WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.160 --> 00:00:08.679 Cautyx cadeaux caudu, Stefania erecta potato plant, the foot pilea peperomyoides, or 2 00:00:08.759 --> 00:00:14.400 Nasturtium impost. There are so many different ways to refer to cautyx plants, 3 00:00:14.839 --> 00:00:18.920 which I've recently learned cautyx is the correct way to pronounce it, and there's 4 00:00:18.960 --> 00:00:24.120 a lot of confusion about these perplexing but fascinating plants brought into popularity by the 5 00:00:24.199 --> 00:00:29.440 Instagram famous Stefania erecta with its cute, chunky, potato like body that sits 6 00:00:29.480 --> 00:00:34.240 partially above the soil in its pot, and it sprouts these gorgeously delicate vines 7 00:00:34.240 --> 00:00:40.039 of semi coin shaped leaves that twinkle this gorgeous bluish greenish tint when the sun 8 00:00:40.119 --> 00:00:45.200 strikes just right. These plants are incredible and they're a beautiful addition to a 9 00:00:45.280 --> 00:00:49.840 plant collection, but they can also be incredibly frustrating to take care of if 10 00:00:49.880 --> 00:00:55.399 you don't understand why they are different than our usual tropical house plants. I 11 00:00:55.560 --> 00:01:00.200 have wanted to do an episode on this particular type of plant, the Cats 12 00:01:00.280 --> 00:01:03.719 Plant Forever, and realize that the perfect guests to dive deep on this topic 13 00:01:03.760 --> 00:01:07.760 are longtime friends of mine and have been sitting under my nose this whole time. 14 00:01:08.439 --> 00:01:12.640 So welcome, plan friends, Let's start growing joy. Welcome to the 15 00:01:12.719 --> 00:01:18.239 Growing Joy podcast, where we not only learn how to care for plants successfully, 16 00:01:18.480 --> 00:01:22.519 but how to simply and affordably use our plant babies to cultivate more joy 17 00:01:22.599 --> 00:01:26.439 in our lives. I'm Maria, author of Growing Joy, the Plant Lover's 18 00:01:26.439 --> 00:01:30.159 Guide to Cultivating Happiness, speaker, podcaster, and most importantly, an epic 19 00:01:30.200 --> 00:01:36.159 plant killer turned happy plant lady. On Growing Joy, you'll find conversations about 20 00:01:36.159 --> 00:01:41.359 plant care, plant community, and wellness through the lens of plants. Plant 21 00:01:41.400 --> 00:01:46.560 care is self care. On Carolling Joy the podcast plant friends, I hope 22 00:01:46.560 --> 00:01:49.640 you've had beautifully planty weeks and joyful weeks. If you have been enjoying our 23 00:01:49.719 --> 00:01:53.959 episodes recently, can I ask you to just take two minutes and leave a 24 00:01:55.000 --> 00:01:59.439 positive review for the podcast on iTunes or Spotify or your preferred podcast player. 25 00:02:00.040 --> 00:02:01.799 I know it's so annoying that all the podcasters ask you to do this, 26 00:02:01.840 --> 00:02:06.760 but the reviews are tremendously helpful to the show. It helps bump the show 27 00:02:06.879 --> 00:02:10.479 up the charts, and the higher your podcast is on podcast charts. The 28 00:02:10.560 --> 00:02:14.919 more your show can get in front of the eyes of even more plant parents. 29 00:02:14.960 --> 00:02:16.520 So if you could just take two minutes to help the show grow, 30 00:02:16.840 --> 00:02:22.639 I would be so thankful to you. Now on to today's episode the annual 31 00:02:22.759 --> 00:02:30.000 Plant Daddy podcast X Growing joy Slash formerly known as Bloominger Radio. Tradition continues 32 00:02:30.240 --> 00:02:34.680 as this is the third January in a row that I am joined by Stephen 33 00:02:34.719 --> 00:02:39.840 and Matthew from the Plant DABTI podcast for an epically nerdy conversation on all things 34 00:02:40.120 --> 00:02:45.759 codics. I love these boys. I hope you're subscribed to the Plant Daddy 35 00:02:45.800 --> 00:02:50.400 podcast. It's a fantastic plant nerdy podcast. You will get to know the 36 00:02:50.439 --> 00:02:54.120 boys and their incredible brains during this conversation, and they have so much more 37 00:02:54.159 --> 00:02:59.520 experience in this type of plant than I do. My first foray into the 38 00:02:59.520 --> 00:03:02.400 world of pots was actually this past year in twenty twenty two, with a 39 00:03:02.479 --> 00:03:07.680 Stefania erecta, and I'd say that I had about a medium amount of success. 