Plant Peeps

On this episode the peeps talk through plans for outdoor plants and flowers and how to avoid and treat some pesky pests! The girls We also learn about Jess's plans for her basement, what Alicia's Mother's Day Haul looks like and Mary's naivety when it comes to the early days of social media.  Follow us on Instagram and send us your questions, topic ideas or casualty plant pictures!  @plantpeepspod Send us an email at plantpeepspod@gmail.com ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Tips from this Episode: - Grabbing flowers from big box stores can be more cost effective than nurseries. Especially for annuals. Do what Jess does and shop around for what you want so you never have to pay full price! - When planting near your home make sure you keep space away from your home's foundation to avoid water damage to your home.  - Use a mixture of granules such as mosquito bits and sticky traps in your plants to get rid of fungus gnat problems.  - Lipstick Pagoda leaves will be stiff as a board when they're happy. When they need water the leaves will allow you to bend them.  - Aloes plants will be full when they're happy. When they need water the leaves will be more squishy.  ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Plants Mentioned in this Episode: - Boston Fern (Nephrolepis exaltata) - Lamb's Ear (Stachys byzantina) - Lipstick Black Pagoda (Aeschynanthus longicaulis) - Aloe Vera  - Elephant Ear (Colocasia) - Impatient (Impatiens walleriana) - Daisy - Hostas (Plantain lilies) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Products Discussed in this Episode: Mosquito bits Sticky Traps

The episode where Mary, Jess, and Alicia all beg spring to get here. We touch on our future plant plans in hopes to bring joy to the dreary days that are dragging on. Plants sales are discussed and excitement is ignited by box store plants getting set up in anticipation for mother’s day. We learn that you can in fact use pee as fertilizer and that all boys are inherently a little odd. We also learn Mary’s cleaning preferences and Alicia’s yard plans and Jess teaches a valuable lesson about testing your tea temperature before swallowing it. Follow us on Instagram and send us your questions, topic ideas or casualty plant pictures!  @plantpeepspod Send us an email at plantpeepspod@gmail.com ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Buzz Words From this Episode: Fenestrations: splits or holes in plant leaves. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Plants Mentioned in this Episode: - Prayer Plant - Fern - Snake Plant - Daffodils  - Tulips - Gardenia - Marigolds - Baltic Blue Pothos - Common Ivy

On this episode the peeps talk about what to do in case of a hard freeze so no need to panic! The difference between hard frost vs “soft frost.” They dip their toes into the hardiness of outdoor plants and what everyone prefers in our personal flower beds. Big update on the propogations donated so kindly from our fellow plant friend. Jess also comes to learn something super exciting about the way her house faces while Alicia picks up on a new hobby, and Mary is just crazy in her own way. Follow us on Instagram and send us your questions, topic ideas or casualty plant pictures!  @plantpeepspod Send us an email at plantpeepspod@gmail.com ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Frost Protection Tips in the spring from this Episode: - Hard freeze: This takes place when the temperature falls below 28 degrees Fahrenheit. This is the most dangerous for your vulnerable plants. - Soft freeze: Is not a real thing. - Cover the plant with a bucket. - Cover vulnerable plants with a sheet or blanket but make sure the plant is not smashed. - Place bucket over the plant and put mulch and/rock around the bottom. - Make sure your plants are well watered. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Buzz Words From this Episode: Weeds: a plant that is not valued where it is growing and is usually of vigorous growth. Mulch: material (such as decaying leaves, bark, or compost) spread around or over a plant to enrich or insulate the soil. Frost: a deposit of small white ice crystals formed on the ground or other surfaces when the temperature falls below freezing. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Plants Mentioned in this Episode: - Creeping Charlie - (Pilea Nummulariifolia) - Dandelions - Hosta - (Plantain lilies) - Roses - Tulips  - Spiderwort - Mican Philodendron - Lipstick Black Pagoda - Lemon Button Fern ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Products Discussed in this Episode: - Dieowa Podcast - www.die-owa.com. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sources: Farmers Almanac https://www.thespruce.com/what-the-difference-between-a-frost-and-a-freeze-1403074

