On The Ledge | Grow houseplants with the experts

Latest Episodes:

Episode 62: Coleus Aug 31, 2018

Show notes

'Campfire' ... 'Spiced Curry' ... 'Alabama Sunset' ... 'Dipt in Wine' ... no, I am not reminiscing about my summer holiday, I am of course talking about varieties of the fantastic plant that is the Coleus. I was once rather dismissive of these plants, but in recent years I've come to realise how wrong I was. Dr Hessayon calls Coleus 'the poor man's Croton' and he's right - they are a lot cheaper and easier to grow! They come in a fascinating range of shapes and colours, from 'Dark Chocolate' to 'Pink Chaos'

Many people treat them as annuals, and they are cheap and easy to grow enough that there's no shame in this approach, but it's also possible to overwinter your Coleus going over winter. I sowed a packet of 'Rainbow Mix' Coleus seed as part of this spring's On The Ledge sowalong and it's further cemented my love of this plant family.

See full show notes here: https://is.gd/siVOTH

Want to unlock bonus content and listen or watch ad-free? Join my Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/ontheledge

Check out The Atlas of Deadly Plants, Legends of the Leaf, my book on houseplants and my houseplant cards Houseplant Gardener in a Box here.

Follow Jane Perrone on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/j.l.perrone

Follow Jane Perrone on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@j.l.perrone

Join the Houseplant Fans of On The Ledge group on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/houseplantfans

Episode 61: growlights with Leslie Halleck Aug 24, 2018

Show notes

Leslie Halleck's book Gardening Under Lights (published by Timber Press) is a really welcome book for those of us who haven't fully dipped our toes into the confusing world of artificial light for our plants.

In this episode, I find out about what kind of light houseplants need, investigate the pros and cons of the difference types from LECs to LEDs and beyond, and discuss how cannabis growing fits into the picture.

I also find out whether you need to invest in a light meter, whether IKEA's LED offering is worth a look, and whether it's possible to buy a non-ugly growlight!

See full show notes here: https://is.gd/gO6t1K

Want to unlock bonus content and listen or watch ad-free? Join my Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/ontheledge

Check out The Atlas of Deadly Plants, Legends of the Leaf, my book on houseplants and my houseplant cards Houseplant Gardener in a Box here.

Follow Jane Perrone on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/j.l.perrone

Follow Jane Perrone on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@j.l.perrone

Join the Houseplant Fans of On The Ledge group on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/houseplantfans

Episode 60: Nepenthes with Domonick Gravine Aug 03, 2018

Show notes

Carnivorous plants don't get more colourful, clever and downright dramatic than the tropical pitcher plants, aka Nepenthes.

Domonick Gravine, founder of Nepenthes nursery RedLeaf Exotics, has been running his business for about 18 months now, bringing Nepenthes to a whole new generation of growers. I talk to him about his favourite plants and how to care for them.

See full show notes here: https://is.gd/ZRrPLi

Want to unlock bonus content and listen or watch ad-free? Join my Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/ontheledge

Check out The Atlas of Deadly Plants, Legends of the Leaf, my book on houseplants and my houseplant cards Houseplant Gardener in a Box here.

Follow Jane Perrone on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/j.l.perrone

Follow Jane Perrone on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@j.l.perrone

Join the Houseplant Fans of On The Ledge group on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/houseplantfans

Episode 59: Aloes, Agaves and other succulents with Colin Walker Jul 27, 2018

Show notes

Colin Walker has been growing succulents for 50 years, and he just happens to be the president of the British Cactus and Succulent Society. I interviewed him this week to find out about his two specialisms, Aloes and Agaves, and also found out about his penchant for putting succulents in odd containers such as teapots - and why cat litter can help with your succulent propagation (as long as you get the right type).

See full show notes here: https://is.gd/wx2uJL

Check out Legends of the Leaf, my book on houseplants http://legendsoftheleafbook.com

Support On The Ledge on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/ontheledge

Follow Jane Perrone on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/j.l.perrone

Join the Houseplant Fans of On The Ledge group on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/house...

Join in #HouseplantHour on Twitter every Tuesday 9pm UK time (4pm ET): https://twitter.com/houseplanthour

Episode 58: indoor ferns Jul 20, 2018

Show notes

Ferns. Love them, hate them, want them to go away and stop taunting you with their crispy leaves? This week I am attempting to give serial fern killers hope by discussing some tips and tricks to keep ferns happy, interviewing someone who's got their fern game sorted, and naming some of the species I find just that bit easier to keep alive.

See full show notes here: https://is.gd/hw6vGr

Want to unlock bonus content and listen or watch ad-free? Join my Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/ontheledge

Check out The Atlas of Deadly Plants, Legends of the Leaf, my book on houseplants and my houseplant cards Houseplant Gardener in a Box here.