40 00:03:07.120 --> 00:03:09.960 I figured out how to pot it up, It sprouted, it grew 41 00:03:10.080 --> 00:03:14.800 leaves. The leaves were gorgeous, but I stumbled with the care. I 42 00:03:14.840 --> 00:03:19.120 wasn't as consistent with watering as I needed to it's currently dormant, and I'm 43 00:03:19.120 --> 00:03:23.400 really inspired after this episode to enjoy it once it awakens again for me and 44 00:03:23.599 --> 00:03:28.240 have a better grasp on how to care for it. Stephen and Matthew and 45 00:03:28.240 --> 00:03:31.319 I dive so deep not only on this well known plant of Stefania erecta, 46 00:03:31.360 --> 00:03:36.639 but so many other varieties of cautex plants that are way more accessible and simple 47 00:03:36.639 --> 00:03:39.199 to care for that you might not know about. So I hope this episode 48 00:03:39.240 --> 00:03:45.520 informs and inspires you about this whole world of weirdo potato plants that are just 49 00:03:45.599 --> 00:03:47.520 waiting for you to grow them and bring you some joy. Because I gotta 50 00:03:47.560 --> 00:03:52.680 tell you, when your potato sprouts ps, it's not an actual potato. 51 00:03:52.719 --> 00:03:53.919 It just looks like a potato, which is why I'm calling it that. 52 00:03:54.240 --> 00:03:59.280 When it's sprouts and grows its first set of leaves, there's that is a 53 00:03:59.360 --> 00:04:05.680 joyful moment and plant friends. So without further ado, here's Stephen and Matthew. 54 00:04:08.199 --> 00:04:12.840 Well, welcome to Growing Joy. Plant Daddy's thank you. We're so 55 00:04:12.879 --> 00:04:17.519 happy to be here. Cool rebrand. I know you your first appearance on 56 00:04:17.759 --> 00:04:23.480 Growing Joy, the newly rebranded show, but your third visit over here to 57 00:04:23.600 --> 00:04:27.759 my side of the podcasting world in January. We've got a standing January date 58 00:04:27.800 --> 00:04:31.680 together. Yeah, we do. I love it. It's usually just a 59 00:04:31.720 --> 00:04:35.000 good excuse for us to catch up. What the what the audience doesn't know 60 00:04:35.079 --> 00:04:40.279 is we've already spent the past thirty minutes like catching up and shooting the ship 61 00:04:40.399 --> 00:04:43.360 before we clicked record. Yeah, we did this last week too for our 62 00:04:43.560 --> 00:04:46.720 let's go. Yeah, we're in a run out of time. I know, 63 00:04:46.959 --> 00:04:49.439 it's just an excuse for us to gossip once a year. I love 64 00:04:49.480 --> 00:04:53.959 it. Yep. I'm so happy to see both of your handsome faces. 65 00:04:54.120 --> 00:04:59.560 These conversations are always my favorite on and offline, and I knew that you 66 00:04:59.600 --> 00:05:06.240 guys were the perfect guests for this topic of caudex or cadeaux. Offline, 67 00:05:06.360 --> 00:05:10.759 we realized I've been saying this word wrong the whole time. Your votes is 68 00:05:10.800 --> 00:05:16.360 that it's pronounced caudex codex or cadisciform plants. However, as we know with 69 00:05:16.399 --> 00:05:20.720 a lot of the other words that we've said on our own show, if 70 00:05:20.720 --> 00:05:24.319 you know what you're talking about, if someone can understand, do you like, 71 00:05:24.360 --> 00:05:27.759 that's all that matters, right right? And I will say that I 72 00:05:27.879 --> 00:05:30.800 was corrected at a plant store, so you know what, we're all helping 73 00:05:30.800 --> 00:05:34.680 each other, right, And you were corrected to say my conciation. Yeah, 74 00:05:34.759 --> 00:05:36.800 I forget what I was saying, but they were like, oh, 75 00:05:36.839 --> 00:05:41.319 no, caudisciform and caudex So you know, I think a lot of us 76 00:05:41.360 --> 00:05:45.120 do that. Oh you were saying caudiform, weren't you? That sounds right? 77 00:05:45.360 --> 00:05:48.040 Yeah? Okay, you know there's so many fancy words. I've realized 78 00:05:48.079 --> 00:05:53.199 for those new listeners, maybe I should give you guys a chance to introduce 79 00:05:53.240 --> 00:05:58.199 yourselves quickly so people can associate names to voices before we dive in. I'm 80 00:05:58.199 --> 00:06:01.160 like, let's start talking about catayea? Sure? Do you guys want to 81 00:06:01.160 --> 00:06:04.959 each give a brief intro to who you are and the beautiful plant daddies that 82 00:06:05.000 --> 00:06:09.360 you are? Sure, I'll take a stab. We haven't done this in 83 00:06:09.399 --> 00:06:14.680 a little bit, right Okay, So I am Steven, part of Plant 84 00:06:14.720 --> 00:06:18.199 Daddy podcast. I tend to be a little bit more into the succulents and 85 00:06:18.360 --> 00:06:25.720 carnivorous side of the indoor house plant world. And we've we've done a podcast 86 00:06:25.759 --> 00:06:30.240 for three is years, little hiatus right now, anything else I'm missing? 