WEBVTT 1 00:00:01.000 --> 00:00:03.560 Are you in the Seattle area? Do you want to see us at our 2 00:00:03.640 --> 00:00:07.679 very first live event that is also a fundraiser for a great cause. We'll 3 00:00:07.719 --> 00:00:11.679 be hosting a plant Parenthood Pride panel for Seattle Pride and Father's Day in support 4 00:00:11.720 --> 00:00:16.160 of and at the Volunteer Park Conservatory on June eighteenth. We're so excited to 5 00:00:16.199 --> 00:00:19.519 see you there. Yeah, take an information in the show notes and our 6 00:00:19.559 --> 00:00:23.480 social media bios. We're going to be sharing plant parenthood stories to both from 7 00:00:23.480 --> 00:00:26.600 our own lives as well as those of plant parents in the community, so 8 00:00:26.640 --> 00:00:29.519 please send us yours to share too. You can send us an email with 9 00:00:29.600 --> 00:00:34.039 subject line plant Parenthood Story to Plant Debty Podcast at gmail dot com. Thanks 10 00:00:34.079 --> 00:00:42.039 and we'll see you there. Happy Pride, and we're live. This is 11 00:00:42.039 --> 00:01:02.320 Plant Debty Podcast. I'm Matthew and I'm Stephen. This week we thought we'd 12 00:01:02.320 --> 00:01:07.599 focus on a Stephen centric plant. Yeah, right, so me centric that 13 00:01:07.719 --> 00:01:11.680 Matthews saw this plant surprise me with a gift of one, and I already 14 00:01:11.680 --> 00:01:15.159 had it for like a year when you gave it to So we'll start this 15 00:01:15.200 --> 00:01:19.079 episode in a place of strong agreement. Yeah, some people are just dead 16 00:01:19.159 --> 00:01:23.719 stick plant people, and some plants are just dead sticks. If you don't 17 00:01:23.760 --> 00:01:27.560 know what we're talking about, that might be because you're a tropical foliage plant 18 00:01:27.640 --> 00:01:32.680 person. But the plant in today's spotlight is also one that appeals to me 19 00:01:32.760 --> 00:01:36.359 because it's so weird and unusual, and we've seen them showing up in a 20 00:01:36.400 --> 00:01:38.480 lot of our local plant shops recently, so you might get a chance to 21 00:01:38.519 --> 00:01:42.200 find one of your own, even if they're classically considered uncommon in cultivation. 22 00:01:44.760 --> 00:01:48.480 The world is starting to open up again, and are you traveling soon? 23 00:01:48.920 --> 00:01:53.480 If so, your choices are leaving your plants defend for themselves or find a 24 00:01:53.519 --> 00:01:57.959 trusted plant center. But what if you don't have any seasoned plant parent friends 25 00:01:57.000 --> 00:02:00.480 who can lovingly tend to your hurban chunk while you're away. Well, we 26 00:02:00.560 --> 00:02:04.480 have a new houseplant app to tell you about, and it's totally different from 27 00:02:04.519 --> 00:02:07.520 any other houseplant apps out there. Watering can is a new app think rover, 28 00:02:07.680 --> 00:02:10.120 but for plants. When you're out of town, you can sign up 29 00:02:10.159 --> 00:02:15.000 for a qualified plant parent to come tend your collection as needed while you're gone. 30 00:02:15.039 --> 00:02:17.280 You don't have to worry about extensive preparations to keep your plants happy in 31 00:02:17.280 --> 00:02:22.039 your absence. Or if you're the casualties you might come home to with watering 32 00:02:22.080 --> 00:02:25.560 Can currently active in San Diego and Las Vegas, watering Can is expanding to 33 00:02:25.639 --> 00:02:30.520 new cities as plant parents sign up. Download the iOS app and sign up 34 00:02:30.560 --> 00:02:32.719 for the watering Can newsletter to get started and learn when it's coming to your 35 00:02:32.719 --> 00:02:37.560 city and even better, tell your local planty friends. That's right, New 36 00:02:37.599 --> 00:02:40.280 cities are being added as demand increases, so don't wait. To travel is 37 00:02:40.319 --> 00:02:44.360 starting to be a thing again, So get the watering Can app and travel 38 00:02:44.439 --> 00:02:49.800 with peace of mind knowing your plants are in good hands. Okay, you've 39 00:02:49.800 --> 00:02:53.439 heard us talk about how much we've enjoyed our soul Tech Solutions pendant lights, 40 00:02:53.719 --> 00:02:55.800 right, and you know we're also big fans of artificial plant lighting. I 41 00:02:55.879 --> 00:03:00.360 use it to extend and supplement my growing spaces, and I just don't trust 42 00:03:00.360 --> 00:03:02.719 the sun to do what my plants need consistently. But we're also sticks for 43 00:03:02.840 --> 00:03:07.800 design, so we really appreciate how stylish Siltech plant lights are. Right. 44 00:03:07.960 --> 00:03:12.240 Sultech makes track lights and pendant lights that are high quality, modern and very 45 00:03:12.280 --> 00:03:15.719 sleek, and their plant light bulbs fit standard fixtures so you can just use 46 00:03:15.719 --> 00:03:17.680 a lamp you love too exactly. I have a big piece lily in a 47 00:03:17.759 --> 00:03:22.479 dark corner of my bedroom and it was getting really lopsided from natural light coming 48 00:03:22.479 --> 00:03:24.680 at it from only one side. So I put a Veta grow light in 49 00:03:24.719 --> 00:03:29.439 a floor lamp with the shade angle directly down over the plant, and within 50 00:03:29.479 --> 00:03:32.560 a couple of weeks it was already clearly much happier. Basking and solds warm 51 00:03:32.639 --> 00:03:37.520 white, full spectrum photos indic plant light. It's but on a surprising amount 52 00:03:37.520 --> 00:03:39.319 of new growth already, and it looks so much more balanced, and I 53 00:03:39.360 --> 00:03:44.719 didn't have to sacrifice style at all. The light is completely unobtrusive and just 54 00:03:44.759 --> 00:03:47.280 allows me to keep plants happy where I want them instead of where my windows 55 00:03:47.319 --> 00:03:51.759 dictates, and it's hard to get all of that with just any natural looking 56 00:03:51.800 --> 00:03:54.039 plant light. Yeah, we're excited to offer our listeners fifteen percent off their 57 00:03:54.039 --> 00:03:59.280 products with Code Plant Debty podcast Sultec Lights last. We're up to fifteen years 58 00:03:59.319 --> 00:04:02.240 and you can count high quality lights, fantastic design, great customer service, 59 00:04:02.319 --> 00:04:06.879 free shipping, five year warranty and more. Checkoutsulfac Solutions dot com and don't 60 00:04:06.879 --> 00:04:11.520 forget Code Plant Daddy podcast at checkout to get fifteen percent off your order. 61 00:04:14.719 --> 00:04:17.759 So today we're talking about something called Bundle of sticks plant. What is it? 62 00:04:17.959 --> 00:04:20.480 Why is it interesting? And Stephen, I think of you as a 63 00:04:20.480 --> 00:04:25.439 classic dead sticks plant person model, So give me your thesis on these. 