On this episode the peeps talk about what to do now that Spring is here! You'll also hear each of the peep's opinions on dog poop, taking baths and the "why" behind why they love tending to plants! Follow us on Instagram and send us your questions, topic ideas or casualty plant pictures!  @plantpeepspod Send us an email at plantpeepspod@gmail.com ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- SPRING Tips from this Episode: - Spring is the perfect time to repot your plants!  - You want to start fertilizing your plant in the Spring if you haven't yet - OR boost your fertilizer to more often if you were already using in the non growing season! You can use liquid plant food, granules, fish emulsion, worm casings, lake water or whatever works best for you! Just make sure to feed your plants. - Mother's Day is a great time to think of outdoor planting in the Midwest (OR any time that there is consistently no overnight frost).  ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Buzz Words From this Episode: Grounding, aka Earthing: the act of walking barefoot on the earth whether it be sand, dirt or grass.  Compost: decayed organic material used as a plant fertilizer. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Plants Mentioned in this Episode: - Norfolk Island Pine - Fern - Snake Plant - Black Velvet Alocasia - (Alocasia reginula) - Croton - Tulips  - Never Never Plant - (Ctenanthe plant) - Prayer Plant (Calatheas) - Lilac  - Fiddle Leaf Fig - (Ficus lyrata) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Products Discussed in this Episode: Dutch Letters from Pella: Jaarsma Bakery and Vander Ploeg Bakery Lomi Composter ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sources: Water Harvesting Laws Epsom Salt

On this episode the peeps talk about different types of propagation and how to do it! We also learn about Alicia's rapidly growing plant body count, Jess tells us about the smelly corpse plant and Mary plans a flower color reveal party. Follow us on Instagram and send us your questions, topic ideas or casualty plant pictures!  @plantpeepspod Send us an email at plantpeepspod@gmail.com ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Tips from this Episode: - You can find propagation containers anywhere! Jess suggests Betty Buzz Bottles and Alicia suggests Hornitos "On the Rocks" margarita glass.  - Talk to you friends about trading cuttings to help grow your collection! - Mix seedling starting soil with potting soil to have a great medium for planting newly water propagated cuttings. - Don't get the mixed variety plants at the big box stores. Either create on your own or go to a local nursery or garden center to ensure they work together. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Buzz Words From this Episode: Water Propagation: using water as a medium to root plant cuttings Air-Layering: to force a tree or branch to form new roots at a certain point by interrupting the stream of nutrients from the existing root system. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Plants Mentioned in this Episode: - Birds of Paradise - (Strelitzia reginae) - Calathea - genus of flowering plants belonging to the family Marantaceae. Commonly called Prayer Plants - Philodendron Brasil - (Philodendron hederaceum ‘Brasil’) Also known as variegated heartleaf philodendron - Marble Queen Pothos - (Epipremnum aureum 'Marble Queen') - Corpse Flower (Amorphophallus titanum)  - Crotons - Philodendron Micans - (Philodendron hederaceum var. hederaceum) Also known as velvet-leaf philodendron - English Ivy - (Hedera helix L) - Hoya Curtisii - Also known as wax plant - monstera adansonii - Also know as the swiss cheese or monkey mask  - Parlor Palm (Chamaedorea elegans) - Lipstick Black Pagoda (Aeschynanthus longicaulis)  - Chenille Plant (Acalypha hispida) - Chinese Evergreen (Aglaonema) - European Cypress - Rubber Plant (Ficus elastica) - Jade Plant (Crassula ovata) - Wandering Dude (Tradescantia) Also known as inch plant or wormwort - Peace Lily - (Spathiphyllum)  - Fiddle Leaf Fig - (Ficus lyrata) - Mother of Thousands - (Kalanchoe daigremontiana) Also known as Devil's backbone ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Products Discussed in this Episode: Propagation Station on Amazon Rooting Hormone ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sources:  Air Layering Water propagation