87 00:06:30.639 --> 00:06:36.639 You are really into like very specific plants and learning exactly how to grow like 88 00:06:38.160 --> 00:06:46.000 a West Coast Australian, like rare species that nobody else has, but collectors 89 00:06:46.040 --> 00:06:49.720 exactly. My result of your test, Maria, right was collector curious collect 90 00:06:49.879 --> 00:06:54.759 Yes, the curate you are a curious collector. I should have everyone introduced 91 00:06:54.800 --> 00:06:58.839 themselves as their plant parent personality. That's perfect. I mean, it does 92 00:06:58.920 --> 00:07:01.519 capture it well, I think. And also, Stephen, you guys were 93 00:07:01.519 --> 00:07:04.199 generous enough to have me on your show when my book launched, and I 94 00:07:04.240 --> 00:07:08.199 feel like, although you might be a little bit more stoic, a little 95 00:07:08.199 --> 00:07:13.160 bit more reserved, I think you also have a very beautiful plant care self 96 00:07:13.240 --> 00:07:16.680 care sensitivity about you. Yeah, honestly, And I would think I was 97 00:07:16.800 --> 00:07:21.199 only half aware of it. So the book helped. And I just told 98 00:07:21.240 --> 00:07:25.959 someone the other day about your routine Maria, where you sit with your plants 99 00:07:26.000 --> 00:07:30.680 for thirty minutes or whatever it is or was. That's good. I'm trying 100 00:07:30.680 --> 00:07:34.360 to do that now. You are so proud of you. Oh yeah, 101 00:07:34.600 --> 00:07:39.160 that such an impact on Stephen, I know. I mean, you know, 102 00:07:39.240 --> 00:07:41.439 like your phone is your alarm. I wake up with it. I 103 00:07:41.480 --> 00:07:44.959 looked at today, I'm just like, no no YouTube, no Twitter, 104 00:07:45.720 --> 00:07:48.240 And I did it actually so Actually, I've gone down the rabbit hole where 105 00:07:48.240 --> 00:07:53.720 I'm looking into all these different alarm clocks that have the sad lamps built in, 106 00:07:54.199 --> 00:07:59.000 and I'm trying to optimize my bedroom right now so that my phone actually 107 00:07:59.000 --> 00:08:05.000 gets left outside my bedroom because it's so addicting and tasty. So I appreciate 108 00:08:05.040 --> 00:08:09.360 you sharing that, and I'm honored to be a part of your planting journey. 109 00:08:09.000 --> 00:08:13.079 What about you, Matthew, Well, yeah, I am Matthew also 110 00:08:13.120 --> 00:08:18.319 a plant Daddy podcast, and I get branded as more of the tropicals, 111 00:08:18.439 --> 00:08:24.079 flowering plants person, which is largely true, but it does overlook the fact 112 00:08:24.120 --> 00:08:30.360 that that was largely, i don't know, like a pragmatic choice based on 113 00:08:30.399 --> 00:08:33.639 the apartment that I was living in when we started the show, because it 114 00:08:33.720 --> 00:08:37.840 was just a better zone for me to grow leafy, tropical plants. I've 115 00:08:37.840 --> 00:08:43.000 always loved flowering plants, so that's been a forgive the perennial mainstay of my 116 00:08:43.080 --> 00:08:50.639 plant interests. But I do also love succulents, and I love bigger plants 117 00:08:50.639 --> 00:08:54.519 than Stephen. I'm a huge fan of having like enormous architectural plants in my 118 00:08:54.600 --> 00:09:01.399 home. I love all kinds of like collecting, so we're we're both collectors. 119 00:09:01.799 --> 00:09:03.000 I'm a little bit of a completionist where it's like, well, if 120 00:09:03.039 --> 00:09:07.240 I have one Huya, then I have to end up having like all of 121 00:09:07.279 --> 00:09:16.080 the similar and different ones. Yeah, I'm currently sort of shifting in my 122 00:09:16.120 --> 00:09:22.480 plant parents. I don't know identity a bit because my husband and I bought 123 00:09:22.480 --> 00:09:28.000 a house a little over a year ago, and I now have my own 124 00:09:28.159 --> 00:09:31.200 garden, and I've never had my own outdoor space that I could do with 125 00:09:31.240 --> 00:09:35.360 what I want, like dirt that's on the ground that I can put plants 126 00:09:35.360 --> 00:09:39.519 in. So the last few months while we've been on hiatus, like I 127 00:09:39.679 --> 00:09:43.360 have become like the outdoor plant daddy, and I now know all