been playing Pokemon and, um, magic, the gathering, uh, and he was a big magic head back in the day and I had some Pokemon cards.
00:05:06
Plant People
Ooh, Magic the Gathering. That's a good one. Mm-hmm.
00:05:12
Brett
And so we're, we've been playing those and, just eating butternut squash and lots of different formats.
00:05:20
Jessica
Nice.
00:05:20
Brett
Uh, yeah.
00:05:22
Plant People
Yeah, I like the seasonal change.
00:05:22
Jessica
We've been having.
00:05:24
Plant People
It's fine.
00:05:24
Brett
Jessica sent us a picture of cinnamon rolls and I was not, uh, Uber Eated or whatever, and otherwise transmitted one of those cinnamon rolls.
00:05:26
Alexis
Yeah.
00:05:33
Brett
So it just felt mean spirited to be honest, cause they looked very good.
00:05:33
Plant People
No.
00:05:35
Plant People
and
00:05:35
Alexis
little bit.
00:05:36
Jessica
They were pretty good. They take all day. So, you know, you're in the house more. So able to make those a little more often this time of year.
00:05:42
Plant People
I don't see how you hold your children off of those all day.
00:05:45
Jessica
ah There were lots of tears yesterday of wanting to try them at all different processes of the cinnamon rolls.
00:05:51
Alexis
That was one of my that's one of my favorite texts. And I read that one aloud to Tyler and I was just like, you gotta hear this.
00:06:00
Jessica
It's a good life lesson, right?
00:06:01
Plant People
Honestly, I related to the kids.
00:06:01
Jessica
Yeah.
00:06:02
Plant People
I mean, that's me. I'm crying waiting for those things to
00:06:05
Jessica
We cried as they, you know, as we mixed the dough that they couldn't eat the dough. We cried as we waited for them to rise because we wanted to try them. We wanted to eat the butter, cinnamon, sugar mixture. And they did. They did eat that when they got a chance.
00:06:20
Plant People
delicious.
00:06:20
Alexis
To be fair, they each had some and wanted more.
00:06:20
Jessica
a
00:06:23
Jessica
And they wanted more. So it was a whole day of waiting for those cinnamon rolls. But then they finally got one.
00:06:27
Brett
And then we cried. and then we cried because they were too hot to eat. It was like it was like ah like a like a like a book
00:06:31
Jessica
Yep.
00:06:34
Plant People
Like a three little bears.
00:06:34
Jessica
yep
00:06:34
Alexis
yeah
00:06:34
Brett
many So many tears over here to today.
00:06:35
Plant People
Yeah.
00:06:37
Brett
these We cried because we couldn't eat the yeast foam. We cried because we couldn't eat the raw dough. We cried because even though we ate two spoonfuls of the butter, butters sugar, cinnamon mixture, I said no more.
00:06:50
Brett
And then we cried that we couldn't eat one before they baked in the oven. And then we cried because they were too hot to eat. But now it is finally time to have one.
00:06:58
Jessica
is that
00:06:58
Brett
Laugh emoji, laughhammo laugh emoji, laugh emoji.
00:06:59
Plant People
It had its own kind of prose, kind of cadence to it.
00:07:02
Alexis
It did.
00:07:02
Brett
Yeah.
00:07:02
Brett
Yeah.
00:07:02
Alexis
Yeah.
00:07:02
Plant People
Yeah, I loved it.
00:07:03
Alexis
Yeah.
00:07:03
Jessica
Yeah.
00:07:03
Plant People
Yeah.
00:07:03
Alexis
And to all a good night.
Winter Plant Care Challenges
00:07:05
Jessica
Yes, exactly.
00:07:05
Brett
Yeah, and to all, a lovely cinnamon roll dessert.
00:07:05
Plant People
Yes, exactly. It had that kind of cadence.
00:07:06
Jessica
That was more for my three-year-old.
00:07:07
Plant People
Yeah.
00:07:09
Jessica
My five-year-old is a cinnamon roll pro. He can like tell you what goes into making them. Right.
00:07:16
Brett
Hmm.
00:07:16
Jessica
And so this was the first time that my three-year-old really got to help do the whole process
00:07:16
Alexis
Oh,
00:07:22
Jessica
And he tried to pull the mixer off the shelf multiple times. And, you know, what you imagine a three-year-old would do.
00:07:25
Plant People
Oh, gosh.
00:07:28
Jessica
So he really wanted them. But the funny, funny thing to add to the cinnamon roll saga was first thing this morning, my oldest got up and he marched over to my husband and said, how many did you eat last night? And he said, said, what?
00:07:39
Plant People
Oh, man.
00:07:40
Jessica
And he said, I just had one. And he's like, because I want more for breakfast. And mama made this for me. And he's like, so don't eat my cinnamon rolls.
00:07:47
Plant People
No pressure, dad. No pressure.
00:07:49
Alexis
sure
00:07:50
Jessica
How many did you eat last night?
00:07:51
Brett
how many you eat empty out your pockets
00:07:52
Alexis
You knew exactly how many should be left.
00:07:55
Jessica
Oh yeah, he counted them.
00:07:55
Alexis
That's how he's learning his math.
00:07:55
Plant People
Oh, yeah.
00:07:56
Alexis
Yeah.
00:07:57
Plant People
Yeah. Math skills are life skills.
00:07:58
Jessica
How many cinnamon rolls are left?
00:08:00
Alexis
Yeah, that's that those will be his ah his word problems. Just put them in cinnamon roll form instead of he has a bunch of apples, he has a bunch of cinnamon rolls.
00:08:06
Jessica
and
00:08:09
Alexis
He'll nail it every time.
00:08:10
Jessica
Right, exactly. Yeah.
00:08:11
Brett
A cinnamon roll is traveling 80 miles per hour from Denver to Atlanta.
00:08:14
Alexis
He's going to be like, okay, all right.
00:08:16
Plant People
With his dad on the way to the fire department in his lunchbox.
00:08:19
Jessica
yeah
00:08:19
Alexis
This is how slow it has to be for it to be able to get a majority of it into my mouth.
00:08:22
Brett
Okay. Let's see here.
00:08:24
Plant People
this and like ah It sounds like a Monty Python skit for those of you that guys that may be familiar. It's like a laden cinnamon road. Does it float? i mean, yeah.
00:08:31
Alexis
I feel like that should be that should be next year's Halloween costume is cinnamon roll.
00:08:32
Plant People
There's this whole mythology behind this, yeah.
00:08:36
Plant People
Pillsbury.
00:08:37
Jessica
They can be cinnamon rolls.
00:08:37
Alexis
I'm just throwing it out there.
00:08:37
Plant People
Pillsbury.
00:08:38
Jessica
Yeah.
00:08:38
Alexis
I'm just throwing there. can make that out a cardboard.
00:08:41
Jessica
Sure, right?
00:08:41
Alexis
The cardboard queen, Jessica.
00:08:42
Jessica
but What can I not make out a cardboard at this point?
00:08:45
Plant People
I feel like you could do that. You're all about it. I like it.
00:08:49
Alexis
Well, to get back to the plant part that you all are here for, I mean, we know you're here for our witty banter, ah but the hort culture part of, we got through the culture, let's talk about the hort that we're talking about today.
00:08:53
Plant People
um Ah, hork culture.
00:09:01
Alexis
If you've seen from the title of the episode, we're talking about some houseplants today because, you know, it's cold and it's dark. So let's let's talk about the all those babies that you brought in. And if you brought them in you know, in our areas of Kentucky, probably a couple weeks ago, unless you're me and I just push it as far as possible.
00:09:22
Alexis
But if you were a good person, you brought your stuff in in a timely manner, ah you may start to notice they're maybe not happy. I think after close, about close to a month, three to four weeks after you bring them in is when I start to notice mine go downhill. What about you guys?
00:09:40
Brett
Well, I was just going to say, if you if you didn't bring them in, we got to talk.
00:09:40
Plant People
Yeah.
00:09:43
Plant People
They're less heavy.
00:09:44
Alexis
Well, this episode isn't for you.
00:09:45
Plant People
Yeah. Well, we did talk on a prior episode. We did talk about those, you know, plants that are bulbs or root structures that, that should be killed to the ground this week.
00:09:56
Plant People
We're not talking about that kind of plant. We're talking about the ones that you don't want to get killed for any reason.
00:10:00
Brett
Yeah.
00:10:02
Plant People
So yeah. Yeah.
00:10:03
Brett
I don't know.
00:10:04
Plant People
Yeah.
00:10:04
Brett
I haven't... I think this is the first year that our house plants have, oh, yeah, that our house plants have looked pretty decent. So I can't say how long it takes for them to look bad because before they just looked bad.
00:10:16
Brett
ah
00:10:17
Plant People
Are you talking about your year round inside house plants are ones you bring in and out?
00:10:21
Brett
a mix, a mix, yeah.
00:10:21
Plant People
bret Mix. Yeah.
00:10:24
Jessica
Mine are mostly all inside.
00:10:24
Alexis
Yeah, I leave most of mine inside.
00:10:24
Plant People
Uh,
00:10:26
Alexis
Yeah, I only, i put out a couple just I don't know.
00:10:26
Jessica
Yeah.
00:10:30
Alexis
they I'm not very good with ah like pretty potted you know floral things on the deck, but I can keep my houseplants alive for whatever reason. So I did move a few of those that are a little bit little bit easier to keep alive, less likely to kill as I thrust them from one extreme to the other.
00:10:51
Alexis
i did put some of those outside.
00:10:51
Brett
I don't know. I don't know why I just lied. Cause I felt like I would needed to keep the episode alive by saying we don't put any of our houseplants outside. i don't know why I even said that I was just trying to go with a bit of like assuming, but then I was like, why am I? No. So we, it's all a hundred percent inside.
00:11:07
Plant People
Well, that's an interesting that's an interesting thought though, Brett.
00:11:08
Jessica
Mine are too.