On this episode we learn why Jess had an unsuccessful plant trip, why Mary hates catnip and how Alicia took back her East Window. We also sprinkled in some more plants for newbies and we had brief introduction to houseplant scale bugs.  Follow us on Instagram and send us your questions, topic ideas or casualty plant pictures!  @plantpeepspod Send us an email at plantpeepspod@gmail.com ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Tips from this Episode: - Use rubbing alcohol to clean leaves with scale bugs.  - Use sticky traps and mosquito bites or insect pellets on top of your soil to help with fungus gnats.  - Philodendron plants can survive on florescent lighting - so bring them to your office or put them in your bathroom and they will be OK!  - Trim your vining pothos or philodendrons and propagate and add to the top of the plant to have fuller cascading trailing plants!  ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Buzz Words From this Episode: Proplifting: the practice of taking discarded plant material and propagating new plants from them. Scale Bugs: feed by sucking sap from trees and shrubs through piercing-sucking mouth parts. Sap feeding by scale insects may cause yellowing or wilting of leaves, stunting or unthrifty appearance of the plants, and eventually death of all or part of the plant when infestations are heavy. Fronds: the leaf or leaflike part of a palm, fern, or similar plant. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Plants Mentioned in this Episode: - Lipstick black pagoda - (Aeschynanthus longicaulis)  - White Anne Nerve Plant - (fittonia argyroneura) - Alocasia ‘Frydek’ - (Alocasia micholitziana) Common name is Green Velvet Alocasia - Pilea Mollis - Also known as Moon Valley Pilea - Silvery Ann - (scindapsus pictus) Common name is silvery vine - Air Plants (Tillandsia) - Chinese Evergreen (Aglaonema commutatum) - European Cypress  - Rubber Plant (Ficus elastica) - Snake Plant (Dracaena trifasciata, Dracaena angolensi or Dracaena pearsonii) Common name varieties include: Bird's nest, twisted sister, mother in law's tongue, rhino grass, Bantel's sensation - Split Leaf Philodendron (Philodendron bipinnatifidum) - Also known as Swiss Cheese Plant - Vining Philodendron - Many varieties including Philodendron Brasil, Heartleaf Philodendron, Philodendron Mican, Philodendron Birken, Philodendron  - Pothos - Many varieties including Marble Queen, Golden Pothos, Pothos NJoy, Neon Pothos, Jade Pothos, Cebu Blue Pothos, and Silver Pothos Exotica - Aloe Vera - Crispy Wave Fern (Japanese Asplenium Nidus) - Maidenhair Fern (Adiantum raddianum) Also known as Delta maidenhair fern. - Boston Fern (Nephrolepis exaltata) - Marigolds  - Catnip (Nepeta cataria) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Products Discussed in this Episode: Sticky Fly Traps: https://tinyurl.com/5739a8ck

Jess, Alicia and Mary explain artificial and natural light, the plant tag light requirements and also dig into soil a little. Mary learns that not all artificial lighting looks like it's out of Pineapple Express, Jess teaches a math trick and to Never Eat Shredded Wheat and Alicia learns the name Greg is more popular than Reg. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Lighting Terms Cheat Sheet: Direct Light - The sun shines directly through the window and lands on the plant. Cacti and succulents want bright direct light. East windows typically have direct light in early morning and West windows have afternoon direct light. South will have hot direct light throughout the day. Indirect Light - Sunlight that doesn't land directly on the plant. This bounces of off something else prior to hitting the plant. Plants with this requirement typically like 6-8hrs of sun. East windows will typically have afternoon bright indirect light and West will have indirect morning light. North windows gets all indirect lower light.  Medium Light - Well lit room, but not in front of a window Low Light - no direct light, all indirect throughout the day north facing window.  Full Sun to Part Shade - If you will cut sun out from this plant, you'd want to take out the afternoon sun (that you would get from West and South)- probably best for East window. However, might be ok for direct light window like West.  ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Tips From this Episode: - Get full spectrum grow lighting with red, blue, and white light OR have multiple bulbs with your favorite lights - Get a well draining potting soil/potting mix (a good thing to look for is organic material). Do not get top soil. - Till your compacted soil with chopsticks or a fork!  ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Buzz Words from this Episode:  - Foliage - plant leaves collectively - Full Spectrum Lights - meant to mimic sunlight - includes the range of all the wavelengths colors. - Leggy - a plant that has a lot more stem than leaf. You will see this when a plant is stretching toward the sun. - Foot-Candles - (AKA "Candle Feet" to the Plant Peeps) - a foot candle is a measurement of light intensity and is defined as the illuminance on a one-square foot surface from a uniform source of light. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Plants Mentioned in this episode:  - Jade Plant (Crassula ovata) - also known as lucky plant, money plant or money tree - Black Velvet Alocasia (Alocasia reginula) -  - Monstera adansonii - also known as swiss cheese, monkey mask or five holes plant - Snake Plant (Dracaena trifasciata)   - Rubber Plant (Ficus elastica) - European Cypress  - Chinese Evergreen (Aglaonema) - Pothos (Philodendron scandens) - Spider Plant (Chlorophytum comosum) - Peace Lily (Spathiphyllum) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Products Discussed in This Episode:  - Alicia's grow lamps: 2 gooseneck full spectrum lights and 3 Full Spectrum Light Strips  ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sources: Light Levels for Plants Explained - Plantophiles website mentioned in show