about like 128 00:09:43.639 --> 00:09:48.159 conifers and ornamental grasses and things that look like grasses but are not grasses, 129 00:09:48.360 --> 00:09:54.559 and I am really diving in and I'm just so excited to have that. 130 00:09:54.919 --> 00:09:58.159 And so therefore my houseplant collection has really suffered and I have to go through 131 00:09:58.200 --> 00:10:01.440 and like do a lot of maintenance. I have to compost a lot of 132 00:10:01.480 --> 00:10:05.679 things. I have some pest flare ups. So like, I'm kind of 133 00:10:05.679 --> 00:10:09.679 in this transitional space right now in what my plant interests are. But I 134 00:10:09.720 --> 00:10:15.120 think that when you kind of given another year for everything that I'm dealing with 135 00:10:15.240 --> 00:10:18.519 going through kind of managing at the moment when all that dust is settled, 136 00:10:18.559 --> 00:10:22.559 I think I'm going to have a much more manageable indoor plant collection than I 137 00:10:22.600 --> 00:10:26.159 have the whole time that we were doing Plant Daddy podcast weekly. And I 138 00:10:26.200 --> 00:10:28.159 think it's going to get a little bit back to some of my original roots 139 00:10:28.200 --> 00:10:33.039 of what I really love and I'm interested in in terms of house plants. 140 00:10:33.320 --> 00:10:39.279 Yeah, so that's where I'm at right now. Yeah, I definitely want 141 00:10:39.279 --> 00:10:43.000 to dive in more, like I feel like these annual episodes for listeners who 142 00:10:43.320 --> 00:10:46.120 have been listening to the show for the while, you guys have been repeat 143 00:10:46.159 --> 00:10:48.480 guests on the show, this is an excuse for us to catch up at 144 00:10:48.480 --> 00:10:52.279 the end of the episode. I want to dive into more where you guys 145 00:10:52.279 --> 00:10:56.159 are growing because I have watched you both grow and change. We've all ebbed 146 00:10:56.159 --> 00:10:58.559 and flowed and changed, you know, this year. So I definitely want 147 00:10:58.559 --> 00:11:03.240 to dive in to more of that because I personally know and have seen photos 148 00:11:03.240 --> 00:11:07.840 of your landscape and its epic. But before we do that, we need 149 00:11:07.840 --> 00:11:13.399 to discuss cat ex plants. You both are different. You're both massive plant 150 00:11:13.440 --> 00:11:18.360 nerds, super cerebral, super smart, and you know, are known for 151 00:11:18.440 --> 00:11:22.000 doing these deep dives on plants. And I knew that I wanted to have 152 00:11:22.039 --> 00:11:26.120 you guys on for caut ex plants because I feel like they are I feel 153 00:11:26.159 --> 00:11:33.759 like a plant daddy plant. They're this super specific subsect of the house plant 154 00:11:33.840 --> 00:11:37.000 world that you have to have this like kind of specific knowledge about how to 155 00:11:37.080 --> 00:11:41.200 care for. They're kind of a separate thing. They're super kind of rare. 156 00:11:41.360 --> 00:11:48.200 There's interesting varieties of them, and it's not necessarily a beginner moment. 157 00:11:48.360 --> 00:11:50.720 And you guys, I feel like, are really good at that. And 158 00:11:50.799 --> 00:11:56.039 I'm not so. I was sent to Stefania erecta. It just went dormant. 159 00:11:56.440 --> 00:12:00.120 But you know that was the impetus for creating this episode. But for 160 00:12:00.320 --> 00:12:03.720 that, can we zoom out and talk about I like to call them the 161 00:12:03.759 --> 00:12:09.759 potato plant, but like, what the hell is a cat ex plant? 162 00:12:09.840 --> 00:12:13.559 What makes a plant a catics plant? And why does it look like a 163 00:12:13.600 --> 00:12:18.960 potato in the dirt? Well, the most just kind of basic answer to 164 00:12:18.039 --> 00:12:22.200 that is that a cotex is just a thickened stem and it's at the base 165 00:12:22.240 --> 00:12:28.120 of the plant. And you know, if this was you know, an 166 00:12:28.159 --> 00:12:31.360 episode of our own Stephen and I would like hash out how much we have 167 00:12:31.399 --> 00:12:35.960 to get into like the actual you know, like anatomical botany that makes a 168 00:12:37.039 --> 00:12:41.840 cotex because technically it's a thickened stem. Sometimes it's a thickened root stock. 