00:11:10
Plant People
um You know, i never thought about it that way, but plants that stay inside like year round, they don't have to go through that transition, do they?
00:11:16
Alexis
Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
00:11:18
Plant People
ah But I am not good. For some reason, my brain is all ah wired weird. And like, I don't know I want to shove them outside so they can get shocked again in the spring with sunlight that's too bright.
00:11:29
Plant People
But I guess I'd never thought about it, but I don't really keep any plants on the inside year round. don't know why, ah because I love plants on the inside.
00:11:35
Brett
Well, it makes – I mean, it makes – yeah.
00:11:37
Plant People
Yeah.
00:11:38
Brett
I mean, we yeah we don't – our main reason for not taking them in and out is because the pest stuff that you know there'd be something that comes back in on them and then we're not going to –
00:11:41
Plant People
and Yeah. Yeah. And that's the biggest problem for me is, I mean, it's not moving them in and out because once I'm, I know that when they come back inside, right, there's an acclimation period.
00:11:55
Plant People
You have to adjust as well as the plants have to adjust because you have to adjust your watering and you're thinking a little bit. But the biggest thing to me, and I didn't do a good job this fall, I did a great job last fall was,
00:12:07
Plant People
I pre-prepped with some, I knew that I was going to have some mealy bug problems. So i pre-prepped with some systemics and some insecticidal oil.
00:12:13
Brett
Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
00:12:14
Plant People
Did a good job like trimming off dead pieces to the plant.
00:12:17
Alexis
Mm-hmm.
00:12:18
Plant People
I had some English ivy, some kind of small stuff that Reed gave to Jennifer several years ago. And, you know, I kind of trimmed off that to the base plant and prepared it to regrow in the, I did a good job just prepping everything, but there's a lot to that.
00:12:31
Plant People
And it started two to three weeks before I even moved the plants inside.
00:12:34
Alexis
Mm-hmm.
00:12:36
Plant People
And a lot of that is just for pest stuff, right? and Trying to and get out of pest.
00:12:39
Brett
So can I, well, can I ask before we jump into the kind of how to prep and stuff, like, why, why are you putting them outside in the first place?
00:12:42
Plant People
you
00:12:49
Brett
um I mean, there's reasons. I'm not, not.
00:12:51
Plant People
Yeah. Jennifer. um
00:12:52
Alexis
No way.
00:12:54
Plant People
Yeah. Why do you do that?
00:12:54
Brett
Why are, why did you do that? You fool.
00:12:56
Plant People
She likes these Southern looking patios.
00:12:56
Alexis
scenes done.
00:12:59
Plant People
If, you know, you know, we'd travel some and down to like Savannah and areas down South. We were always a big fan of all these porches that have all these plants and, and that's why we do it.
00:13:05
Jessica
Thank you.
00:13:09
Plant People
And it seems like a lot of our plants, once we do move them outside, they enter an accelerated growth phase. And we love that.
00:13:16
Brett
Definitely.
00:13:16
Plant People
We have a really good front porch and that's why we do it.
00:13:16
Brett
definitely
00:13:19
Plant People
It's like, no matter if we give, ah you know, additional artificial light, put them next to a window in the winter. Some of the plants just like to be outside. So they get a boost. You know, they they're getting their nature boost by being outdoors.
00:13:29
Alexis
There's the biggest, like the biggest plants I put outside are the ones that really need to, um from like a bloom perspective, they really need that shift of light.
00:13:39
Jessica
Thank you.
00:13:40
Plant People
Yeah. Yeah.
00:13:41
Alexis
And so um I've got that night blooming cactus or like a, you know, Thanksgiving
00:13:46
Brett
Thank you.
00:13:47
Alexis
ah cactus or something like that Christmas cactus whatever um orchids are pretty similar so ah it's a lot harder to give some plants thrive in the extreme and that's what makes them bloom um you know or sends them into you know something that needs to happen for them and so it's much easier to give them that switch to go from outside to inside versus trying to you know move them away from the light or, you know, cool them down in some way. It's just that extreme flip of light and temperature happens.
00:14:20
Alexis
Um, so those, those I put outside for that reason, just from a bloom perspective.
00:14:23
Brett
Thank you.
00:14:24
Plant People
Yeah.
00:14:25
Alexis
Um, and then any, ah anything else that I put out um, um
00:14:32
Alexis
Really, there's no real rhyme or reason. The only things I do, I put out a couple things in there, you know, pothos and some of that stuff. Maybe I want to get a little bit bigger.
00:14:39
Plant People
Yeah. That just respond and just go crazy with the sunlight.
00:14:41
Alexis
um Yeah. And if they, if I, once I bring them in, even if they're shocked, they might look like crap, but they're not going to die.
00:14:44
Plant People
Yeah. Yeah.
00:14:49
Alexis
So like, I don't stress about them, but things that are more sensitive, I don't move in and out.
00:14:49
Plant People
yeah
00:14:51
Jessica
Right.
00:14:53
Plant People
and And we can't completely knock it or blame it on the transition from inside outside.
00:14:53
Alexis
They only stay
00:14:54
Jessica
right
00:14:58
Plant People
Now, I've had this discussion with some of our garden clubs. Some of that, you know, when you have leaves, the bottom leaves that start to brown and turn yellow, lot that's a natural process, whether it it was inside or outside.
00:15:05
Alexis
Yeah.
00:15:10
Plant People
A lot of that is just in response to shorter days. So some of this that people observe as, you know, a lot of that is stress and environments. It really, really is different humidity levels, light levels, the whole thing.
00:15:21
Plant People
But some of that is also a natural seasonal variance in response to shorter days, right? So, you know, and I try to stress that and when we have garden club meetings and we talk about specific different plants.
00:15:27
Alexis
yeah
00:15:33
Jessica
Great.
00:15:34
Plant People
Amaryllis is one, you know, we've talked about before on the show and they do that. They get a few yellow leaves and they'll go through this succession of dropping the bottom leaves if you grow those year round. But that's a good example of that.
00:15:44
Plant People
So it's a combination of things. And like I said, I always stress also that it's me relearning how to water them because My brain is wired on repetition and I'll continue to try to water every week. And then I tell myself, whoa, slow down, buddy.
00:15:58
Plant People
You know, we we've got to change some things because it's insane.
00:15:58
Jessica
right
00:15:59
Brett
Take a beat there, Tackett.
00:16:01
Plant People
Take a step back.
00:16:02
Alexis
I have the opposite problem.
00:16:03
Plant People
Step back.
00:16:03
Alexis
I'm like, oh, crap, you need water.
00:16:06
Plant People
Yeah.
00:16:06
Jessica
I, yeah, same, same.
00:16:07
Plant People
Yeah. Oh, really?
00:16:08
Jessica
I leave mine in all year round.
00:16:10
Plant People
Yeah.
00:16:10
Jessica
I think it's like, if you find like a good spot, right?
00:16:10
Plant People
Do you?
00:16:13
Jessica
Because when I moved to my new house, like my plants that semi might've been struggling at my old house have like thrived.
00:16:13
Plant People
Oh, yeah, that's true.
00:16:20
Jessica
And now I've like, I got them in a spot and I'm like, I'm not moving. That's like my, i have like a giant Calathea, rattlesnake Calathea and it it is massive and it is happy in this corner.
00:16:23
Alexis
Yeah.
00:16:28
Plant People
Yeah.
00:16:29
Jessica
And I will never move it from that corner because it is just, it's loves it right there.
00:16:32
Alexis
Yeah, some plants, yeah, calathea, fiddly figs, like they're real sensitive to being moved.
00:16:36
Plant People
yeah
00:16:37
Alexis
So if you find the right spot, don't mess with it, okay?
00:16:41
Jessica
Yes, always live there.
00:16:42
Alexis
They are very, they're divas. They're very specific what they like, what they like. Okay.
00:16:48
Jessica
yeah
00:16:48
Brett
Yeah. So the, so the outside thing, it seems like it's on the one hand you could use it to just accelerate growth and kind of, you know, you're putting it outside and it's hot and it's humid. It's way more humid than most of us keep our houses.
00:16:58
Plant People
Yeah. Yeah.
00:17:01
Brett
But then what happens is you've had it in this awesome environment and then the transition is really stressful because you've gone from pumping it full of energy.
00:17:07
Alexis
Mm-hmm.
00:17:09
Brett
And on top of that, the plant itself has adapted to that environment with its thickness of cuticle, the size of its leaves, the amount of leaves that it has. And now you're going less sunlight, you're going less...
00:17:20
Brett
you know lower temperature, lower humidity, all that.
00:17:21
Alexis
Mm-hmm.
00:17:21
Plant People
yeah
00:17:22
Brett
And so it's this kind of trade-off. Whereas my, my plants, they grow very slowly. I mean, it's, but they grow some, like they're putting on growth.
00:17:30
Alexis
Mm-hmm.
00:17:31
Plant People
Yeah.
00:17:32
Brett
And so that's some of the, some of them more than others put a lot on, but compared to if they were outside, they are growing much more slowly, but they don't ever have to adjust, uh, except to the the amount of light that's coming in through the windows and,
00:17:37
Plant People
Yeah.
00:17:41
Alexis
Mm-hmm.
00:17:44
Plant People
that That's one thing with the light that I've learned that i have to be super careful of when I transition in the winter, when it goes into spring and I'm moving plants back outside as I never put them in on the, at the back of my house because it's Southern facing.
00:17:56
Plant People
And if you want to torch every plant you have, just put it in direct late spring, early summer sun immediately.
00:18:02
Brett
Yeah.
Watering Techniques and Philosophy
00:18:04
Plant People
It will melt just about any plant or but it'll, you know, bleach it.
00:18:04
Brett
yeah
00:18:08
Plant People
It'll brown it out, crisp it up is always put those on the front porch where it's dappled afternoon sun. So that I have learned that that's, that's why I transition. Now I found the perfect transitional spot with our front porch.
00:18:20
Plant People
And if it wasn't for that, I wouldn't move plants in and out at all.