64 00:04:26.000 --> 00:04:30.160 I mean, look at it. One of the most dead looking plants within 65 00:04:30.240 --> 00:04:34.040 the dead stick looking genre. And before we get too deep into this episode, 66 00:04:34.120 --> 00:04:36.920 I want to make it clear that we will be using the term dead 67 00:04:36.920 --> 00:04:43.000 stick looking plant lovingly throughout the episode. It's not actually a dick. I 68 00:04:43.079 --> 00:04:46.720 realize that may strike some of you from the other parts of the hobbyist strange, 69 00:04:46.759 --> 00:04:49.360 and I understand. Yeah, and when we say that, we're talking 70 00:04:49.399 --> 00:04:54.839 about plants that, in their completely healthy, thriving states, they look like 71 00:04:54.879 --> 00:04:58.839 they're dead. They're often from harsh ecosystems. We're having broad foliage as a 72 00:04:58.920 --> 00:05:03.199 disadvantage, both factors like moisture loss as well as risk of predation from herbivores. 73 00:05:03.600 --> 00:05:08.040 Yeah. So, anyway, even on other dead stick looking plants, 74 00:05:08.240 --> 00:05:12.000 there are often like tiny little leaves that you can see that appears sometimes, 75 00:05:12.079 --> 00:05:15.160 or other recognizable features if you squint hard enough. But this one doesn't give 76 00:05:15.199 --> 00:05:18.120 me any of that, and it makes it really interesting. To me. 77 00:05:18.240 --> 00:05:21.399 Oh, we'll get back to that in a moment, because I do see 78 00:05:21.399 --> 00:05:29.560 little leaves online sometimes really yeah, okay, But Sanentio marnieriatum is from dry 79 00:05:29.600 --> 00:05:33.879 scrub forests of central and southwest Madagascar at fairly low elevations around sea level, 80 00:05:34.199 --> 00:05:38.920 and this is where it imitates the appearance of dried up plant matter around them 81 00:05:39.120 --> 00:05:43.480 in order to avoid seeming like an appealing snack for herbivores. It's often found 82 00:05:43.480 --> 00:05:46.399 on sandstone rocks, growing in full sun or in the protection of bushes, 83 00:05:46.399 --> 00:05:50.800 where it's kind of a scrambling stem succulent. It's greenish gray to purple or 84 00:05:50.839 --> 00:05:55.560 alive brown, depending on the light. Covered in warty little tubercles with a 85 00:05:55.639 --> 00:06:00.279 rubbery texture, but with no leaves to speak of. They're very all and 86 00:06:00.319 --> 00:06:02.079 short lived. And I do see them a new growth of mine, but 87 00:06:02.319 --> 00:06:05.600 they're super easy to miss. I'll send you a photo, okay. And 88 00:06:06.120 --> 00:06:11.480 it flowers and they're actually interesting flowers. Yeah, they're very small, but 89 00:06:11.560 --> 00:06:15.839 as a milkweed family plant related to hoyas and Serapegia, you might be able 90 00:06:15.839 --> 00:06:17.439 to kind of get a general picture in your mind of what they might look 91 00:06:17.480 --> 00:06:21.519 like. They're appealing and unusual. The petals are startrusse with a white corona. 92 00:06:21.839 --> 00:06:26.680 The long, narrow petals themselves balloon out into a lantern shape where the 93 00:06:26.720 --> 00:06:29.759 tips kind of come back to touch in the center. You just need to 94 00:06:29.759 --> 00:06:31.959 look it up. They're hard to describe, but really cool. And then 95 00:06:32.000 --> 00:06:36.000 as they age, the petals contort so they look like little five armed octopuses 96 00:06:36.279 --> 00:06:42.399 and they're apparently honey or fru loop scented. Yeah. I did see universally 97 00:06:42.439 --> 00:06:46.839 positive comments about the fragrance. Actually, so that's interesting today. Maybe these 98 00:06:46.879 --> 00:06:50.959 are like little living diffuser sticks, you know, like those pots of twigs 99 00:06:51.000 --> 00:06:56.879 that people have. It's a stretch, but my mind went there. It's 100 00:06:56.879 --> 00:07:02.160 weird, but yeah, anyway, what are the recommended ideal growing conditions? 101 00:07:02.720 --> 00:07:08.079 So our experience looking for care and full online felt hit or miss with this 102 00:07:08.120 --> 00:07:11.920 one, as it sometimes does with the plants that we profile here. Matthew, 103 00:07:11.959 --> 00:07:14.240 what did you find? Yeah? I found that there was not a 104 00:07:14.279 --> 00:07:17.040 whole lot of high quality care written about for this plant from most of the 105 00:07:17.079 --> 00:07:21.079 sources that we saw, but it is regularly noted as being somewhat rare and 106 00:07:21.160 --> 00:07:27.000 cultivation but also fairly fast growing and easy to care for. And it's a 107 00:07:27.000 --> 00:07:31.040 plant that's easy to propagate. Now, the instructions themselves seemed rather mixed. 108 00:07:31.240 --> 00:07:38.279 I noticed that the most kind of commonly encountered advice seemed, let me say, 109 00:07:38.279 --> 00:07:43.639 a little lacking or perhaps overly cautious or foliage plant centric like. A 110 00:07:43.680 --> 00:07:46.279 lot of the sources say that they need a good amount of light, but 111 00:07:46.399 --> 00:07:50.160 along the lines of bright and direct, can even tolerate some direct sun, 112 00:07:50.480 --> 00:07:55.920 with some write ups suggesting to limit this to just the cooler morning sunlight in 113 00:07:55.959 --> 00:07:59.680 an east window or something. Yeah. I found the same very mixed picture 114 00:07:59.759 --> 00:08:03.319 when it came to light guidance for this one, so yeah, yeah. 115 00:08:03.360 --> 00:08:07.360 Other sources specifically say that it needs at least six hours of direct sunlight a 116 00:08:07.480 --> 00:08:11.160 day. Sources that I actually trusted, though, say that with its excellent 117 00:08:11.199 --> 00:08:13.920 heat tolerance, it needs full sun to light shade for best results. But 118 00:08:15.040 --> 00:08:18.079 it tolerates shade at the expense of a nice bushy form, and you don't 119 00:08:18.079 --> 00:08:22.079 really get that purple and olive brown color that particularly makes this plant look dead. 120 00:08:22.360 --> 00:08:26.199 That seems right to me. Yeah, this should make sense given that 121 00:08:26.240 --> 00:08:31.000 it's a coastal succulent adapted to looking dead, and it's equatorial full sun to 122 00:08:31.120 --> 00:08:35.679 partial shade ecosystems of Matta freaking Gascar. I don't think that we would ever 123 00:08:35.759 --> 00:08:37.960 be able to scorch them with our sun here in Seattle, and I'd only 124 00:08:39.000 --> 00:08:43.519 worry about two intense light exposure and some of the hottest and most sun scorched 125 