169 00:12:41.240 --> 00:12:46.200 But in the colloquial sense that is what matters for those of us who are 170 00:12:46.200 --> 00:12:50.080 just growing these plants for fun on our window sills, on our brow rex. 171 00:12:50.600 --> 00:12:52.600 A cotex is just a thick base of a plant, and the reason 172 00:12:52.600 --> 00:13:00.360 that they have this varies, but classically it's mainly just kind of like a 173 00:13:00.480 --> 00:13:07.919 structure that allows the plant to store resource and either you know, generate lots 174 00:13:07.919 --> 00:13:11.879 of new growth when the season is right for it too, or in the 175 00:13:11.919 --> 00:13:16.399 case of fire, it allows new shoots to sprout out if the stuff above 176 00:13:16.600 --> 00:13:20.759 was damaged. It's a storage structure. And so if we think about because 177 00:13:22.879 --> 00:13:24.799 there's a lot of terms that are just kind of like grouped into you know, 178 00:13:26.039 --> 00:13:31.080 bulb plants or like rhizomes, like those are all a thickened storage unit. 179 00:13:31.279 --> 00:13:37.159 And so a bulb technically is like thickened leaves, and a rhizome is 180 00:13:37.200 --> 00:13:41.720 a thickened you know, kind of stem root amalgamation, depending on kind of 181 00:13:41.720 --> 00:13:46.799 how you're doing that. There's also corms, there's tubers, all of these 182 00:13:46.039 --> 00:13:54.360 and like kind of the horticultural recreationalist sense, these oral cottexes, and you 183 00:13:54.399 --> 00:14:01.639 can see coughtexes on plants that have a strong deciduous dorm and see like some 184 00:14:01.679 --> 00:14:05.720 of the Stefania, well, like the Stefania or like some of the yam 185 00:14:05.720 --> 00:14:09.840 family plants that will get into later, some of them actually remain evergreen like 186 00:14:09.960 --> 00:14:16.799 ant plants, or some of these plants that might be dormant and deciduous when 187 00:14:16.840 --> 00:14:22.200 the season's wrong or if they have to because of the growing conditions. Ultimately, 188 00:14:22.240 --> 00:14:24.639 though, like when we're talking codecs plants, it's just when you have 189 00:14:24.679 --> 00:14:28.279 like this nabby, thick growth at the base of a plant. This can 190 00:14:28.320 --> 00:14:33.799 be fleshy, this can be woody. It's just a really cool architectural structure. 191 00:14:33.840 --> 00:14:35.639 And there are so many plants that do this that there's no way for 192 00:14:35.720 --> 00:14:39.120 us to just say, like codect plants belong to this family and this is 193 00:14:39.120 --> 00:14:43.759 where they grow. It's instead an adaptation that you see in so many different 194 00:14:43.759 --> 00:14:48.480 plant families, and you see it across the world in so many different kinds 195 00:14:48.519 --> 00:14:54.440 of ecosystems and growing conditions. What it largely has to do with is like 196 00:14:54.919 --> 00:15:00.360 when does a plant needs to have stored resources or where does it serve some 197 00:15:00.440 --> 00:15:05.679 other kind of like biological benefit to the plant. So you call them potato 198 00:15:05.720 --> 00:15:07.759 plants, and I think that's great because they do just look like rocks or 199 00:15:07.759 --> 00:15:11.279 potatoes in a pot. Some of them look like, you know, naughty 200 00:15:11.519 --> 00:15:16.159 stumps exactly, all sorts of potatoes. I would say, right, a 201 00:15:16.279 --> 00:15:22.039 diverse variety of potato looks right. If you want to, you could grow 202 00:15:22.519 --> 00:15:26.840 a sweet potato, which is in the morning glory family convolv Aca. I 203 00:15:26.919 --> 00:15:31.080 believe that's a really diverse group. It includes like fine weed morning glories. 204 00:15:31.399 --> 00:15:35.919 But the tubers that we eat that are sweet potatoes. We sometimes call them 205 00:15:37.000 --> 00:15:39.679 yams, but in the United States, like yams are a different thing in 206 00:15:39.679 --> 00:15:43.720 a different plant family. Sweet potatoes. You can grow that as a codex 207 00:15:43.840 --> 00:15:46.519 plant. It's a vining, deciduous cotto. You have, Matthew, right, 208 00:15:46.639 --> 00:15:48.600 I have, Yeah. You can grow them in bases of water, 209 00:15:48.799 --> 00:15:52.960 you can pop them like Bond's eyes. There's a lot of really great, 210 00:15:52.000 --> 00:15:54.679 interesting plants that you might not think of that. One of my favorite plants 211 00:15:54.679 --> 00:16:00.960 that I consider a codex plant are Cyclement. I absolutely love cyclement and I 212 00:16:00.039 --> 00:16:03.840 have a ton of varieties of them in my garden. They're all white flowering, 213 00:16:04.279 --> 00:16:08.440 and because they come from a thickened corm, we're in a warm enough 214 00:16:08.480 --> 00:16:11.799 climate that I don't have to bury it deep under the soil in order to 215 00:16:11.840 --> 00:16:18.279 have it, you know, bare winter temperatures. That's basically a codex plant. 