00:18:21
Alexis
Mm-hmm.
00:18:23
Plant People
If I hadn't found that the right combination, So now I put the plants specifically from the location on the inside to a specific location on the outside. Like Jessica said, I found the perfect spots in all seasons for each plant that would typically grow.
00:18:34
Jessica
Right. I have my great example is my lemon tree saga. um How many lemon trees have I had? My husband keeps buying them, right?
00:18:45
Jessica
Like he's buying them and he gets bigger ones every time because, you know, they give him a deal. But um you can.
00:18:49
Brett
or Or it gives them the sense that they've it's just continued growing. It's like he's buying the same tree, but back in.
00:18:52
Jessica
Right. ah Right.
00:18:55
Jessica
But that's a great example of one that it stays outside all summer. It is so happy. And then still haven't found the right place to like over winter one yet.
00:18:55
Plant People
and
00:19:05
Plant People
Yeah.
00:19:06
Jessica
Did this last winter. Was very happy. Child flipped. Knocked it. Snapped it in half. But you know, I'm sure, sure I'll get another one. I'm sure there'll be another lemon tree.
00:19:17
Plant People
At some point.
00:19:19
Alexis
I'm sure I'll get another one.
00:19:20
Brett
You got to figure out a way to make lemonade out of a snapped lemon tree.
00:19:23
Plant People
yeah don't know.
00:19:23
Jessica
Yep.
00:19:25
Plant People
I don't know.
00:19:27
Alexis
I don't know.
00:19:27
Plant People
Just when it was doing well. Just when it was doing well.
00:19:29
Brett
Yeah. Well, this is my, you know, ah completely unnecessary inserting a bonsai thing into the conversation.
00:19:30
Jessica
Mm-hmm.
00:19:35
Brett
But um like when, when trees are coming, when you're trying to get leaves on a tree to be really small so that it looks in proportion, on deciduous trees, if you put them into the sun, when they do that, they will generally grow smaller leaves.
00:19:49
Brett
When you put them in the shade, they will grow much larger leaves because they're needing to try to soak up and hit every amount of um ah sunlight while at the same time, not quite, or sorry, being able to transpire more because they're youre probably going stay wet or all that kind of stuff.
00:19:49
Alexis
Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
00:19:52
Plant People
Uh-huh.
00:20:06
Brett
anyway So I'm just thinking about like, if that's one of the adaptations that those trees make, just the, when you, you're just, you're radically, we, we forget that that plant normally would be rooted in place for its whole lifespan or for most of its lifespan.
00:20:19
Alexis
isn
00:20:22
Brett
Whereas we can step out of the shade and because we're we're feeling cold or step out of the sun if we're feeling hot. you're a pot A plant in a pot is kind of a strange thing evolutionarily for the plant ah to understand that this is this hyper portability is a strange is a strange thing.
00:20:39
Brett
um
00:20:39
Plant People
I've just moved planets.
00:20:41
Brett
Yeah, what the heck?
00:20:41
Plant People
You put me on a different planet altogether.
00:20:42
Jessica
Thank you.
00:20:43
Plant People
Yeah.
00:20:44
Alexis
it's just for some reason this just reminds me it's like a it's like a power move to to be able to like move you know a plant in a pot and uh it's like my husband likes to remind the cat that he's in charge by picking her up and then like holding her and putting her down somewhere else that's like his his way of showing power and he's like just remember i can move you
00:21:05
Brett
Or it's like, imagine you're like sitting in your car and you've got the heat cranked and you're in shorts and short sleeves. And then you step out into the, into the 30 degree weather.
00:21:15
Alexis
That's
00:21:15
Brett
It's like, you're not prepared.
00:21:16
Plant People
Your cuticle's not ready.
00:21:17
Brett
You are, you are not, there was no adjustment period.
00:21:17
Plant People
Not ready.
00:21:20
Brett
You're in there now.
00:21:20
Alexis
so great.
00:21:21
Plant People
Yeah. So a gradual transition is best.
00:21:23
Alexis
ah so ands my great
00:21:26
Plant People
It's what I'm hearing.
00:21:27
Brett
So how, like, how can you tell, is this just the transition or should I be more worried?
00:21:27
Plant People
extremes.
00:21:34
Plant People
The extreme of the symptoms or the transition of the plant itself.
00:21:37
Brett
and I guess what does what does the transition look like for those of us who don't do that?
00:21:38
Plant People
Yeah. With some plants, it... I mean, you mentioned, somebody mentioned pothos. I mean, some of those, when I bring them on the inside, they may not show a lot of difference other than growth rate.
00:21:50
Plant People
um And you know, that is a good example.
00:21:51
Alexis
Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
00:21:52
Plant People
Also I've noticed with pothos, the leaves will be different sizes, Brett. As it gets more sunlight, maybe it's just the fact it has more energy, the energy factories. mean, its leaves get huge, but when I bring mine in, my particular one, the leaves are a bit smaller and the growth rates way smaller. But I'm trying to think what, when I bring it in succulents can sometimes lose a little bit of their, they don't look as bright depending on what type of succulents you have, ah especially the more desert loving succulents. um You know, they' they're just not as vibrant.
00:22:25
Jessica
the Leaf drop, right?
00:22:26
Plant People
Yeah.
00:22:26
Alexis
Mm-hmm.
00:22:26
Jessica
For like my lemon trees, right?
00:22:26
Alexis
Mm-hmm.
00:22:26
Plant People
A lot of leaf crop.
00:22:28
Plant People
Yeah.
00:22:28
Jessica
Leaf drop to a point. You know, everything shouldn't come off.
00:22:31
Plant People
Yeah. No.
00:22:33
Jessica
There should still be some leaves on there, but ah quite a bit will, will fall.
00:22:33
Plant People
To the bear nub. No, no.
00:22:37
Alexis
Yeah. And acclimation is like ah more and more even process. So, um you know, you might lose a couple one week, a couple more the next week, a couple more the week after that.
00:22:48
Alexis
And then finally it kind of, you know, stops. So, um you know, over after you bring it in about um three weeks, usually depending on, know, as long as you don't have it over a major heat register or something like that, because they do not like dry heat.
00:23:02
Alexis
Most jungle plants do not like
00:23:03
Plant People
Which i do. Mine are really close because that's the best spot next to the best window.
00:23:05
Alexis
Yeah, same.
00:23:08
Plant People
But it's not good.
00:23:08
Alexis
All of my heat registers are right underneath my windows and I have them in my windows.
00:23:09
Plant People
It's not good. yeah Yeah, exactly. And we have that discussion all the time with folks. We're like, don't do that, but you're probably going to do that. because I'm like, put your hardy plants that are the toughest next to the register.
00:23:19
Alexis
If you do that, um yeah, put your hardy plants there.
00:23:23
Plant People
Yeah.
00:23:24
Alexis
Like you're just guys that don't seem to you know care. Something with like a real waxy thick cuticle.
00:23:28
Brett
What's a hardy As opposed to what?
00:23:29
Alexis
Something with like a waxy thicker leaf is like a good example of that.
00:23:30
Plant People
and Pothos or ivies, you know, any of the ivies generally.
00:23:35
Alexis
who
00:23:35
Plant People
Yeah, plants like them.
00:23:36
Alexis
You can also...
00:23:36
Jessica
Grouping.
00:23:39
Plant People
Uh, like, uh, Jade, my curly leaf Jade does not like it. I don't know why. Maybe it's just mine, but if I stick that guy there, there'll be one side that's unhappy and the other side's really happy.
00:23:43
Alexis
me
00:23:47
Plant People
So, so in any of the tropical.
00:23:48
Alexis
yeah you're...
00:23:48
Brett
So are the calathea considered the hardy plant thing or is that not?
00:23:50
Plant People
Yeah.
00:23:51
Alexis
No, I don't consider them a hardy plant. Usually they're a little bit more difficult. um don't Yeah, don't put your...
00:23:58
Brett
Oh, you all mean hardy hardy in the sense of like robust, not hardy in the sense of any kind of temperature sensitivity.
00:23:58
Alexis
Or your orchids...
00:24:02
Alexis
Hard... Yeah.
00:24:05
Plant People
I think of it in terms of humidity.
00:24:06
Alexis
No, no.
00:24:07
Plant People
I mean, yeah, the temperature is bad.
00:24:07
Brett
You know what mean? Like a non-hardy perennial or a hardy, yeah.
00:24:08
Plant People
the
00:24:09
Alexis
Yeah, that's that's a good, you're you're harder to kill plants.
00:24:10
Plant People
Yeah. I don't consider it hardy until I've not killed it.
00:24:14
Brett
You're tough guys. You're tough you tough girls.
00:24:15
Jessica
And group them together, right?
00:24:15
Alexis
You're a tough guy.
00:24:17
Jessica
For the microclimate.
00:24:17
Plant People
Yeah.
00:24:17
Alexis
Yeah.
00:24:17
Brett
Tough ladies.
00:24:19
Plant People
Yeah.
00:24:19
Alexis
Yeah, so I like, I stuff my windowsills as full if possible.
00:24:19
Brett
Oh, yeah.
00:24:21
Jessica
Mine are all together.
00:24:22
Alexis
but
00:24:23
Plant People
Yeah. I put them all together.
00:24:23
Alexis
Right. but
00:24:24
Plant People
So when I water it.
00:24:24
Alexis
But you can also, well, I was gonna say from from a watering perspective, like if you put a like a pretty big dish underneath them to catch that water, just let that water in this case scenario, if you're above a dry heat register in the winter, when you have your heat on a lot, leave that water in there.
00:24:32
Brett
Mm-hmm.
00:24:40
Alexis
Normally we say get rid of that water because you don't want to root rot, but that water will evaporate plenty quickly enough and help with that little microclimate.
00:24:46
Plant People
Really quick. Yeah.
00:24:48
Alexis
Yeah. Mm-hmm.