00:08:43.519 --> 00:08:46.399 parts of North America. Like I did see some people on Dave's Garden in 126 00:08:46.559 --> 00:08:50.799 like Arizona say that they thrive in northeast exposure. I'm sure that's true. 127 00:08:52.279 --> 00:08:54.240 Here. A south window is going to be great as a houseplant. I 128 00:08:54.240 --> 00:08:58.720 think you're generally going to be safe giving them the most intense sun that you 129 00:08:58.799 --> 00:09:01.799 can, provided that you acclimate them to it appropriately. Yeah. I think 130 00:09:01.879 --> 00:09:05.360 the care story I'm going to get into is going to confer most of that 131 00:09:05.440 --> 00:09:09.080 too. Yeah, it doesn't surprise me. It also shouldn't surprise anyone that 132 00:09:09.159 --> 00:09:13.759 it wants a well drained potting mix, typical of what secuments generally need. 133 00:09:13.279 --> 00:09:18.919 But those trusted sources that I found myself gravitating towards suggested that they do like 134 00:09:18.000 --> 00:09:22.639 some richness in their substrate, and that it's best to provide a complete fertilizer 135 00:09:22.679 --> 00:09:26.240 with micronutrients and trace elements regularly during the warm months of active growth. A 136 00:09:26.279 --> 00:09:31.399 secondly fertilizer with low nitrogen and high potassium content is ideal, either as a 137 00:09:31.440 --> 00:09:35.039 liquid or slow released granules. Then they should also be watered pretty freely during 138 00:09:35.039 --> 00:09:39.559 the warm months of active growth. I even read in some of these places 139 00:09:39.759 --> 00:09:43.519 keep them warm and wet wild growing wet might be a stretch, but you 140 00:09:43.559 --> 00:09:48.159 do want to keep them mostly dry and pretty cool during the winter when they're 141 00:09:48.200 --> 00:09:50.799 not in active growth. Yeah. I kept seeing a no water in winter 142 00:09:52.000 --> 00:09:54.559 suggestion for these too. So yeah, but I think that, like we've 143 00:09:54.600 --> 00:10:00.200 noted in other episodes in the past, the concept of quote winter is or 144 00:10:00.279 --> 00:10:03.879 like quote when they're not actively growing exactly, And if your plant is in 145 00:10:03.120 --> 00:10:07.919 warm, bright conditions, even in January and it's growing, give it water. 146 00:10:09.080 --> 00:10:13.200 Yeah. But yeah, like water freely when there's warmth, there's light, 147 00:10:13.320 --> 00:10:16.440 they're growing, and then just back off dramatically if they're not actively growing 148 00:10:16.600 --> 00:10:20.600 or if it's cooler, because you don't want to risk rods. They also 149 00:10:20.600 --> 00:10:24.279 want fairly small pots and to be repotiti every two to three years or so. 150 00:10:24.480 --> 00:10:26.240 Okay, So does that kind of check out with what do you thought? 151 00:10:26.519 --> 00:10:30.600 Yeah? I mean that I feel like is a blend of sort of 152 00:10:30.600 --> 00:10:33.120 everything I saw, you know, people growing on outdoors, indoors, the 153 00:10:33.159 --> 00:10:37.240 south and the north. Yeah, okay, cool. So what have your 154 00:10:37.240 --> 00:10:39.799 approach has been for this plant and how successful do you feel like it has 155 00:10:39.840 --> 00:10:43.120 been for you? Okay, I will admit that when I got this plant, 156 00:10:43.240 --> 00:10:48.320 I didn't look too deeply into care information. Actually that's a total outlier 157 00:10:48.320 --> 00:10:52.360 for you. Then. Actually it does feel like I have to call that 158 00:10:52.440 --> 00:10:56.279 out a little bit. But at that point in my plant collecting, what 159 00:10:56.360 --> 00:11:01.080 I would typically do is find a plant in a plant store, put in 160 00:11:01.120 --> 00:11:03.919 my hand, and then quickly google care information while I was holding it, 161 00:11:03.960 --> 00:11:09.519 but still like kind of looking at it and seeming like I was just considering 162 00:11:09.559 --> 00:11:11.720 it, you know, but someone else wouldn't get it while I was researching 163 00:11:13.039 --> 00:11:16.080 Um classy right, Oh yeah, I actually did that with the hoya last 164 00:11:16.120 --> 00:11:20.840 week, so I'm not judging. Yeah, exactly. Anyone listening, don't 165 00:11:20.840 --> 00:11:24.639 pretend you don't know how this works. Okay. Anyway, as I was 166 00:11:24.840 --> 00:11:28.080 usually in the specialty section where they only had one or two of each species, 167 00:11:28.159 --> 00:11:31.120 like I had to Okay, I was gonna miss it if I you 168 00:11:31.159 --> 00:11:35.000 know, some person was going to come. I don't know what are judging 169 00:11:35.080 --> 00:11:39.159 your Yeah, yeah, I guess I have. I didn't one of those 170 00:11:39.240 --> 00:11:43.919 feelings about this anyway. I gave a quick scan. The care seemed possible 171 00:11:43.960 --> 00:11:46.960 without too much bother and I was busy with one of my crazy moves at 172 00:11:48.000 --> 00:11:52.320 that point, so I just like gave this my best general cactus conditions. 173 00:11:52.799 --> 00:11:56.799 It was under my brightest indoor light and near an unobstructed south facing window, 174 00:11:56.960 --> 00:12:01.039 so it got about as baked as it could have like here in Seattle, 175 00:12:01.519 --> 00:12:05.879 and it did just fine. It came from a quality local grower in the 176 00:12:05.919 --> 00:12:07.879 area, so I didn't change the soil from the nursery pot or anything. 177 00:12:09.279 --> 00:12:13.480 It kept its more rugged gray, kind of more dried look, but it 178 00:12:13.559 --> 00:12:16.399 still put on growth. Oh okay. Then I moved again, as we 179 00:12:16.440 --> 00:12:20.639 do in this podcast, and it moved to a slightly lower light situation. 180 00:12:22.240 --> 00:12:26.080 The south facing window part was removed, and it did just fine. Maybe 181 00:12:26.080 --> 00:12:30.120 it got slightly greener looking, but not a whole lot. So you know, 182 00:12:30.200 --> 00:12:33.320 my takeaway was like a little less light and heat seemed just fine for 183 00:12:33.360 --> 00:12:39.120 it too. Yeah. Then I repotted it into a tall concrete monstrosity that 184 00:12:39.240 --> 00:12:43.559 was probably formerly a candlestick. I can share pictures of it. Yeah, 185 00:12:43.639 --> 00:12:46.399 I think we've heard about this vessel before. Yeah, I think I called 186 00:12:46.399 --> 00:12:50.600 it the brutalist candlestick. Anyway, the soil mix was our typical succulent mix, 187 00:12:50.679 --> 00:12:54.440 so a lot of grit, very little moisture retention. And this varnished 188 00:12:54.480 --> 00:12:58.159 pot it was in isn't really helping it dry either, so it definitely dries 189 00:12:58.320 --> 00:13:03.039 more slowly. It's not a pot that I would recommend for anyone who wants 190 00:13:03.080 --> 00:13:05.600 to give a plant a perfect experience, but it is doing well in there, 191 00:13:05.840 --> 00:13:09.759 and I use a dilute fertilizer with almost every watering, like I do 192 00:13:09.840 --> 00:13:13.720 with my other succulents, and again getting a lot of new growth, and 193 00:13:13.879 --> 00:13:18.759 I'm pretty happy with outlooks. Before I end this like life story of this 194 00:13:18.840 --> 00:13:22.960 plant, I also dropped it kind of in the middle of this experience. 