216 00:16:18.759 --> 00:16:22.240 So yeah, it's an open term. Yeah, and I wanted to 217 00:16:22.240 --> 00:16:26.600 touch on something you just mentioned their matthew like, there is some horticultural magic 218 00:16:26.720 --> 00:16:29.320 or tricks happening as well, and a lot of the ones that would see 219 00:16:29.320 --> 00:16:33.879 in stores and buy the plant in the wild won't necessarily have that codex formed 220 00:16:33.919 --> 00:16:37.720 above the soil. So often with a lot of the species that are common, 221 00:16:38.080 --> 00:16:42.240 like Adenium and others like that, what you do is as you replant 222 00:16:42.279 --> 00:16:45.519 it, you actually pull up the plant a little bit expose some of that 223 00:16:45.600 --> 00:16:51.639 chunky root, so you know that that happens much more quickly in cultivation. 224 00:16:51.919 --> 00:16:55.919 You can control the shapes sometimes, so you know, if you google these 225 00:16:56.200 --> 00:17:00.000 these plants online, you may not see or see the same coutex in those 226 00:17:00.039 --> 00:17:03.399 pictures in a while. Yeah, particularly if you're looking at like adenium growing 227 00:17:03.399 --> 00:17:08.200 in the wild versus like beautiful old plants that have been practically bonds eyed. 228 00:17:08.799 --> 00:17:14.480 So yeah, so growers play it up, which I applaud because in the 229 00:17:14.519 --> 00:17:19.759 wild, the actual codex portion of the plant would just naturally be buried underground. 230 00:17:19.759 --> 00:17:22.880 You wouldn't be seeing it as much sometimes, yeah, yeah, And 231 00:17:22.920 --> 00:17:26.559 for some of these plants, like there are a lot of cotex plants that 232 00:17:26.880 --> 00:17:32.079 do grow the cotex like above the soil or above wherever they're growing, like 233 00:17:32.119 --> 00:17:34.960 if you happen to be seeing them. There are epiphytic cot ex plants, 234 00:17:34.960 --> 00:17:40.759 for instance. Some of these though, like the adenium, like, you 235 00:17:40.799 --> 00:17:45.200 can create the look of a cotex by just raising it out of the soil, 236 00:17:45.400 --> 00:17:49.359 like Steven's mentioning. So there are ways to cheat out this appearance on 237 00:17:49.440 --> 00:17:52.640 plants, and there are also just some plants they are just naturally going to 238 00:17:52.680 --> 00:17:56.599 do it. You can even take like a string of hearts like the serapeggio 239 00:17:56.720 --> 00:18:03.200 woody eye, and if you let it grow long enough, the tubers that 240 00:18:03.240 --> 00:18:07.960 it forms under the soil. I've seen photos of old plants that have large 241 00:18:07.119 --> 00:18:11.079 tubers that sprout their leaves and vines, but you can just kind of like 242 00:18:11.319 --> 00:18:18.279 let that sit on the soil, so you have this like really amazing knotted 243 00:18:18.480 --> 00:18:26.200 shape that's completely exposed. You don't think of the Serapegia as a codex plant, 244 00:18:26.279 --> 00:18:30.480 but it could be if you've chosen to grow and display it that way. 245 00:18:30.000 --> 00:18:33.359 Yeah, it's interesting that when you bring up the bone side aspect of 246 00:18:33.359 --> 00:18:37.519 it, because when you talk about curious collectors, like this could be a 247 00:18:37.640 --> 00:18:41.880 type of plant that you really do a deep dive of and have a shelf 248 00:18:41.000 --> 00:18:45.960 of really beautifully constructed exposed potatoes. As you were, Stephen, when you 249 00:18:47.000 --> 00:18:48.920 were saying you got to expose the potato. Yeah, and I think you 250 00:18:48.960 --> 00:18:52.720 know, for so many people, right, you know, there are a 251 00:18:52.720 --> 00:18:56.160 lot Okay, I just said I'm sort of the succulent person. I'm sort 252 00:18:56.200 --> 00:19:00.640 of less the tropical person. My read often is that Okay, with tropical 253 00:19:00.680 --> 00:19:03.440 plants, you're gonna get it. It's going to fill out. So many 254 00:19:03.480 --> 00:19:07.880 of those can look, you know, somewhat similar to each other, and 255 00:19:07.000 --> 00:19:10.440 you want that, right, like that's what you're going for, maybe like 256 00:19:10.480 --> 00:19:14.759 you want big and bushy and but often with these cotex plants, you can 257 00:19:14.799 --> 00:19:18.920 get, you know, what people call like a specimen plant, more quickly 258 00:19:18.920 --> 00:19:22.359 and easily, something really unique architectural after like just a couple of years. 