00:24:49
Plant People
And if you're worried about a deep, ah you know, saucer, I've even recommended to folks putting like pea gravel or something in the bottom where it lifts that up.
00:24:49
Alexis
Mm-hmm.
00:24:57
Plant People
That way you have a reservoir of water without the container actually sitting deep down into the water.
00:24:59
Alexis
a
00:25:00
Jessica
Mm-hmm.
00:25:02
Plant People
So you kind of get the best of both worlds.
00:25:03
Alexis
Yeah. A lot of people, I've heard some orchid pros say that with their orchids. So they'll put the layer of pea gravel in the bottom dish and then keep that full.
00:25:13
Plant People
Yeah.
00:25:14
Alexis
And, you know, they water the orchid occasionally, but the pot is not actually sitting in water.
00:25:14
Plant People
Not in the pot, but in the dish. Yeah.
00:25:17
Alexis
It's more for the relative humidity.
00:25:18
Plant People
Yeah.
00:25:20
Alexis
um And I've always,
00:25:21
Brett
That's how, that's how we, that's how we do.
00:25:23
Alexis
Yeah.
00:25:23
Plant People
Is that how you, and that works pretty well?
00:25:24
Brett
Yeah. I really, I really like it because you basically aren't as worried about ah overwatering because it can drain away, but there's also a reservoir that will hold on to.
00:25:26
Plant People
Yeah.
00:25:33
Brett
I mean, if you, if you fill it up too much, the thing will still be sitting in water, but it got a little bit of a, of a thing and it keeps that, keeps that root zone area, particularly where all those tender tips are nice and moist and humid.
00:25:38
Plant People
Yeah. You got like a fudge factor or buffer. Mm-hmm.
00:25:41
Alexis
Buffer.
00:25:46
Plant People
yeah Do any of you guys grow gear around any ferns or move ferns in and out? I do not, personally. but dean Yeah, ah not it's tough.
00:25:53
Jessica
I kill them.
00:25:53
Alexis
I have a, I have ah hair's foot fern I've had. since college I got it as I took have a piece of it from from um a plant that I repotted in the greenhouse on campus and I've I've had it for forever and it really doesn't grow i mean she's pretty big now she starts to get kind of creepy if you don't know a hair like a hair's foot fern they like
00:26:00
Plant People
Mm-hmm.
00:26:07
Brett
Oh.
00:26:14
Plant People
Yeah, all that it literally looks like an animal.
00:26:15
Alexis
They get these, they literally put hair um on these above ground rhizomes. And I remember when we divided it in the greenhouse, it was in a milk crate.
00:26:26
Alexis
Like, you know, everybody I think knows the size of a milk crate. You couldn't see the milk crate anymore because it's rhizomes came out and it looked like like almost like spider legs. And they came out and like down around the milk crate.
00:26:36
Plant People
It looks very animalistic.
00:26:36
Brett
oh
00:26:38
Plant People
Yeah.
00:26:39
Alexis
Yeah, yeah.
00:26:39
Brett
That's cool.
00:26:40
Alexis
It's kind of creepy, but ah I've had it and it's
00:26:42
Brett
What is this? hair foot hair
00:26:44
Jessica
It needs a different name.
00:26:44
Alexis
here
00:26:44
Plant People
Rabbit's foot, fern or hare's fern.
00:26:46
Alexis
Hare's foot, hare's foot, fern.
00:26:47
Plant People
Yeah.
00:26:48
Alexis
There's a rabbit's foot and a hare's foot. I get the two confused, but I think hare's foot is the one I have.
00:26:51
Plant People
Oh. Yeah.
00:26:53
Alexis
um
00:26:54
Brett
Do you know how you catch a unique rabbit?
00:26:59
Alexis
How?
00:27:00
Jessica
huh
00:27:00
Brett
Unique up on it.
00:27:02
Plant People
Oh man.
00:27:02
Brett
Do you know how to a tame rabbit?
00:27:03
Plant People
The universal.
00:27:04
Brett
The way?
00:27:07
Alexis
No. No.
00:27:07
Plant People
Tame one.
00:27:08
Brett
but same way
00:27:09
Plant People
Oh.
00:27:10
Alexis
because
00:27:10
Plant People
Reed would appreciate, my son would appreciate both of those jokes because they work.
00:27:13
Brett
That is that is
00:27:14
Alexis
Ray's like writing it down.
00:27:15
Plant People
They work in a variety of situations.
00:27:17
Brett
that is deep from my dad's bag. So respect where it's due.
00:27:20
Plant People
i think you brought I think he broke that out.
00:27:20
Jessica
yeah
00:27:22
Plant People
I think he broke that out on Reed, Brett, and he's he pulled that on his friends and and they were like, oh, lots of groans.
00:27:23
Brett
Yeah.
00:27:29
Plant People
So it was a success.
00:27:30
Brett
Yeah, Ray's son and I like to exchange notes on jokes, so.
00:27:34
Plant People
Yeah. Yeah, you both like the phonetic jokes. Yeah, I love it.
00:27:39
Alexis
I just can't remember them. Like the fact that you can pull that out of somewhere in your brain at any given chance is impressive to me.
00:27:47
Plant People
It's at the very top. It's ready all the time.
00:27:49
Brett
I'm gifted. What can I say? It's i don't know anything about houseplants and instead I know these things.
00:27:56
Plant People
You're keeping them alive. So you're keeping them alive.
00:27:57
Brett
That's right.
00:27:58
Alexis
we We each have our value here. Okay. and
00:28:00
Jessica
Exactly.
00:28:01
Plant People
Well, I want to hear how you guys determine like ah when a plant needs water, when you bring it in, because it is different watering schedule, either ah depending on your heat source on the inside. Like, how do you guys tell? Everybody's got their little tricks. I mean,
00:28:15
Plant People
So how are you guys lifters or soul pokers?
00:28:16
Brett
And i will I'll one up you with a follow up question of what is your mechanism for watering?
00:28:20
Plant People
Okay.
00:28:24
Alexis
o
00:28:24
Plant People
so Okay.
00:28:25
Brett
Because they I think there's more to this than people let on.
00:28:25
Plant People
So.
00:28:28
Brett
And anyway, there's more variability in how people do it.
00:28:30
Plant People
Mm-hmm.
00:28:31
Brett
I'll put it that way.
00:28:32
Plant People
I'll probably so.
00:28:32
Brett
So I'll start with me.
00:28:33
Plant People
Probably so.
00:28:33
Brett
I generally try to give it the lift test, feel the weight of the pot.
00:28:38
Plant People
Yeah. It's my method.
00:28:40
Brett
And i think that there is like, there's kind of like a long a pretty wide range of that's passable.
00:28:40
Plant People
Yeah.
00:28:49
Brett
And then it gets to a point where you're like, that's way too light. And so I would...
00:28:52
Alexis
like
00:28:52
Plant People
Yeah.
00:28:52
Alexis
When you pick it up and you go, like, yeah like ah it's like, it's a rock made of styrofoam.
00:28:52
Plant People
Yeah.
00:28:54
Brett
Yeah.
00:28:54
Jessica
You
00:28:54
Brett
what
00:28:55
Plant People
When it falls over because of the, the register blows it over with a gentle breeze, it's blown over.
00:28:57
Brett
I know I've been working out, but not that much.
00:28:57
Alexis
And you're like, whoa, that's a problem. Mm hmm.
00:29:01
Brett
Yeah.
00:29:02
Plant People
It's probably too lightweight.
00:29:04
Brett
And i I think in general plants, yeah, I would say in general, with the exception of some that are really water loving in general, plants can dry out way more than we give them credit for.
00:29:04
Plant People
Yeah.
00:29:04
Alexis
but
00:29:14
Plant People
Probably better than they can stay wet. It's better to be a bit dry than a bit too wet on the inside when you have such a slower, much slower growth rate typically on the inside.
00:29:16
Brett
Yeah.
00:29:24
Brett
Yeah.
00:29:24
Alexis
Uh-huh.
00:29:24
Plant People
Yeah.
00:29:24
Brett
So that's my answer. What yours answers?
00:29:26
Plant People
saying I like the lift test myself.
00:29:27
Jessica
i I do that. Sometimes I just like touch the soil, the sea.
00:29:32
Plant People
Yeah.
00:29:33
Alexis
and
00:29:33
Jessica
like But I'm not like just patting it on top, right? And like sticking my fingers down in there to see how
00:29:37
Plant People
Yeah. Yeah.
00:29:39
Jessica
how moist it is lift test. And then I, I don't know, I might be a bad example. I've the season of my life. I'm like, okay, about once a week, does everybody need water or somebody, but then I'll pay attention.
00:29:50
Jessica
If somebody is still like, kind of, you know, doesn't need any, I'm not going to water and Hey, you're out of luck until the next, the next week.
00:29:54
Plant People
Yeah.
00:29:57
Jessica
Right. ah But everyone's doing fine. Right. And like I said, clustered together and get the lift test.
00:30:00
Plant People
and it's and Yeah.
00:30:01
Brett
Yeah.
00:30:01
Alexis
Right.
00:30:03
Brett
I feel like neglect is more helpful than overcare in almost all plant cases.
00:30:09
Jessica
Oh, people, people love them too hard.
00:30:10
Alexis
In-house plans, hundo.
00:30:12
Brett
so
00:30:12
Alexis
Yeah.
00:30:13
Plant People
Yeah.
00:30:13
Plant People
yeah
00:30:14
Jessica
They love them so much.
00:30:14
Alexis
Mm-hmm.
00:30:15
Brett
yeah.
00:30:16
Jessica
And then they kill, they just kill them.
00:30:16
Plant People
today yeah
00:30:18
Brett
Yeah. You need to you need to have like more of a hands-off approach with them and
00:30:22
Plant People
Succulents, that's, I mean, yeah, that's my biggest problem. I mean, I just will give them a little shot of water. I'm like, oh, that, and that does not, that does not bode well. Yeah.
00:30:31
Brett
Yeah, if you want to do stuff and see stuff and all that, you know, plant some vegetable plants or something or get a dog.