195 00:13:22.080 --> 00:13:26.759 Oh yeah, I had it in this risky position on the very edge of 196 00:13:26.759 --> 00:13:28.759 a shell for it. You know, it's stems could kind of trail nicely. 197 00:13:30.320 --> 00:13:33.440 It tumbled off two stems broke. I grieved. I then dried the 198 00:13:33.440 --> 00:13:37.159 cuttings for a day or two, jammed them, and the same pot as 199 00:13:37.200 --> 00:13:41.240 my big dressina plant, figuring like, what the heck, maybe this could 200 00:13:41.240 --> 00:13:43.159 have a little trailing section. I don't want to prepare a new pot for 201 00:13:43.200 --> 00:13:46.399 this or whatever's going on. Yeah, and then one of them rooted and 202 00:13:46.480 --> 00:13:50.960 it's growing. Now it's in a much lower light, much deeper pot with 203 00:13:52.000 --> 00:13:54.080 another plant, and it just has a much greener look. But it seems 204 00:13:54.080 --> 00:13:56.759 to be doing well. Okay, Well two things. I don't know why 205 00:13:56.759 --> 00:14:00.840 you did just stick it back in the same pot to make it year Yeah. 206 00:14:00.840 --> 00:14:03.840 But also I love that you just put it with your Drasina marginata because 207 00:14:05.039 --> 00:14:09.000 that's also madagascom plant, so that's a nice little underplanting for it. I 208 00:14:09.080 --> 00:14:11.759 do have no idea if their ranges overlap, but still we can pretend this 209 00:14:11.799 --> 00:14:16.519 plant is a companion to like EUPHORBIAMLIAI pack a podium like a lot of other 210 00:14:16.559 --> 00:14:20.480 really great madagas con succulents and cultivation. Yeah. I googled, but I 211 00:14:20.519 --> 00:14:24.600 wasn't committed enough to find the original range map for the Drausina. So yeah, 212 00:14:24.600 --> 00:14:28.200 I'm kind of pretending. In my experience the plant has been super adaptable. 213 00:14:28.320 --> 00:14:31.120 I think that's kind of the takeaway from this story I've not kept it 214 00:14:31.159 --> 00:14:35.600 in wet conditions, but I've given it about everything else. So this plant 215 00:14:35.639 --> 00:14:39.240 may look unintuitive because it barely looks alive, but I think the care has 216 00:14:39.279 --> 00:14:43.559 been surprisingly easy. Yeah, okay, what has your experience been. Well? 217 00:14:43.600 --> 00:14:46.720 When we did our holiday plant swap for episode one twenty last year, 218 00:14:48.000 --> 00:14:50.799 we were tasked with finding a plant that we thought that the other would particularly 219 00:14:50.840 --> 00:14:54.840 be into, but that we were also interested in growing. So you picked 220 00:14:54.879 --> 00:15:00.120 some ill fated Allocacia bambino for us, and I picked bundle of sticks plants 221 00:15:00.559 --> 00:15:03.720 because you know, you're my classic dead sticks plant friend. And like we've 222 00:15:03.720 --> 00:15:09.000 said, this is just one of those plants that epitomizes that I should have 223 00:15:09.080 --> 00:15:11.320 expected that you already had it, but I don't know. For whatever reason, 224 00:15:11.360 --> 00:15:15.960 you've never mentioned that plant to me. So anyway, that's my backstory 225 00:15:15.960 --> 00:15:20.440 in my personal history. I bought a rather full four inch pot of it 226 00:15:20.600 --> 00:15:24.200 at a local shop. I let it acclimate on my grow racks and then 227 00:15:24.240 --> 00:15:28.600 go completely dry so that I could unpot it separate the individual rooted cuttings out 228 00:15:28.600 --> 00:15:33.039 into two clay pots. I used to rather coarse, gritty, succulent mix 229 00:15:33.080 --> 00:15:35.960 of rich potting soil slow released fertilizer and then a lot of pummus per light 230 00:15:37.039 --> 00:15:39.000 and charcoal. It was pretty coarse. You got one of them, I 231 00:15:39.080 --> 00:15:43.440 kept the other, and here we are. It's six months later. So 232 00:15:43.679 --> 00:15:46.960 since I got it over the winter, I figured that it wouldn't want much, 233 00:15:48.039 --> 00:15:50.600 if any water, but it did seem like it was growing, so 234 00:15:50.639 --> 00:15:54.480 I wasn't quite sure how to balance that, and I just played it by 235 00:15:54.480 --> 00:15:58.200 ear. It was on my brightest grow rack shelf. It started out rather 236 00:15:58.320 --> 00:16:03.399 green, but then colored up to a more silvery gray with purple tints on 237 00:16:03.440 --> 00:16:07.360 some of the stems pretty quickly. Okay, I read this online too. 238 00:16:07.480 --> 00:16:11.000 I don't really get the purple part, but you know, I'm gonna go 239 00:16:11.039 --> 00:16:15.679 look. I feel like I get much more intense purples and other succulents, 240 00:16:15.679 --> 00:16:18.559 so maybe this just doesn't stand out to me on this plant. Well, 241 00:16:18.600 --> 00:16:22.559 I think that it might have been other things than just light exposure. So 242 00:16:22.840 --> 00:16:26.720 I would let it dry completely before giving it, just enough water that some 243 00:16:26.759 --> 00:16:32.320 would collect in the saucer below. It's a super well draining mix, so 244 00:16:32.919 --> 00:16:36.840 you know, the water drains into the saucer really quickly before the sub street 245 00:16:36.919 --> 00:16:41.080 is in any way fully moistened, and so then any excess water that had 246 00:16:41.120 --> 00:16:45.399 collected was then fully absorbing too the pot Within about a half an hour, 247 00:16:45.480 --> 00:16:49.000 it never got what I would consider a thorough watering, and this is when 248 00:16:49.000 --> 00:16:52.960 I started to notice the color gradually going darker purple, and that some of 249 00:16:52.960 --> 00:16:56.559 the tender tips began to wither a bit and then dry up. So I 250 00:16:56.600 --> 00:17:00.720 started to figure that I was actually just underwater it while it was trying to 251 00:17:00.759 --> 00:17:04.880 be an active growth. I gradually kept increasing the water frequency, and I 252 00:17:06.000 --> 00:17:11.400 ended up swapping the typical terra cotta plant saucer to a slightly