Follow Jane Perrone on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/j.l.perrone

Follow Jane Perrone on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@j.l.perrone

Join the Houseplant Fans of On The Ledge group on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/houseplantfans

Episode 57: quick wins for indoor edibles Jul 13, 2018

Show notes

I've come to a bit of a standstill this week: I don't know if it's the heatwave the UK has been going through, the pressure of making a weekly podcast or England's exit from the World Cup, but it's left me feeling rather weary.

So I thought I'd dedicate this episode to some really quick and easy projects for indoor growers that take two to five minutes to complete, and (mostly) use items that you may well have in your storecupboard, or can be bought from your local market. It's nice to plan out and complete complex, high-maintenance indoor gardening, as per James Wong's brilliant projects in the last two episodes, but sometimes it's great to do something that's what I call a 'quick win'.

See full show notes here: https://is.gd/d4iFoU

Want to unlock bonus content and listen or watch ad-free? Join my Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/ontheledge

Check out The Atlas of Deadly Plants, Legends of the Leaf, my book on houseplants and my houseplant cards Houseplant Gardener in a Box here.

Follow Jane Perrone on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/j.l.perrone

Follow Jane Perrone on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@j.l.perrone

Join the Houseplant Fans of On The Ledge group on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/houseplantfans

Episode 56: James Wong's houseplants - part two Jul 06, 2018

Show notes

I had so much fun and fascinating stuff to chat about with expert botanist and houseplant maverick James Wong that I am bringing you another chunk of our chat this week. If you haven't yet listened to Part One of my visit to James Wong's flat, please do so before you click play on this.

See full show notes here: https://is.gd/Krxpx1

Want to unlock bonus content and listen or watch ad-free? Join my Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/ontheledge

Check out The Atlas of Deadly Plants, Legends of the Leaf, my book on houseplants and my houseplant cards Houseplant Gardener in a Box here.

Follow Jane Perrone on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/j.l.perrone

Follow Jane Perrone on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@j.l.perrone

Join the Houseplant Fans of On The Ledge group on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/houseplantfans

Episode 55: James Wong's houseplants - part one Jun 29, 2018

Show notes

British-Malaysian botanist James Wong is sparking a one-man houseplant revolution. With no outside space to garden, for the last 18 months James has been focusing all his horticultural energies into many fascinating plant experiments inside his small London flat.

See full show notes here: https://is.gd/pxLffM

Want to unlock bonus content and listen or watch ad-free? Join my Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/ontheledge

Check out The Atlas of Deadly Plants, Legends of the Leaf, my book on houseplants and my houseplant cards Houseplant Gardener in a Box here.

Follow Jane Perrone on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/j.l.perrone

Follow Jane Perrone on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@j.l.perrone

Join the Houseplant Fans of On The Ledge group on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/houseplantfans

Episode 54: Streptocarpus and other Gesneriads Jun 22, 2018

Show notes

Regular listeners to On The Ledge podcast will have heard me waffle on many times about how much I love Streptocarpus. The name may be easily confused with a throat infection (it actually refers to the plant's twisted seedpod) but this genus is an under-appreciated gem of the houseplant world.

I speak to Dale Martens of the Gesneriad Society to find out everything from what to pot them in to why breeding your own Streptocarpus may just involve a trip to the dentist (really).

See full show notes here: https://is.gd/TtthWz

Check out Legends of the Leaf, my book on houseplants http://legendsoftheleafbook.com

Support On The Ledge on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/ontheledge

Follow Jane Perrone on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/j.l.perrone

Join the Houseplant Fans of On The Ledge group on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/house...

Join in #HouseplantHour on Twitter every Tuesday 9pm UK time (4pm ET): https://twitter.com/houseplanthour

Episode 53: begonias, carnivorous plants and more with Mike Clifford Jun 15, 2018

Show notes

Behind an unassuming bungalow near Poole in Dorset, Mike Clifford's garden may measure up to just 65ft long, but it's absolutely packed full of wonderful plants, both in greenhouses and outside.

Mike is a huge fan of all kinds of tropical plants, but he's got a particular penchant for big-leaved plants such as the tree dandelion (yes there is such a thing) and the tree fern. I was privileged to get a tour of Mike's garden and greenhouses, meeting everything from his huge American pitcher plants to his iridescent begonia species.

See full show notes here: https://is.gd/bLwTHw

Check out Legends of the Leaf, my book on houseplants http://legendsoftheleafbook.com

Support On The Ledge on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/ontheledge

Follow Jane Perrone on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/j.l.perrone

Join the Houseplant Fans of On The Ledge group on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/house...

Join in #HouseplantHour on Twitter every Tuesday 9pm UK time (4pm ET): https://twitter.com/houseplanthour