00:30:31
Plant People
Get
00:30:36
Alexis
i have come I have some philodendrit, like a vine philodendron and pothos above, um like in my kitchen, like on the top of my cabinets.
00:30:36
Plant People
pet. Yeah.
00:30:48
Alexis
And those things get so, like they get so wilted, like to the point where like I almost can't Like if I can't see the leaves that are like around the crown, like I just see the ones that are like vining down.
00:31:01
Alexis
I mean, they're so wilted. I can't even see the top of the plant anymore.
00:31:04
Brett
Yeah.
00:31:04
Plant People
You're like, I've killed it this time.
00:31:05
Alexis
Then I'm like, ah, I should probably water those.
00:31:05
Plant People
Yeah.
00:31:07
Alexis
Like that's my, that's my, cause they're too tall for me to like really feel the soil and they're like to get up there and like lift them because the vines are kind of trailing everywhere is a pain.
00:31:10
Brett
Yeah.
00:31:11
Plant People
Yeah.
00:31:16
Plant People
is You just like throw water up there.
00:31:20
Alexis
So I just kind of wait until they look real bad. Yeah.
00:31:24
Plant People
Those are kind of plants that are forgiving.
00:31:25
Alexis
And then I have a really good dish under there and I feel ah like I give them a ah big old drink and they're okay.
00:31:30
Brett
yeah
00:31:32
Alexis
So ah yeah.
00:31:32
Jessica
And they're fine.
00:31:32
Jessica
They're happy.
00:31:33
Brett
Well, Jessica, can you can you give a little bit more description of what you're touching the soil, feeling the soil test? Like, what is that what's that like?
00:31:41
Jessica
Yeah. I'm using my fingers and sticking my fingers down into the the pot, the pot of soil.
00:31:45
Alexis
I go to like the middle knuckle.
00:31:46
Brett
how How deep?
00:31:47
Jessica
Yeah.
00:31:47
Plant People
Yeah, yeah.
00:31:48
Jessica
Like about your like middle knuckle ah and just see, cause sometimes, you know, it could still feel maybe a little damp on top, but like once you get your fingers down there, it might i be quite dry.
00:31:49
Brett
Okay. Okay.
00:31:50
Alexis
Yeah.
00:31:57
Brett
Okay, so um i am sometimes on this podcast I act like a moron, and for the and then other times I just am one, like I'm playing myself. and So so youre you're feeling when you're putting your finger in, you're feeling the moisture in the soil directly, or you're putting your finger in there and then you're pulling your finger out and seeing if it feels wet?
00:32:08
Plant People
Keep them guessing.
00:32:20
Jessica
Filling the moisture directly.
00:32:22
Alexis
Same.
00:32:23
Brett
What the heck does it feel like?
00:32:25
Plant People
It feels like moist.
00:32:27
Alexis
are your Are your hands too, like, are your is your skin too thick?
00:32:28
Plant People
um mean so
00:32:29
Jessica
Is it cold? like coal
00:32:31
Alexis
You can't feel it?
00:32:32
Brett
um it's My hand is with's left out in the sun, so the cuticle very thick.
00:32:35
Jessica
I was like, is this a trick question?
00:32:37
Alexis
i know.
00:32:37
Brett
No, it's not a trick it's not it's not a trick question.
00:32:38
Alexis
I was like, I don't.
00:32:39
Brett
I'm not doing a bit. I'm not. i'm like
00:32:41
Jessica
I was like, what am I to say? What am I supposed to say?
00:32:43
Brett
Because there's gradations to the level of moisture, I think.
00:32:43
Alexis
It just.
00:32:46
Brett
like is it is it If it doesn't feel like a crispy sponge all the way down into there, then that's considered moist?
00:32:46
Alexis
Yeah.
00:32:52
Brett
Yeah.
00:32:53
Plant People
Now, when I first bring my plants in, i do both the lift test and the poke test to see if there's moisture because I'm trying to get a handle on and and I'm trying to, you know, zone in on my water schedule. I do both. And then later on, when I think I've got a handle on it, I'll quit doing the the the soil test. But now some plants like the St. Francis ivy, we have a big pot of that.
00:33:16
Plant People
I can't even find the surface of the soil.
00:33:17
Alexis
Mm-hmm.
00:33:18
Plant People
It's so thick,
Tech in Plant Care
00:33:19
Plant People
so I can't do that the poke test.
00:33:19
Alexis
Mm-hmm.
00:33:21
Plant People
But I kind of use both when I first bring them in because I'm a little bit cautious of, you know, the different big difference on the inside when you bring plants in. Well, the temperature outside determines how long your heat runs.
00:33:34
Plant People
So your schedule really varies based on the outdoor temperature because that causes your whatever your heat system is to run sometimes dries plants out quicker. So I'll use both those tests.
00:33:42
Brett
um
00:33:44
Plant People
Like, you know, you were talking about and Jessica was talking about, i do the moisture test, but I don't find it as useful as lift test, but yeah, certain plants that work for dripping moisture.
00:33:51
Alexis
If my finger feels damp at all, then I don't water.
00:33:56
Plant People
And it's basically.
00:33:56
Alexis
Like, it needs to feel, like, I need to not feel any moisture.
00:33:57
Plant People
Oh, gotcha. Yeah. oh gotcha
00:34:00
Alexis
And that's when I water.
00:34:01
Brett
But how do you feel the moisture without taking your finger out and seeing if it feels wet?
00:34:06
Jessica
But also the soil is like, will stick to your fingers and stuff too.
00:34:06
Alexis
I mean, Brett...
00:34:09
Jessica
Right? So.
00:34:10
Plant People
Yeah.
00:34:10
Alexis
and I don't know how you can't feel it.
00:34:11
Plant People
It's like the batter test. That's spoken like a true baker, Jessica.
00:34:14
Jessica
battered.
00:34:14
Plant People
If you take a toothpick and stick it into a cake and pull it out and it's on stick, that's true.
00:34:17
Brett
So I will, I will just say, will just say, I think that sometimes people who are pretty decent with houseplants or very experienced with houseplants do things on a tech, a tactile and instinctive basis.
00:34:18
Jessica
That's true.
00:34:20
Plant People
That's true.
00:34:31
Brett
That's really hard for someone who's analytical or an inexperienced to understand.
00:34:31
Alexis
and
00:34:36
Brett
Some of it's just hard to explain, but like, but like, again, i'm I'm like, should this, if this doesn't feel like a dried crispy sponge, then I don't water, you know, if you' sorry, I have to wait until this feels like a
00:34:38
Alexis
Yeah. If
00:34:38
Plant People
It is, yeah.
00:34:40
Jessica
A skill you gain over time.
00:34:43
Plant People
Yeah.
00:34:45
Alexis
it doesn't feel like, yeah, like... um just like and dry potting soil. Like if you've got houseplants, you've probably experienced dry potting soil, right?
00:34:52
Plant People
No. Yeah.
00:34:55
Alexis
Like there's no moisture in it. It will blow away in the wind. Like there's just, there's nothing to it.
00:34:59
Brett
Yeah.
00:35:00
Alexis
It's not going to stick together. If it feels like that, then you need, definitely need a water.
00:35:03
Plant People
I was, I just want to say like this.
00:35:04
Alexis
And if you.
00:35:05
Brett
But not to be pedantic, but there is there is a whole even dry potting soil. if like I had to put it into a an oven and dried it, it would get even drier and crispier.
00:35:15
Brett
And so there's like this gradation. And obviously, I think you don't have to be perfect.
00:35:18
Alexis
Yeah.
00:35:19
Brett
You don't have to nail it every time.
00:35:20
Alexis
No.
00:35:21
Brett
But I think, yeah, i because there's some of them where like it'll get so dry that I could take and just it pulls away from the side of the pot and you can lift it out.
00:35:29
Alexis
Yeah. Yeah.
00:35:32
Plant People
Yeah, that's bad.
00:35:32
Brett
That's too dry?
00:35:32
Alexis
Right.
00:35:33
Plant People
that That seems bad when you have a significant soil shrinkage.
00:35:34
Jessica
Yeah, that's
00:35:37
Plant People
That's usually not the...
00:35:37
Alexis
Yeah.
00:35:38
Brett
But that's the thing. That to me is dry.
00:35:41
Plant People
Yeah.
00:35:41
Alexis
Mm-hmm.
00:35:42
Brett
and And we're saying if we don't feel more. So that this is where this is where I'm just, i'm again, i'm not i'm not playing the moron.
00:35:46
Plant People
Now...
00:35:47
Alexis
i Let me put it this way.
00:35:48
Plant People
No...
00:35:48
Brett
i am the
00:35:48
Alexis
my My skin is not sensitive enough to like feel that much gradation. So like the the soil could still be, you know, fitted to the pot.
00:36:00
Alexis
Like it's not shrunk away and it can still feel dry to me because, it but it's not ultimate. It's not like the finest point of dry, but like the the tech tactile, what the human skin is capable of is is that.
00:36:13
Alexis
So, um but sometimes you get it.
00:36:15
Plant People
When we have plant routes, oh, go ahead, Alexis, yeah.
00:36:17
Alexis
Yeah, I was at your plants.
00:36:18
Brett
Well, I would just like to invite people to email us at hortculturepodcast at gmail.com.
00:36:20
Alexis
Yeah.
00:36:24
Brett
And you tell me who is being the crazy person here. And if the answer is both, that's okay.
00:36:29
Plant People
Brett is well just looking for a reason to do an Excel spreadsheet.
00:36:29
Brett
But
00:36:30
Alexis
You're not crazy. It's legit, but...
00:36:32
Brett
I just, I have people talk.
00:36:33
Alexis
Yeah. You're talking like moisture meter. Like if you want to go get a moisture probe, like that's the difference.
00:36:36
Plant People
Yeah. Yeah.
00:36:39
Alexis
But like, I don't know if the human skin is capable of, of feeling that much of a difference between like baked.