deeper dish, 253 00:17:11.680 --> 00:17:14.559 so that when I water there's about a half an inch to even an inch 254 00:17:14.599 --> 00:17:18.880 of water. Sometimes the drains into this little saucer and then the plant sits 255 00:17:18.880 --> 00:17:23.480 in that, but the medium absorbs the rest pretty quickly. It's never actually 256 00:17:23.480 --> 00:17:29.319 sitting in water beyond that watering. And I've noticed that the plant has been 257 00:17:29.359 --> 00:17:33.880 doing significantly better with these much more thorough soakings and then kind of like absorption 258 00:17:33.960 --> 00:17:37.680 periods. I still let it dry most of the way between watering, but 259 00:17:37.920 --> 00:17:41.720 even under the same light, this purple has faded back to more of a 260 00:17:41.799 --> 00:17:45.680 silvery green and the plant looks significantly more plump, and now they're into the 261 00:17:45.680 --> 00:17:51.680 warmer months. Like this room right now is eighty two degrees. I'm watering 262 00:17:51.720 --> 00:17:55.200 it pretty often, so it's just dry at the surface, and I'm using 263 00:17:55.200 --> 00:18:00.160 a pretty weak concentration of that Schultz brand Succulent fertilizer at most waterings. It's 264 00:18:00.200 --> 00:18:03.480 putting on a good amount of growth at the moment, and I could definitely 265 00:18:03.519 --> 00:18:07.400 increase its light if I felt like getting more vivid, kind of dead stick 266 00:18:07.480 --> 00:18:11.240 coloring. Okay, yeah, I think I hear what you're saying. It's 267 00:18:11.279 --> 00:18:15.519 more of like a mother of thousands thirsty purple. Maybe that's happening. Yeah, 268 00:18:15.640 --> 00:18:18.799 yeah, I've noticed that on some of my aloes too. Okay, 269 00:18:19.799 --> 00:18:25.799 challenges for this one, I haven't had any particular challenges, but I do 270 00:18:25.839 --> 00:18:29.480 think a broad challenge is just telling how your plant is doing. With this 271 00:18:29.519 --> 00:18:33.960 one, it's playing dead. Yeah, so it doesn't give you a lot 272 00:18:33.000 --> 00:18:37.839 of the typical cues you'd expect. Generally speaking, I would say that well 273 00:18:37.839 --> 00:18:42.599 watered plants look greenish, normal to thirsty look grayish too. Thirsty will look 274 00:18:42.640 --> 00:18:47.519 like very skinny and twiggy, I would say, and maybe purple like you're 275 00:18:47.519 --> 00:18:51.880 saying, Matthew, Yeah, you might see dried up new growth like dried 276 00:18:51.880 --> 00:18:55.960 tips at the very ends of the stems as a challenge. You know, 277 00:18:55.960 --> 00:18:59.039 it's not like you're going to get punished when new growth drives up. Really, 278 00:18:59.119 --> 00:19:03.119 it just seems to zoom when the water was back again. So it's 279 00:19:03.200 --> 00:19:07.759 more about learning how to read this than like warning you about this punishing misstep 280 00:19:07.799 --> 00:19:10.519 that you could make here. So if that makes sense, yeah, that 281 00:19:10.680 --> 00:19:14.680 was exactly the learning curve that I had to get over recently myself. It 282 00:19:14.720 --> 00:19:18.240 really doesn't seem to be an issue if you underwater them too much when they 283 00:19:18.319 --> 00:19:21.839 want water. It's not like it ruins the appearance of a plant to have 284 00:19:21.920 --> 00:19:26.880 new growth aboard it already looks dead. So it was just that I wasn't 285 00:19:26.920 --> 00:19:32.000 sure how to read this plant's growth cycle, Like the new growth doesn't look 286 00:19:32.039 --> 00:19:36.880 conspicuously fresh unless you're actually looking at it closely. From what I found, 287 00:19:37.240 --> 00:19:42.279 I would suggest that you just kind of learned to inspect your plant regularly closely, 288 00:19:42.359 --> 00:19:45.400 so that you can learn to tell when it's an active growth and then 289 00:19:45.440 --> 00:19:48.240 just water it when it's doing that. It's not that tricky. Yeah, 290 00:19:48.279 --> 00:19:52.960 agree, Okay, pest. Wise, I did have mealy bugs in the 291 00:19:52.960 --> 00:19:56.359 one you gifted me. I already had the plant in my collection, so 292 00:19:56.400 --> 00:19:59.000 I didn't fight for it. Started to break that to you for the first 293 00:19:59.000 --> 00:20:02.000 time on air, But you know, I think our plants look the same 294 00:20:02.079 --> 00:20:06.799 anyway, so oh no, Yeah, it must have come with mealy bugs 295 00:20:06.839 --> 00:20:08.640 because I had someone mind too, And that's not the fault of the shop. 296 00:20:08.720 --> 00:20:12.440 That's just a common thing with me is I found. I did find 297 00:20:12.680 --> 00:20:17.960 that it was really easy to treat them because there are so few nooks and 298 00:20:18.000 --> 00:20:21.960 crannies. They're just like lumpy little sticks. So I sprayed the plant off 299 00:20:22.000 --> 00:20:25.039 really well in the sink and then doused it with insect settles soap spray, 300 00:20:25.079 --> 00:20:27.000 and I've not seen them come back, but my plant is young. This 301 00:20:27.119 --> 00:20:30.759 was very easy to manage. I would worry much more about pests on a 302 00:20:30.839 --> 00:20:34.880 huge, mature tangle of dead looking twigs hanging out of a basket or something. 303 00:20:37.039 --> 00:20:38.200 And I'm not going to name names because I don't want to appear that 304 00:20:38.200 --> 00:20:42.319 I'm calling anyone out or shaming them. But a fantastic and well respected plant 305 00:20:42.319 --> 00:20:45.839 fluencer did a video about this. One took down the hanging basket that they 306 00:20:45.839 --> 00:20:51.000 had and noticed there were mealy bugs on theirs. So this is probably just 307 00:20:51.039 --> 00:20:55.559 a pretty common issue for the bundle of sticks plant and it's not really going 308 00:20:55.599 --> 00:20:59.160 to significantly ruin your plant. Just be careful to not let the bundle of 309 00:20:59.160 --> 00:21:03.119 sticks become a pestilence and keep it out from mealy's. Yeah, it could 310 00:21:03.119 --> 00:21:06.839 be hard to notice because it looks kind of distressed at all times, right 311 00:21:07.440 --> 00:21:08.880 in the best way, of course. As I said, Yeah, at 312 00:21:08.960 --> 00:21:12.720 least mealy bugs look cottony and white, so they stand out against it. 313 00:21:12.839 --> 00:21:17.839 I would be really bothered if I ever noticed scale on this plant, however, 314 00:21:18.200 --> 00:21:21.720 because with the warding tubercles that are all over the stems. Honestly, 315 00:21:21.720 --> 00:21:25.680 how badly infested would a plant have to be before you actually noticed scales as 