259 00:19:22.400 --> 00:19:26.480 In some of these cases, it can look like really a one of a 260 00:19:26.559 --> 00:19:30.000 kind thing. So I think, you know, that appeals to a certain 261 00:19:30.000 --> 00:19:33.440 set of growers, and it's also really cool, I think as a design 262 00:19:33.519 --> 00:19:37.079 element because if you have something that's so unique that you've kind of grown up 263 00:19:37.079 --> 00:19:41.400 and you've seen how it how it adapted in your care, you get to 264 00:19:41.400 --> 00:19:47.519 pick really beautiful pots for them to really highlight, and like cot ex plants, 265 00:19:47.559 --> 00:19:51.799 to me, you just you have so many design options. It's very 266 00:19:51.880 --> 00:19:56.359 similar to bonsai in that regard, because the whole plant is an art piece. 267 00:19:56.440 --> 00:20:00.680 It's not just about the flowers. It's not just about the foliage. 268 00:20:00.079 --> 00:20:07.480 It's not just about the trailing or whatever. There's just outstanding architecture and beauty 269 00:20:07.160 --> 00:20:11.440 in like how these plants have grown, because like Stephen said, they're one 270 00:20:11.480 --> 00:20:17.440 of a kind, we've almost overhyped it at this point, we've allays well, 271 00:20:17.519 --> 00:20:21.160 speaking of overhyped. Speaking of overhyped, Stephen, you brought up specimen 272 00:20:21.200 --> 00:20:25.599 plants, So we've established what the codex is. I think what brought the 273 00:20:25.680 --> 00:20:30.759 codex to popularity, especially in the houseplant world, is you know, the 274 00:20:30.920 --> 00:20:36.119 instagram famous the sexy Stefania erecta, And I do just want to interject and 275 00:20:36.160 --> 00:20:40.400 say a lot of people knew about codexes before this, but that is certainly 276 00:20:40.400 --> 00:20:47.039 the plant that made it like a mainstay in the general house plant world totally, 277 00:20:47.200 --> 00:20:49.039 and all of a sudden, and it was also like I feel like 278 00:20:49.079 --> 00:20:52.839 it was there was a moment where all of a sudden, I was seeing 279 00:20:52.920 --> 00:20:56.880 all of these videos on Instagram, all of these YouTube videos of people with 280 00:20:56.960 --> 00:21:03.599 their Stefania erectas, the gorgeous trellises they were putting and very specimen like. 281 00:21:03.880 --> 00:21:07.319 Right, the trellis becomes a part of it, and you know, the 282 00:21:07.400 --> 00:21:11.640 growth habit of the vine and all of it just became this moment. And 283 00:21:11.720 --> 00:21:15.640 for me at least, that's really when I started doing the deep dive and 284 00:21:15.720 --> 00:21:18.200 it's this, you know, once again, it's this like little potato and 285 00:21:18.240 --> 00:21:22.000 I got one, and you know, once I've got it, and I 286 00:21:22.039 --> 00:21:26.160 was holding it and it had no roots and a little sprout and I was 287 00:21:26.200 --> 00:21:29.920 just like looking at it, thinking, oh my god, this looks like 288 00:21:29.960 --> 00:21:32.319 none of my other plants. What the hell am I supposed to do that 289 00:21:32.480 --> 00:21:37.640 with this? Like furiously you know youtubing. So why do you think everyone 290 00:21:37.319 --> 00:21:41.000 loves it so much? Like why do you think that plant in particular became 291 00:21:41.039 --> 00:21:47.039 so popular? Yeah, if I were to opine here, I think we 292 00:21:47.039 --> 00:21:51.359 were in a round leaf moment a little bit. We were coming off Alia 293 00:21:51.440 --> 00:21:56.559 peperomioides. This was another round leaf and the boys right, and you know, 294 00:21:56.599 --> 00:22:02.839 there's something really special about that peltape leaf shape where the petiole attaches right 295 00:22:02.880 --> 00:22:06.400 into the back of the center of the leaf blade, like an astertium or 296 00:22:06.400 --> 00:22:11.079 a lotus the pilea. Yeah, yeah, so circular, right, because 297 00:22:11.279 --> 00:22:15.599 there's always like degrees of that, and like we're just mentioning this is a 298 00:22:15.640 --> 00:22:19.799 way to get a specimen plant relatively easily, you know, maybe and affordably. 