00:36:46
Plant People
I think you said it, Alexis.
00:36:46
Brett
Oh, don't agree.
00:36:47
Plant People
I had a commercial grower one time tell me do the pinch test.
00:36:48
Brett
i don't agree
00:36:50
Plant People
And that was ah when I managed a plant route at Berea. And, you know, we had a significant amount of soil in like ficus that we could like have access to.
00:36:54
Alexis
Yeah.
00:36:58
Plant People
and we were trying to get a handle on like when to water those, we do the pinch test, which is ah kind of like, um, if you've ever done any composting, you do the moisture test by squeezing. We do a little bit of the pinch test at the side of the pot.
00:37:07
Alexis
Mm-hmm.
00:37:09
Plant People
And if any of it sticks together, no water, if you pinch it and none of it sticks together, then you water.
00:37:13
Alexis
Mm-hmm.
00:37:15
Brett
oh
00:37:15
Plant People
So that was a more, and, and you know, it's, it was kind of what, like Brett said, you're trying to teach a bunch of college kids, uh, age kids that maybe ah have never really paid any attention to things like that.
00:37:16
Alexis
That's a good one. Yeah.
00:37:26
Plant People
And I thought that was a really cool way of, kind of teaching us when to water, not to water specific plants was the little, because it was standard peak mix, right?
00:37:28
Alexis
Mm-hmm.
00:37:34
Plant People
Like a commercial mix, like a whatever Metro mix.
00:37:34
Alexis
Mm-hmm.
00:37:37
Plant People
And we would pinch that. And that was a pretty good test.
00:37:40
Alexis
Yeah.
00:37:41
Plant People
But you said that a minute ago, and that's exactly what we did.
00:37:41
Alexis
It's like tillage, like similar. Yeah.
00:37:44
Plant People
A little pinch test. And once we got a handle on the rhythms, we didn't have to do that as much. We'd just do the lift test, you know?
00:37:50
Brett
Yeah.
00:37:50
Alexis
Yeah.
00:37:50
Brett
And I think.
00:37:50
Alexis
And then you like, you do the pinch and the lift at the same time and you get a feel for like, oh, I'm not watering.
00:37:50
Brett
and
00:37:53
Plant People
Yes, that's exactly what we'd do.
00:37:55
Alexis
This is how heavy it feels.
00:37:56
Plant People
That's what we would do.
00:37:56
Alexis
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
00:37:57
Plant People
Yeah, multiple touch points.
00:37:57
Brett
Yeah. I think a lot of those shorthand tests like that, they're just to get you started to the point where you then develop some of that experience and intuition.
00:38:02
Plant People
Yeah.
00:38:08
Brett
And some people will have that better than others. You know, that there's,
00:38:11
Plant People
Yeah.
00:38:11
Brett
ah Alexis has that in a different way than I do. And I don't think part of it's experience, but part of it's also just, it's just differences in the way, the way you, yeah, experience the world.
00:38:15
Plant People
No.
00:38:20
Alexis
The way your brain works. yeah
00:38:21
Jessica
Mm-hmm.
00:38:22
Plant People
That's fine.
00:38:22
Brett
And yeah.
00:38:24
Alexis
i was I tried to tell Annie, Brett's wife Annie, she was asking about watering her houseplants.
00:38:24
Brett
Yeah. you
00:38:30
Alexis
And she took me on a tour. And she's like, how do I know when to water? And I was like, just just feel it. And she's like, okay, but like, can I water like once a week?
00:38:35
Brett
know
00:38:37
Alexis
And I was like, no. She's like, what? do you what And I was like yeah, they're all different. And there are different pot sizes. And you just kind of have to feel them every week. And she's like, I don't i don't understand. I was like, yeah, yeah.
00:38:49
Alexis
Like pick this one up. Then pick this one up. She was like, I don't, I need, i need data.
00:38:49
Plant People
Too much variation.
00:38:53
Plant People
yeah There are tools for for you guys. You guys mentioned like tools of the trade. I don't really use them a lot, but I know gardeners that do, especially the really like advanced, like orchid type growers are not necessarily for orchids, but there's moisture meters you can get. There's light meters you can get that maybe you don't need those on a small scale, but if you're on a larger scale, trying out a new potty mix or something or or whatever, there are meters to more you know, accurately quantify this, I guess, as in their bread for all of these things, moisture, everything.
00:39:22
Brett
Yeah.
00:39:22
Alexis
Or if you just struggle.
00:39:24
Plant People
Yeah. Or if you just struggle, you can even get apps on your phone and these things are like the internet of things. You plug in a little sensor and it will do the moisture and transmit it to your phone.
00:39:31
Alexis
Mm-hmm. Put down in the soil. Yeah.
00:39:35
Plant People
It'll tell you temperature. It'll tell you ph I don't put as much stock into that, but yeah, it'll tell you all of these cool things and transmit it to your phone for you gear heads.
00:39:42
Jessica
you
00:39:44
Plant People
that want to kind of be a bit more accurate about this. and And there's some really cool tools out there. I particularly like the, like the lot meters ah that you can get.
00:39:52
Brett
Yeah.
00:39:53
Plant People
I mean, a $20 lot meter from your, yeah.
00:39:55
Brett
Yeah. I was going to say they're way more affordable. the the All of those, you can get them for not that much money and it's very cool.
00:40:00
Plant People
And they they cost a lot of money. If you spend $40 on a two-part lot meter, you get an incredible device that's commercial quality, $40 to $50. And homeowners can get the $20 version that'll suit their needs to tell how many You know, foot camp foot is a foot candles that they all measure in, you know, they they've got luminescence.
00:40:17
Alexis
Mm-hmm.
00:40:18
Brett
lumin Yeah. They can convert to lumens and all that.
00:40:20
Plant People
Yeah.
00:40:21
Brett
Yeah.
00:40:21
Plant People
ah But very accessible these tools are for homeowners to tell light requirements and moisture requirements. If you really want to fine tune that, the type A in my brain really likes that. Do I use them ah a lot, you know, just at home?
00:40:34
Plant People
No, I don't. But I really like though those tools.
00:40:36
Brett
Yeah, I use it so that what Ray's talking about, if you're mad, if this light meter is like this little box and it's got a sensor on the top and you can hold it like in you know daylight or under a light or whatever, and it will tell you light intensity so that you can can then kind of compare.
00:40:40
Jessica
you
00:40:51
Alexis
Mm-hmm.
00:40:52
Brett
I think there's still a difference between the same relative lumens of sunlight versus other light because of the spectra are different. And, but anyway, but I've used it under like shade cloth to see if I had enough shade cloth to get the level of shade that I was looking for.
00:41:04
Alexis
Mm-hmm.
00:41:04
Plant People
Oh, yeah. and
00:41:07
Brett
i have one naturally as the person who's saying, oh how do you feel?
00:41:09
Plant People
Yeah. Not surprising.
00:41:10
Brett
How do you tell it with your finger if it's blah, blah, blah, blah.
00:41:11
Plant People
Yeah.
00:41:14
Brett
But I, and I have the moisture meter too, and it's a little less resolute.
00:41:16
Plant People
oh
00:41:17
Brett
It has a
00:41:18
Plant People
Yeah.
00:41:19
Brett
It just says wet or very wet or dry or very dry.
00:41:23
Plant People
Or try again.
00:41:24
Brett
um But it also has a temperature. I use it to check soil temperatures in the in this in the summer.
00:41:28
Plant People
yeah. Yeah.
00:41:29
Brett
But yeah, I think that i think that i we have gotten better because Annie and I think both have different approaches. And so I will kind of come with the big, deep soaking water, and she'll kind of monitor them on an ongoing basis.
00:41:46
Jessica
Thank
00:41:46
Brett
And so um that's why I wanted to ask about Jural's method for for doing your watering when you're inside.
00:41:50
Plant People
Yeah, you asked about that earlier.
00:41:50
Alexis
my method is to water while I'm brushing my teeth with yesterday's water bottle. ah So I don't know.
00:41:57
Brett
What is yesterday's water bottle? What does that mean?
00:42:00
Plant People
How well hydrated are you?
00:42:00
Alexis
It just means like, so like i fill I'll fill my water bottle up, you know, throughout the day if I don't drink at all.
00:42:04
Brett
Oh, I see.
00:42:05
Alexis
And it's just like water in my cup or random cups or random bottles that I have.
00:42:06
Brett
Oh, i see. Mm-hmm.
00:42:09
Alexis
And like, I'll be brushing my teeth and just be like, let me just go. And I'll just, and I'm weird. i don't know. I can't stand in the bathroom and just brush my teeth. Like I just walk around and look at things. And that's like my time.
00:42:20
Brett
It feels feels like a 2000s movie, like late-2000 teens ah Manic Pixie Dream Girl, like going around and watering her plants and listening to the shins or something.
00:42:21
Alexis
Yeah.
00:42:22
Plant People
like a waste of life.
00:42:30
Alexis
Hmm.
00:42:32
Plant People
Yeah.
00:42:32
Alexis
and It's, yeah, it's not nearly that cute, but it is the um time that for some reason my brain thinks like, while you're brushing your teeth, just go walk around and look at your plants.
00:42:32
Plant People
Listen to your favorite emo song. Yeah.
00:42:34
Brett
Yeah. Yeah.
00:42:35
Plant People
Yeah.
00:42:42
Alexis
It's just a thing that I like to do. And then I'll look at one and be like, you look like you need water. And I just grabbed the closest thing that has water in it. Hmm.
00:42:51
Plant People
only do the flood watering like for certain kinds of plants. Like we've talked about succulents and i have good luck with flood watering those, but not very often. Long periods in between time, especially on the inside.
00:43:02
Plant People
And what are some of the other real salt?
00:43:02
Brett
and And how about how long is a long period of time? Sorry.
00:43:05
Plant People
ah For my average succulents in like a, you know, shallow dish, I don't know, um with average winter temperatures. You mean times between watering?