316 00:21:25.720 --> 00:21:29.079 a problem. Yeah, I think your first side would be that everything around 317 00:21:29.079 --> 00:21:33.279 the plant was sticky. Yeah, and I don't imagine this plant is fleshy 318 00:21:33.440 --> 00:21:36.880 or tender enough for them to be tempted. But you know who knows knock 319 00:21:36.920 --> 00:21:40.279 on what? Yeah, I don't know. Okay, have we enjoyed growing 320 00:21:40.319 --> 00:21:42.680 this plant and would we replace it if it died? Yeah? This is 321 00:21:42.720 --> 00:21:48.000 a weird and cool plant, and it's one that I actually really like to 322 00:21:48.039 --> 00:21:51.480 show up, in particular when people get a plant tour a fight home. 323 00:21:51.640 --> 00:21:56.799 Really you, yeah, is this with you? People like it? And 324 00:21:56.839 --> 00:22:00.519 it's been super easy so far. It's very durable, it's very forgiving, 325 00:22:00.880 --> 00:22:03.400 and I'm especially feeling that way now that I have a good routine with it 326 00:22:03.440 --> 00:22:08.079 now. It also seems like the claims that they are fairly fast growing are 327 00:22:08.119 --> 00:22:12.480 accurate, which is nice and honestly sort of unexpected for a plant that looks 328 00:22:12.519 --> 00:22:17.799 so visibly tormented and traumatized. Yeah, since mine is actively putting on new 329 00:22:17.839 --> 00:22:21.039 growth. At some point soon, I want to take some cuttings stick them 330 00:22:21.039 --> 00:22:23.359 into pot to let the whole thing fill in more. And then someday I 331 00:22:23.480 --> 00:22:26.960 dream to see a flower and smell that honey fruit loops And yeah, I 332 00:22:27.039 --> 00:22:32.039 agree with all of that. I certainly would replace mine if it died. 333 00:22:32.279 --> 00:22:36.359 It's just so simple and unique to me. And you know, it's life 334 00:22:36.359 --> 00:22:38.720 cycle is one that kind of takes you by surprise a few times per year, 335 00:22:38.920 --> 00:22:42.160 like it might give me new growth coming straight up out of the soil, 336 00:22:42.400 --> 00:22:47.119 or it might grow a new little link on its like floppy twiggy vine 337 00:22:47.160 --> 00:22:51.680 portion, or sometimes like the new growth points or whatever, or like the 338 00:22:51.799 --> 00:22:53.960 ends of these little links. Anyway, they look more or less nabby, 339 00:22:55.119 --> 00:22:57.160 kind of depending on water, I would imagine. Yeah, and now that 340 00:22:57.200 --> 00:23:02.319 I have one in more of like a sort of normal home lighting setting with 341 00:23:02.440 --> 00:23:04.200 less light, I wonder if I'll get some flowers at some point too, 342 00:23:04.240 --> 00:23:07.200 because it's kind of near the window, and maybe there's some seasonality that it 343 00:23:07.240 --> 00:23:11.799 will get. Yeah. So really, if you like the look at all, 344 00:23:11.039 --> 00:23:14.960 there is no reason to say no, because it's just like so easy 345 00:23:15.000 --> 00:23:18.519 to cultivate. Yeah, you know what, I probably would have just bought 346 00:23:18.559 --> 00:23:22.880 my own pot of this if I knew how much I was going to enjoy 347 00:23:22.920 --> 00:23:26.279 it, and especially knowing how that plant swap went in retrospect, I eat 348 00:23:26.440 --> 00:23:30.119 sort of disastrously. I kind of wish that I kept the whole quantity of 349 00:23:30.119 --> 00:23:33.519 my old sticks that I started with and just had a fuller pot to begin 350 00:23:33.599 --> 00:23:37.000 with. It was actually the first time that I ever saw it in real 351 00:23:37.039 --> 00:23:41.079 life, and I almost ordered it online a few times before that. But 352 00:23:41.279 --> 00:23:44.319 over the last couple of weeks, I have been out to almost all of 353 00:23:44.319 --> 00:23:48.119 our local plant shops and nurseries, and I've seen it available at basically all 354 00:23:48.160 --> 00:23:49.640 of that. Yeah, I've seen it a lot too. Yeah, and 355 00:23:49.640 --> 00:23:52.440 it was both in tall four inch pots like the woman I bought, as 356 00:23:52.440 --> 00:23:56.559 well as six and changing baskets. Honestly, there's a pretty good chance that 357 00:23:56.599 --> 00:24:00.880 I buy another one pretty soon. It's because it's really neat and I would 358 00:24:00.880 --> 00:24:04.400 love to have a big, full specimen of this sooner than later. But 359 00:24:04.480 --> 00:24:08.720 I also like the really scant, delicate little presentation that I have mine in 360 00:24:08.720 --> 00:24:14.559 a pot. It's just surprisingly charming and appealing. Yeah, it's just really 361 00:24:14.640 --> 00:24:18.880 unique. Yeah. So are there any final thoughts that we want to impart 362 00:24:18.920 --> 00:24:22.200 on plant parents interested in giving this one a try? Yeah? I mean 363 00:24:22.559 --> 00:24:25.839 I think if you like the look of it, just go for it. 364 00:24:26.599 --> 00:24:30.240 Also, I realize that's a big if, honestly, because it's kind of 365 00:24:30.240 --> 00:24:33.640 a strange look. But it's easier than it looks like it would be, 366 00:24:33.759 --> 00:24:36.640 so have no fear. Yeah, and this is a pretty cool plant. 367 00:24:36.960 --> 00:24:40.279 We've not really dwelled on how cool the texture is, and I really just 368 00:24:40.319 --> 00:24:44.640 want to highlight that it's super rubbery and kind of tactile with these warty little 369 00:24:44.720 --> 00:24:48.319 knobs. Yeah, and I think that the form is surprisingly nice in a 370 00:24:48.359 --> 00:24:52.160 hanging basket, considering that we usually think of things like spider plants or the 371 00:24:52.160 --> 00:24:56.839 second strings of things trailing aeroids, hoyas, or lipstick plants for hanging pots, 372 00:24:56.160 --> 00:25:00.279 you know, things that have leaves in their lush. But Sinantium merni 373 00:25:00.319 --> 00:25:04.640 arianem is just amusing to me as a hanging basket because it's just like this 374 00:25:04.720 --> 00:25:10.880 overflowing cascade of rubbery naked twigs. It's like an anti joke of plants, 375 00:25:10.920 --> 00:25:17.839 you know. And seriously, it's so unusual and almost comically anti foliage that 376 00:25:18.440 --> 00:25:22.480 it really does seem to be something that even non plant parent find amusing and 377 00:25:22.680 --> 00:25:26.599 as much of a novelty as plant lovers like us. Yeah, and you 378 00:25:26.640 --> 00:25:30.640 know, water in a bit more than you'd think, but it probably won't 379 00:25:30.640 --> 00:25:33.640 punish you either way. So that's like, I guess a little parting advice 380 00:25:33.680 --> 00:25:34.920 too. Yeah, if it's warm and sunny, don't let them fully dry, 381 00:25:36.000 --> 00:25:38.240 but don't worry about neglect because they'll deal. Yeah, totally. And 382 00:25:38.279 --> 00:25:41.480 I also feel like the prices are really good on this plant. Yeah, 383 00:25:41.519 --> 00:25:45.839 they are around here for sure. Yeah, and also online. Yeah, 384 00:25:45.920 --> 00:25:49.200 any historical, botanical or cultural information about these that you'd like to share. 