Jess, Alicia and Mary will discuss a few of the best beginner plants and how to care for them. Jess explains why you shouldn't fear the Fiddle Leaf Fig tree, Mary gives her preference for turtle and fish poop over measuring fertilizer and Alicia tests the edibility of spider plants. Follow us on Instagram and send us your questions, topic ideas or casualty plant pictures!  @plantpeepspod Send us an email at plantpeepspod@gmail.com ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Tips from this Episode:  - Use an app for reminders, but don't feel the need to follow it exactly. Mary and Alicia use Planta! - You don't need the most expensive soil - but make sure it is well draining soil.  - Make sure your pots have drainage. If you want to use a ceramic plant without drainage use a ceramic drill bit and drill a drainage hole. If you don't want to drill for drainage, keep your plant in the growers pot and place inside the outer pot for display then take it out for watering.  - Find plants that match your lifestyle.  - It is OK if your plants don't make it - even if they're considered "beginner!" ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Buzz Words From this Episode: Variegation: diversity of colors Root Bound: having roots formed into a dense, tangled mass that allows little or no space for further growth Root Rot: any of various plant diseases characterized by decay of the roots and caused especially by fungi ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Plants Mentioned in this Episode: - Spider Plant - (Chlorophytum comosum) Also known as spider ivy, ribbon plant and hen & chicken.  - Air Plants (Tillandsia)  - Crispy Wave Fern (Japanese Asplenium Nidus)  - Maidenhair Fern (Adiantum raddianum) Also known as Delta maidenhair fern.   - Rubber Plant (Ficus elastica) - Prayer Plant (Maranta leuconeura) - Snake Plant (Dracaena trifasciata, Dracaena angolensi or Dracaena pearsonii) Common name varieties include: Bird's nest, twisted sister, mother in law's tongue, rhino grass, Bantel's sensation - Fiddle-Leaf Fig (Ficus lyrata)  - Aloe Vera - Angel Wing Begonia (Begonia x coralline) - Also known as the cane begonia - Norfolk Island Pine (Araucaria heterophylla)  - Chinese Evergreen (Aglaonema commutatum).  - ZZ Plant (Zamioculcas zamiifolia) - Lavender Plant (L. angustifolia) - Arrowhead (Syngonium podophyllum) Also known as American Evergreen, five fingers, and nephthytis - Jade Plant (Crassula ovata) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Products Discussed in this Episode:  - Alicia's fertilizer: All-Purpose Indoor Plant Fertilizer - Jess's fertilizer: Schultz Cactus Plus 2-7-7 Liquid Plant Food - Moisture Meter: XLUX Soil Moisture Meter ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sources:  - Indoor Plants and the NASA Air Quality Study - Adorable Airplant Holders

Welcome to our welcome trailer where we meet the peeps Jess, Alicia and Mary. Jess introduces us to the chenille plant which in fact is not poisonous, only toxic. We learn about Mary's happy hole and we find out who Alicia loves to take pictures of more, her kids or her plants.  Follow us on Instagram to see our plant pics and to keep up with us between episodes! @plantpeepspod Send us an email at plantpeepspod@gmail.com ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Tips from this episode:  - Call local restaurants to get 5 gallon pickle buckets - Call local coffee shops to get coffee grounds ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Buzz Words from this episode:  Propagate: breed specimens of (a plant or animal) by natural processes from the parent stock. Macramé: a form of textile produced using knotting (rather than weaving or knitting) techniques. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Plants Mentioned in this show: - Orange Tree - Lemon Tree - Lime Tree - Monstera Deliciosa: Common name is Swiss Cheese Plant - Peace Lilly: (Spathiphyllum) - Snake Plant: (Dracaena trifasciata, Dracaena angolensi or Dracaena pearsonii) Common name varieties include: Bird's nest, twisted sister, mother in law's tongue, rhino grass, Bantel's sensation - Air Plants: (tillandsia) - Chenille Plant: (Acalypha hispid) Also known as red hot cattail or foxtail - Neon Pothos: (Epipremnum aureum) - Rubber Plant: (Ficus elastica) - "Sexy" Prayer Plant: (Maranta leuconeura) - "Grandpa Plant" Heartleaf Philodendron: (Philodendron scandens) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sources:  Indoor Plants and the NASA Air Quality Study: https://tinyurl.com/3uy5tx2b  Chenille Plant Toxicity: https://tinyurl.com/3mkdcvtp Official Macramé definition: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macram%C3%A9  Official Propagate definition: https://www.dictionary.com/browse/propagate