00:43:14
Brett
Yeah. Like, are we talking days, weeks, months?
00:43:16
Plant People
No, I water just a little bit regularly. And by regularly, I mean once every couple of weeks. But, you you know, it's highly variable based on your habits.
00:43:21
Brett
Okay.
00:43:24
Plant People
If you water a lot, you have to extend that out in between times. And your mix, okay, has a big, you know, matters a lot.
00:43:29
Brett
Yeah. Yeah.
00:43:30
Plant People
But what are some others? I'm trying to think of some other salt-sensitive plants that I will flood, like spaths, spathorillium, like they're real salt-sensitive.
00:43:36
Alexis
Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
00:43:37
Plant People
Every now and again, if I see them starting to show signs, like around the edges or whatever of salt damage, I will, like, you know, try to wash as much salts out of this accumulated salts out of the soil.
00:43:49
Plant People
But now floodwatering, I'm a big fan of, um is that kind of what you were getting at, Brett?
00:43:53
Brett
yeah What does that look like? What does that mean?
00:43:55
Plant People
Really just exactly what it is. I will put it under, usually in the bathtub, put it under there and just water, water, water, just constant, constant, constant water for a while.
00:44:05
Brett
And it's draining out the bottom.
00:44:06
Plant People
And it's draining out the bottom for a while. And then, you know,
00:44:10
Brett
Like, ah is that while a while being five seconds, five minutes, somewhere in between?
00:44:13
Plant People
and I'll do two to two to three minutes depending on how much.
00:44:15
Brett
Wow. Okay. Yeah.
00:44:17
Plant People
yeah I mean, and then, you know, some some plants respond well to that. All of my succulents, they don't mind that a bit.
00:44:22
Brett
And what's the, what's the thought of the flood watering versus like, what do you.
00:44:22
Plant People
and a
00:44:27
Plant People
Mimicking natural cycles for certain types of plants, the boom and bust cycle that like desert plants see, that's that's their you know native growing habit is they see lots of rain, then they don't see much moisture for a long period of time.
00:44:29
Jessica
Thank you.
00:44:39
Brett
Mm-hmm.
00:44:39
Plant People
And that's the plants that I find respond best to that.
00:44:39
Brett
Mm-hmm.
00:44:42
Alexis
Yeah, I see like some um big cacti nurseries will act like... um when they have like mother plants and stuff like that, they'll actually put the entire plant like in a big barrel, like the whole plant leaves, everything.
00:44:55
Plant People
Oh, it's like, just put it in there, yeah.
00:44:56
Alexis
And they'll soak them. And part of that is like, they'll put um a little bit of like a Dawn dish soap or a insecticidal oil or, you know, something along those lines is some sort of oil and a very, you know, 10% small um solution.
00:45:05
Plant People
Yeah.
00:45:09
Alexis
And they will, it helps with pests too. So if you've got scales or mealy bugs or something in the soil,
00:45:12
Plant People
i
00:45:17
Alexis
on the leaves in those tight crevices.
00:45:19
Plant People
yeah
00:45:19
Alexis
They'll just, and you can do that with a lot of different houseplants.
00:45:19
Jessica
you
00:45:22
Alexis
The big thing is, is don't, it's not like a long period of time. Like it's 10 minutes where you're just there weighted down.
00:45:27
Plant People
Yeah. Yeah.
00:45:30
Alexis
You know, you think you're drowning them. You're waterboarding them a little bit.
00:45:33
Plant People
yeah
00:45:34
Alexis
And then it kind of lets a lot of that stuff come out and disappear. And then you bring it back out, maybe throw in a little bit of fresh potting soil if it came off. um But that can be really beneficial for a lot of plants as you you know do that transition out to in can be an option too.
00:45:50
Plant People
It floats a lot of that dead stuff out the top of the soil if it's little hard to clean out.
00:45:53
Alexis
Yeah.
00:45:54
Plant People
I like the insect angle on that too because that's that's, you know, the stuff I struggle with the most is if I bring in white or mealybugs or aphids or...
00:45:56
Alexis
Yeah.
00:46:02
Alexis
Mm-hmm. And like some of those plants, like um I'm thinking of like curly leaf Hoya, if you've ever seen those before, you know, like getting in those nooks and crannies is impossible, you know, to get even to get spray and like, you know, systemics work, but you know, you're going careful with those too.
00:46:03
Plant People
yeah
00:46:08
Plant People
Hard to spray insecticidal oil or anything Yeah. Yeah.
00:46:19
Alexis
And so that's just an option that I thought was pretty cool.
00:46:20
Plant People
i
00:46:23
Alexis
And you can just drown your bugs.
00:46:24
Brett
That is cool. Yeah.
00:46:26
Alexis
And there's something very invigorating about that, at least for me.
00:46:29
Plant People
Yes.
00:46:30
Alexis
So yeah.
00:46:30
Jessica
Oh.
00:46:31
Plant People
are Are you guys using supplemental light? That's my next big thing. We talked about like a tool.
00:46:35
Alexis
Oh, I just bought new ones. Yeah.
00:46:37
Plant People
but it So, yeah, I mean, that's something that the tech there and the energy usage has gotten so good.
00:46:41
Alexis
Mm-hmm.
00:46:43
Plant People
But my favorite thing is like built-in inline timers. You just pop a couple, you can do like four, six, 12 hours or whatever.
00:46:47
Brett
yeah
00:46:50
Plant People
And these things have gotten so affordable.
00:46:50
Alexis
Mm-hmm.
00:46:52
Plant People
But what did what kind did you get, Alexis? Like an adjustable tripod kind of thing or what?
00:46:56
Alexis
Well, we should ask Jessica what kind she recommended her grandma.
00:46:58
Jessica
oh
00:46:59
Brett
Mm-hmm.
00:46:59
Jessica
i Well, I'm probably the worst, though, at this with this funny story is because i don't have any grow lights at my house because and my new house, my new house that was built in 1890 gigantic...
00:47:00
Plant People
Oh, oh, yes. Hmm.
00:47:06
Alexis
Mm-hmm.
00:47:06
Plant People
but your Windows may be good enough.
00:47:08
Plant People
Yeah.
00:47:12
Jessica
has gigantic
00:47:14
Plant People
Oh, that's awesome.
00:47:15
Jessica
windows, right?
00:47:15
Plant People
Yeah.
00:47:15
Alexis
the
00:47:16
Jessica
So all of my houseplants are much happier her and like blooming and all of that kind of stuff. But my grandma, I probably get my green thumb from her. i was at her house the other day and she has like probably 20 to 40 cuttings of plants that she has taken from her yard, ah from geraniums to impatience to all sorts of things.
00:47:32
Plant People
ah wow. Wow.
00:47:37
Jessica
And she has requested a grow light set up for Christmas. And I did not think that was weird at all. being a plant person, but apparently everybody else in my family thought that was very weird that grandma wants a grow light set up in her basement.
00:47:52
Brett
She's been following the legislation closely.
00:47:52
Jessica
ah And, and I, I was just like, why are y'all acting weird? Like she has all these plants that one, I'm like, what are you going to do with all these?
00:47:58
Plant People
are you here?
00:47:58
Brett
preparing.
00:47:59
Alexis
Yeah. What? Yeah.
00:48:01
Jessica
And, but everybody else was highly concerned about my grandma wanting ah grow light set up. So um i directed her to some of ah my favorite ah gardening companies that also sell grow light setups for the nice ones with the shelves and the stand instead of some of the little tabletop ones that you see.
00:48:13
Plant People
Hmm.
00:48:17
Alexis
who
00:48:22
Jessica
Cause I guess it also depends on what you're doing right with them.
00:48:25
Plant People
Yes.
00:48:26
Alexis
yeah
00:48:26
Jessica
um That if you just need those freestanding ones, which I've seen those before.
00:48:31
Plant People
Yeah.
00:48:32
Jessica
I don't know. Have you guys, you have any of the freestanding ones?
00:48:34
Plant People
I have two or three of those at home though. Is that the kind you got Alexis or
00:48:38
Alexis
I've got um um've got two kinds. I've got one that is got a clip. So clips on, I have this like cute little it rack indoor with multiple layer levels on it.
00:48:44
Plant People
Oh yeah. Yeah. e
00:48:49
Alexis
And ah so it clips onto there and then it has these like flexible, you know, arms that I can point out, the snake arms.
00:48:53
Plant People
Yeah. Snakes or whatever.
00:48:56
Alexis
So there's like four different LEDs with timer and I can do warm light, cool light, mix light.
00:48:58
Plant People
hmm.
00:49:01
Alexis
So if I want them to bloom versus I want vegetative growth versus just full spectrum,
00:49:01
Plant People
Oh, nice. i
00:49:07
Alexis
I can set it on that and then I can adjust them, which is really nice. and And this year I bought, because I've got a couple, the reason, biggest reason I have lights, because I'm like, Jessica, i have an old house and they actually did a good job of putting in good lights. So we have good light, but um I of course want to put plants in areas that plants probably don't need to be.
00:49:25
Alexis
So that's where I got light. But I found these new ones for those like dark corners. And they are, it looks like a little ring light. um And like a little halo. And it has a stick, ah like a little stick on it that you can put down into the pot and it has it extends or gets shorter yeah and then i have it and so what i like about it is i can get that light right at the crown of the plant which is where you'll get a lot of rot if you over water and and things like that so i've got that light shining right there on the crown of the plant it's just you know really contained it's just for that one
00:49:42
Jessica
Very cool.
Adapting Plant Care and Learning
00:49:59
Alexis
plant it's kind of cute in a little corner um and i can also set that for a timer as well so i'm really pumped about those
00:50:06
Brett
And it looks like a little angel plant because it's got its little halo.
00:50:08
Alexis
It does, it's so cute.
00:50:09
Plant People
Got its own little halo.
00:50:10
Alexis
On my devil's ivy, which is great.
00:50:12
Jessica
I was going to say, what is the plan?
00:50:12
Plant People
Yeah.