385 00:25:51.119 --> 00:25:56.240 I am going to start the section off by asking why do we like these 386 00:25:56.279 --> 00:26:02.000 dead looking plants? Why do some people like these? Generally because some people 387 00:26:02.039 --> 00:26:04.079 do not understand this at all, Like we said, just like how I 388 00:26:04.160 --> 00:26:08.160 don't understand you know, loving a monstera obliqua for example. Yeah, there's 389 00:26:08.200 --> 00:26:14.200 like deadlooking plants, and then there's also caterpillar devoured plants. That's true. 390 00:26:14.920 --> 00:26:18.480 You know, now that you said that, maybe it's becoming more appealing to 391 00:26:18.559 --> 00:26:23.839 me. Okay, I didn't need that anyway. For me, I get 392 00:26:23.880 --> 00:26:27.519 like rugged survivor feelings when I look at this. I feel like that's, 393 00:26:27.680 --> 00:26:32.279 you know, novel. It's not typically plant like, even though I know 394 00:26:32.319 --> 00:26:34.240 there are you know, many other plants like this. I also kind of 395 00:26:34.240 --> 00:26:37.160 love when people are like, wait, that's a plant about a plant. 396 00:26:37.200 --> 00:26:41.799 I have so not quite over that. And like I said a few minutes 397 00:26:41.799 --> 00:26:44.680 ago, the growth can be surprising. It's not like a plant that will 398 00:26:44.720 --> 00:26:48.279 grow upward and new leaves will unfurl from precisely here on the plant at roughly 399 00:26:48.319 --> 00:26:51.880 this clip, and you know all of that. It's just a lot more 400 00:26:51.960 --> 00:26:53.920 kind of unexpected to me. Yeah, same, I love a plant that 401 00:26:53.960 --> 00:26:59.359 has some strange characteristic as much as appealing characteristics, and this being a Hoyer 402 00:26:59.440 --> 00:27:03.839 relative but also a plant that literally mimics dead vegetation is really interesting. Yeah. 403 00:27:03.880 --> 00:27:07.880 Anyway, botanically, what did you find, Matthew. Yeah, so 404 00:27:07.039 --> 00:27:14.200 there's not a ton of really good horticultural information about these online, and not 405 00:27:14.319 --> 00:27:18.559 even a lot of good botanical information, but like we said, they seem 406 00:27:18.559 --> 00:27:21.759 to be getting more popular in the commercial plant trade lately, and as far 407 00:27:21.799 --> 00:27:26.119 as I can tell, this is by far the most commonly grown species of 408 00:27:26.160 --> 00:27:30.119 a really cool genus. Sinantium is in the Episina slash dogbane family, along 409 00:27:30.119 --> 00:27:33.559 with Hoya, is a dnaum string of heart. It's plumerian all that, 410 00:27:33.960 --> 00:27:38.200 and it's in the milkweed subfamily A Sclepiadidia, and some of the Sinantium are 411 00:27:38.240 --> 00:27:42.440 called swallow wards, which is a common name that is shared with several plants 412 00:27:42.440 --> 00:27:47.880 of the genus, also related genera, and also plants and other families. 413 00:27:48.119 --> 00:27:52.359 They get this name maybe because of their toxicity or because of historical medicinal use 414 00:27:52.480 --> 00:27:57.000 of treating tonsilitis. As far as that emology, Sinantia means to choke a 415 00:27:57.079 --> 00:28:02.839 dog, and some are called strangling vine and not to scare anyone. Though 416 00:28:02.880 --> 00:28:06.279 I guess a dog could nibble on this thinking it's a stick, but I 417 00:28:06.319 --> 00:28:10.079 think it breaks way too easily to strangle anything, at least the species we're 418 00:28:10.119 --> 00:28:11.599 talking about. Yeah, I don't think that your dog has anything to worry 419 00:28:11.599 --> 00:28:15.440 about. They might be a little toxic to pets or children, but there's 420 00:28:15.640 --> 00:28:21.599 unclear toxicity going on here. But regardless, there are some really cool species 421 00:28:21.880 --> 00:28:26.880 in the Sunantium genus, and many of them actually have ornamental hoya like flowers, 422 00:28:26.039 --> 00:28:30.759 and some of them even have modestly appealing foliage. Though there are other 423 00:28:30.799 --> 00:28:36.440 stem succulents like the Bundle of Six plants modestly appealing. They are not quite 424 00:28:36.519 --> 00:28:40.720 like Calistophila, but they're nice and the flowers get really cool. So the 425 00:28:40.759 --> 00:28:45.960 genus was originally described with about four hundred species, and it had a pretty 426 00:28:45.000 --> 00:28:51.720 wide global distribution in tropical, subtropical and even some temperate regions of Africa, 427 00:28:51.799 --> 00:28:56.200 Asia, Europe, Australia, and even North America. But obviously, as 428 00:28:56.240 --> 00:29:00.440 we always say, there has been reclassification and some of these species and chipped 429 00:29:00.480 --> 00:29:04.160 into other genera, while many of the old World species remain in Sinantium they 430 00:29:04.160 --> 00:29:10.440 were also joined by some species of other historical genera. However, North America 431 00:29:10.839 --> 00:29:14.720 seems to have a few species that are still in the Sinantium placement from what 432 00:29:14.839 --> 00:29:18.240 I can tell, and Sinantium liave a aka the blue vine, milkweed, 433 00:29:18.279 --> 00:29:23.880 climbing milkweed or honey vine is actually a food source of the monarch butterfly caterpillar. 434 00:29:25.039 --> 00:29:30.000 There are also two European species of former members of the Sinantium genus vincent 435 00:29:30.079 --> 00:29:34.079 Toxicum nigram and Rosicum that have become nauseous weeds in North America. Oh great, 436 00:29:34.880 --> 00:29:40.200 are there any rare or prestige forms of this plant? I looked, 437 00:29:40.279 --> 00:29:42.839 I didn't see anything, but I did see a seller online selling a gray 438 00:29:42.960 --> 00:29:47.319 form in quotes. I did think that was kind of misleading, you know, 439 00:29:47.359 --> 00:29:51.680 as we explained earlier about like how this color just changes based on water 440 00:29:52.200 --> 00:29:55.920 and stuff. So I would just ask questions if you find anything like that 441 00:29:56.000 --> 00:29:59.880 online and you are interested, Yeah, that's straight up seems like a character 442 00:30:00.039 --> 00:30:03.119 stick acquired by growing conditions. Yeah yeah, But anyway, that's the end 443 00:30:03.160 --> 00:30:07.359 of my botanical stuff. And Stephen, I have one other question that I 444 00:30:07.400 --> 00:30:11.279 want to ask. If someone is interested in dead stick plants. This one 445 00:30:11.559 --> 00:30:15.359 seems to be one of the absolute mustabs and one of the easiest defined. 446 00:30:15.839 --> 00:30:21.000 But do you have any other recommendations for species that people should log into if 447 00:30:21.000 --> 00:30:25.440 they like this whole dead plant vibe. I recently got what I considered to 448 00:30:25.440 --> 00:30:29.119 be like the other a common dead stick plant, But I don't think you're 449 00:30:29.160 --> 00:30:33.319 growing that one. Yeah, a good question. I think this is kind 450 00:30:33.359 --> 00:30:37.160 of a genre. But when you ask me like that, it's honestly kind 451 00:30:37.160 --> 00:30:41.559 of hard to like list a ton of species for some reason. Right yeah, 452 00:30:41.599 --> 00:30:45.480 I think there are several euphorbias that easily qualify to me, like Keyphobia 453 00:30:45.559 --> 00:30:51.279 plata clata. I think that's like the other most commonly available dead looking stick 454 00:30:51.400 --> 00:30:52.799 kind of plant right now. No, yep, and that is the one 455 00:30:52.799 --> 00:30:56.720 that I would recommend. I just got one last weekend. As a matter 456 00:30:56.720 --> 00:31:00.720 of fact, it is also a madagascin plant from dry scrub, so it 457 00:31:00.720 --> 00:31:03.559 has evolved to mimic a dead plant too. Now, while this sinantium is 458 00:31:03.599 --> 00:31:08.279 a trailing vine, Uphobia plata clauda is more of a shrubby upright stems, 459 00:31:08.319 --> 00:31:15.279 succulent with grayish or pinkish brown kind of flattened stems modeled with silver. They're 460 00:31:15.359 --> 00:31:18.759 kind of warty looking. And the one I bought a flowering, but the 461 00:31:18.839 --> 00:31:22.440 flowers barely even register. Yeah, it looks a little more like a dead 462 00:31:22.519 --> 00:31:26.880 bush to me than like a bunch of twigs. Oh yeah, I agree. 463 00:31:26.960 --> 00:31:29.920 It also looks a little bit more alive, at least as I've seen 464 00:31:29.960 --> 00:31:33.000 it. Like, I'm less convinced by the deadness mimicking colors. I think 465 00:31:33.400 --> 00:31:37.680 I've seen this one in person a few times and it didn't really speak to 466 00:31:37.720 --> 00:31:41.680 me, at least when I was seeing it. So so, yeah, 467 00:31:41.720 --> 00:31:45.000 there are nuances within the dead stick looking plant scene, Okay, I guess 468 00:31:45.000 --> 00:31:48.599 we're finding. Yeah, and I think that some people might disagree with you 469 00:31:48.720 --> 00:31:53.960 that it doesn't have the same level of dead stick lookingness. When I posted 470 00:31:53.960 --> 00:31:57.839 the Sinantian Merni area and I'm on Instagram over the winter, a few people 471 00:31:57.880 --> 00:32:01.079 were like, oh, if you like that, one, Euphorbia plata clauda 472 00:32:01.240 --> 00:32:06.039 is even more dead looking. Okay, I don't disagree with them. I 473 00:32:06.039 --> 00:32:09.640 think it's super duper a personal call to me. I think they look equivalently 474 00:32:09.720 --> 00:32:14.960 dead. But I also think that the euphorbia is just kind of serving the 475 00:32:15.119 --> 00:32:19.920 esthetic of being fully deciduously dormant, like some sort of really coarse, thick 476 00:32:20.000 --> 00:32:23.519 garden shrub in a cold climate region winter. And I can see two like, 477 00:32:23.559 --> 00:32:27.680 if you have a bright green bundle of sticks plant, like you're caring 478 00:32:27.720 --> 00:32:30.480 for it that way, then yeah, maybe it looks more alive. Ye. 479 00:32:30.599 --> 00:32:32.960 Anyway, like you said, there's there's nuances and degrees of dead stick 480 00:32:34.000 --> 00:32:38.480 plantness clearly. Yeah. So my Plata Clauda is from the same grower as 481 00:32:38.519 --> 00:32:42.920 your original Bundle of sticks plant, actually, and it's the only time that 482 00:32:43.000 --> 00:32:45.559 I've ever seen it in real life. I've seen a lot of photos of 483 00:32:45.599 --> 00:32:49.599 them online, and I'm very glad that I snatched it up because this is 484 00:32:49.640 --> 00:32:52.839 another plant that I've almost ordered online a few times, and kind of like 485 00:32:52.880 --> 00:32:58.039 what you were doing when you bought your bundle of sticks plant, I was 486 00:32:58.119 --> 00:33:01.279 looking for the shopping baskets in as plant store. I just walked past the 487 00:33:01.319 --> 00:33:05.920 succulent table and like snatched it up and was like holding it while I was 488 00:33:05.960 --> 00:33:08.480 wandering around the store to find a basket because I simply had to have it. 489 00:33:08.559 --> 00:33:12.200 And I learned from that time that you snatched up the last few four 490 00:33:12.200 --> 00:33:15.720 Bobisa that I could not risk having that happen to me again with this plant. 491 00:33:15.759 --> 00:33:17.359 Well, see, we're still growing as plant parents, aren't we. 492 00:33:17.440 --> 00:33:22.720 I'm proud of you, bet you ya. Thanks on that strange note. 493 00:33:22.759 --> 00:33:25.640 In this week's after show, we ask ourselves the question why couldn't we find 494 00:33:25.839 --> 00:33:30.920 vibrant plant parent communities online? But people passionate about dead stick looking plants? 495 00:33:31.559 --> 00:33:35.519 So is this all in our heads? And what did we find? It 496 00:33:35.559 --> 00:33:37.319 said when we tried looking for them? Yeah? If extra bante like this 497 00:33:37.359 --> 00:33:42.240 sounds appealing, head over to patreon dot com slash plant Debty Podcast and check 498 00:33:42.279 --> 00:33:45.039 out our official patron level. Anything else that we want to cover today? 499 00:33:45.200 --> 00:33:49.680 I think that's it. Okay, this has been Plant Debty Podcast. Thanks 500 00:33:49.680 --> 00:33:52.720 for listening, don't forget to let it. Subscribe, tell your friends about 501 00:33:52.799 --> 00:33:54.039 us. If you enjoy what you've heard, please give us a five star 502 00:33:54.119 --> 00:33:58.039 rating. That'll help others find us. To see images of things we discussed 503 00:33:58.039 --> 00:34:00.759 on our episodes, check out our interested in pagram or visit our TikTok If 504 00:34:00.759 --> 00:34:04.359 you want to be in touch, emails at plant Eddi Podcast at gmail, 505 00:34:04.440 --> 00:34:07.720 or check out our website plant Eddie podcast dot com. Until next week. 506 00:34:07.759 --> 00:34:08.599 Thanks for listening, and happy growing