00:50:13
Brett
Lucifer was an angel once.
00:50:13
Jessica
i' was going ask what it was.
00:50:15
Alexis
but I've got it on my one of my pothos that I put out, the only one that I put out on the porch that I'm like, ooh, if you don't get light, you're gonna be real real mad at me.
00:50:25
Plant People
Not happy.
00:50:26
Alexis
And then the other one is gonna go in the the ZZ plant I have in a very dark corner. Like it's too dark for even a ZZ plant.
00:50:32
Plant People
If you can't grow that, yeah, that's ah pretty incredible for those.
00:50:34
Jessica
oh
00:50:36
Plant People
you
00:50:36
Alexis
I'm like, you know I don't want to threaten you this way.
00:50:39
Plant People
you know
00:50:39
Alexis
You're, you're good to me. So.
00:50:41
Plant People
You know, it was amazing. Brett, you mentioned you had a light meter and it was so informative of me for me years ago when we had the plant route. And one of the things are, you know, person that was sort of directing us and kind of getting us oriented and to the plant route was this.
00:50:57
Plant People
He said, you know, took a measure, you know, one foot from the window and it had so many lumens and then backed up another foot and it cut the lumens by two third and the fall off.
00:51:01
Alexis
Mm-hmm.
00:51:02
Brett
Yeah.
00:51:07
Alexis
crazy.
00:51:10
Plant People
He's like, now see placement is important. And, you know, a lot of these were like in, you know, businesses had really good light exposure, but it's like, listen, you can't back these things up. if they love light, not even a foot, but it showed us what a difference like a foot makes.
00:51:22
Alexis
Yeah. No, 12
00:51:24
Plant People
So light quality in the winter on the inside, super important. And I just, I just popped that 12 hour timer. I don't, I probably shouldn't, but I just put it on the longest duration I can.
00:51:31
Alexis
Yep. no twelve hours ye
00:51:34
Plant People
I mean, there's four and six. I don't know what those are used for. You know, me being a guy, I'm like more is better. So I just 12 hours, I just set it and forget it. If you have one of those, I've tried it on different settings and I have the best luck with full spectrum 12 hour.
00:51:43
Alexis
Yeah.
00:51:47
Brett
do you do you do Do you change your light settings in the growing
00:51:47
Alexis
I...
00:51:54
Brett
growing quote unquote growing season
00:51:57
Plant People
No, not on the ones I just move in in the winter. I personally don't. I probably could do a better job of manipulating the bloom cycles more naturally if I did, but I've never really ah tuned it down to that extent.
00:52:09
Brett
So we we're we're in like a north and east facing windows.
00:52:09
Alexis
i Yeah.
00:52:15
Brett
And so if you're if you're ah cardinal directionally and impaired, they get the north window gets very little direct light and some indirect.
00:52:15
Plant People
Mm-hmm.
00:52:27
Brett
And then the east window gets morning light and less as the day goes on.
00:52:29
Jessica
you
00:52:32
Brett
And so in other words, these are the lower light side of of the house.
00:52:37
Plant People
Yeah.
00:52:38
Brett
um and lower intensity. And so we, we keep the supplemental light on year round and the additional sunlight is sort of like this boost up to a, you know, all East facing or all like Southeast facing, you know what i mean?
00:52:45
Alexis
Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
00:52:52
Plant People
Oh, gotcha. You're leveling.
00:52:53
Brett
It's like, we're trying to offset. Yeah, exactly. Exactly.
00:52:56
Plant People
Yeah.
00:52:57
Brett
We're raising the base level and then the sun does the the adjustment for us. And so we don't do any changing, but, and, and they, they seem pretty happy with that.
00:53:01
Plant People
Makes a difference. Yeah.
00:53:06
Alexis
Yeah, I might like turn mine down to like four or six hours just because i'm I am in bright light. um Mostly because I don't want them to get too excited about being. I'm like, listen, babe, winter will come back.
00:53:17
Alexis
So um I don't want them to get too crazy.
00:53:19
Brett
Don't get too used to this.
00:53:20
Alexis
But that and I don't want to water them anymore. Mm
00:53:25
Plant People
Yeah.
00:53:25
Brett
Yeah. Well, cause I mean, they're they're coming from places where there isn't this intense seasonality like this, like that not, not to this extent, you know, the closer to the equator.
00:53:25
Plant People
if i Don't grow too much. Don't grow too much.
00:53:30
Alexis
hmm.
00:53:32
Plant People
Mm-hmm.
00:53:34
Brett
So the the swings aren't quite so, it depends on the plant, but a lot of them closer to the equator.
00:53:41
Jessica
Last year.
00:53:41
Brett
What were you say, Ray? Sorry.
00:53:42
Jessica
but
00:53:42
Plant People
don
00:53:43
Brett
Okay. Yeah.
00:53:44
Plant People
it's I don't know.
00:53:45
Alexis
Jessica. hmm.
00:53:45
Plant People
there's no There's no formula for these things. People ask the formula, just like Annie, you were having the discussion, you know how often, just give me the formula or how many days or whatever. there're just It just all depends on the plant and the you know what's going on outside, how long your heat runs, you know which window do you have a plant by.
00:54:04
Plant People
And it's just the only way I know how to do it is just try to keep the same plant without killing it for two or three seasons. And I know... about how much to how to take care of it in the wintertime and how to transition it out to that one spot on one particular porch area that we have or one back deck area.
00:54:20
Alexis
And also if you kill it, it's probably not that big of a deal. So like be easy with yourself.
00:54:23
Plant People
No, it it wasn't strong enough anyways.
00:54:24
Jessica
It's okay.
00:54:26
Plant People
It wasn't hardy.
00:54:26
Jessica
That's how you know you're a true plant person.
00:54:28
Brett
Yeah.
00:54:29
Alexis
Yeah.
00:54:29
Plant People
and If you haven't killed a few plants, you're not trying hard enough to to try different things.
00:54:29
Jessica
Okay.
00:54:33
Alexis
You got to push the limits.
00:54:35
Plant People
You do.
00:54:35
Alexis
Yeah.
00:54:36
Brett
When the reproductive cycle, I mean, we have this, this is going to get a little bit much, so cut me off, but, um,
00:54:36
Plant People
That's cool. Yeah.
00:54:42
Plant People
Thousand foot view.
00:54:43
Brett
like we have this idea of like, like our, our life cycle, life, everything, it takes, you know, nine months for us to gestate. There's some of these plants, if you put them in a pot by the end of the weekend, they're going to have roots and be a new plant.
00:54:57
Brett
And so the idea of like death and life turning over in a plant world is very, very different prospect for a lot of these, you know, if it's a seed, some kind of crazy seed based thing, then maybe not, but
00:54:58
Plant People
one
00:55:08
Brett
It's not, you're not killing 80 year old person in that plant. You know, you're, it's, it's just a different, different logic. You gotta get your, you know, find your own way to justify it.
00:55:16
Alexis
Yeah.
00:55:18
Plant People
I don't know if you have that Jade mother plant in the greenhouse.
00:55:18
Brett
Like I'm doing right now.
00:55:18
Alexis
This is why I don't do like animals like that.
00:55:21
Plant People
I don't know that thing's a time investment.
00:55:22
Jessica
I just have to find the the right plant for you, right? Like, but no, no, no.
00:55:28
Alexis
I can tell you it's not air plants for me, so
00:55:32
Jessica
Right? No, no. know Which one works for you in your setting, so...
00:55:36
Brett
You're more of an earth bender.
00:55:39
Alexis
Yeah, yeah.
00:55:39
Plant People
Not an air plant, fire plant.
00:55:39
Alexis
i'm a
00:55:40
Brett
Not an airbender.
00:55:40
Alexis
i'm ah I'm an earth sign. I need that good soil. Air signs are not for me.
00:55:47
Brett
Deep roots, not shallow air roots.
00:55:49
Alexis
Yeah, i don't I don't know what that is. Me and Epiphyte struggle, so.
00:55:57
Plant People
You're loving them too much.
00:55:57
Brett
Me and epiphytes get into epic fights.
00:56:00
Plant People
Nice.
00:56:00
Jessica
Thank
00:56:01
Alexis
Facts. That's our next shirt.
00:56:02
Plant People
You're not going to
Podcast Merchandise Interest
00:56:03
Plant People
top that, Brett. not going to top it this episode.
00:56:03
Alexis
And by next, I mean, like, we have to have one first, but, like, when we do, that's our next shirt.
00:56:05
Plant People
and
00:56:08
Brett
Yeah. So speaking of which, if you all are still interested in merch, you have to email us and let us know that you're interested in merch if we're actually going to go forward and do this.
00:56:15
Plant People
If you want the epithetic merch.
00:56:16
Brett
But we've been looking forward into it. Yeah, we've been looking into it a little bit and it seems to be possible despite operating within the big blue machine. So if you really want merch and you're actually going to buy it, let us know in the comments on Instagram.
00:56:24
Alexis
Mm-hmm.
00:56:29
Brett
Let us know and anywhere else.
00:56:32
Alexis
Email, whatever.
00:56:33
Plant People
There's a shout.
00:56:34
Alexis
Yeah. And with that, perfect, perfect end. Thank you, Brett. Just going in there, you know, email us, comment on Instagram at Hort Culture Podcast.
00:56:39
Plant People
Leading out.
00:56:43
Alexis
ah Leave us a review and say need merch now? Five stars. ah That would be great. Helps other people find us in case they want really cool merch like Epiphytes, our epic fights. i I'm in. I'm into this sold, take my money. I will be
Podcast Community and Wrap-up
00:57:00
Alexis
paying for it as well. So if you want some, definitely let us know. But we are excited that you were here with us today. we hope you got something fun out of this or at least just got to chill with your friends on the pod because that's what it feels like when I listen to podcasts and just my friends, you know?
00:57:16
Alexis
So we hope you feel like that too and that you'll join us next time. Have a great one.
00:57:20
Plant People
Thank