299 00:22:19.880 --> 00:22:22.920 Yeah, yeah, at that point. So I think that's kind of 300 00:22:22.960 --> 00:22:26.200 why they took off. I do think, you know, maybe some of 301 00:22:26.240 --> 00:22:30.759 the struggles that can sometimes add right, because there's online chatter about oh my 302 00:22:30.799 --> 00:22:33.920 gosh, how do I plant this? Like you're saying, Maria, like 303 00:22:34.000 --> 00:22:37.480 what's up and what's down? Matthew and I both I don't know if we 304 00:22:37.599 --> 00:22:41.359 struggled with it, but one of us I thought had buried ours upside down 305 00:22:41.519 --> 00:22:45.960 the first time. If that happened, it was you because I had a 306 00:22:45.000 --> 00:22:51.119 little bit of visible growth like scars from where I could see that there was 307 00:22:51.559 --> 00:22:56.039 previous growth, but it's not super obvious, and like I pay close attention 308 00:22:56.079 --> 00:23:00.920 to that stuff, and like I'm particular that way, but I could really 309 00:23:00.960 --> 00:23:03.440 see that being a problem for people. And I don't know if they all 310 00:23:03.799 --> 00:23:10.480 reliably show where their growth has come out. I've dealt with bulb tuber rhizomaceous 311 00:23:10.599 --> 00:23:14.480 corn plants in my garden and it's like I can't tell what is up, 312 00:23:15.119 --> 00:23:21.160 Like what is the upside on this right circular cool leaves? And maybe a 313 00:23:21.200 --> 00:23:23.519 little bit of mystery. That's that's gonna be my guess, and a little 314 00:23:23.519 --> 00:23:26.200 bit of mystery, you're right, how do you plant it? Etc. 315 00:23:29.240 --> 00:23:33.079 For me, it was a lot like with the Pylea peperumioides and various other 316 00:23:33.559 --> 00:23:37.559 like trained status plants that I've fallen in love with and sought out. It 317 00:23:37.599 --> 00:23:44.119 was the photos on Pinterest, it was the photos on Instagram. Yeah, 318 00:23:44.200 --> 00:23:49.920 you see these beautiful like blue green, powdery glaucous leaves and there's just tons 319 00:23:49.960 --> 00:23:56.039 of them and they trail beautifully over these like delicate, little like Japanese ceramic 320 00:23:56.200 --> 00:24:00.680 pots, like there's an esthetic there. But Steve and I hope I'm not 321 00:24:00.799 --> 00:24:07.160 like taking a moment away from you. But we covered this plant early in 322 00:24:07.279 --> 00:24:11.519 Plant Dutty podcast because I fell in love with them, you know, Steven 323 00:24:11.599 --> 00:24:15.000 Stefania. I was like, we have to get this plant because it's like 324 00:24:15.039 --> 00:24:21.119 sort of like your name. So I ordered two of them and I knew 325 00:24:21.119 --> 00:24:25.200 what the photos looked like, and then we started growing them for an episode, 326 00:24:25.720 --> 00:24:30.720 and there was terrible information on the internet, and we figured out how 327 00:24:30.759 --> 00:24:34.759 to be like quote successful with them. But for the rest of Plant Dutty 328 00:24:34.839 --> 00:24:41.799 podcasts, we sort of used Stefania as our general stand in example of a 329 00:24:41.799 --> 00:24:45.519 trend status plant that might not really be worth the hype and doesn't really perform 330 00:24:45.519 --> 00:24:48.240 the way that you think that it will and it's not going to look the 331 00:24:48.240 --> 00:24:51.839 way that you wanted to even if you're growing it what you think is right. 332 00:24:52.119 --> 00:24:55.839 Like, it was not the easiest plant, and it did not live 333 00:24:55.960 --> 00:25:02.240 up to the visual expectation that I had sort of put on it. If 334 00:25:02.279 --> 00:25:06.640 that makes sense. What made it not live up to the hype for you? 335 00:25:06.960 --> 00:25:11.039 Was it the dormancy, was it the difficulty? What about it didn't 336 00:25:11.039 --> 00:25:15.920 deliver? You know, I think we both probably have takes here. For 337 00:25:15.160 --> 00:25:18.559 me, what I was trying to get was sort of more compact growth. 338 00:25:18.680 --> 00:25:22.799 I know, there were really cool trellises and stuff that you were seeing online, 339 00:25:22.839 --> 00:25:26.319 but for me, it was such a long, viny growth and the 340 00:25:26.880 --> 00:25:29.400 leaves were kind of sparse, and the leaves are sort of the star of 341 00:25:29.480 --> 00:25:33.480 the show for me. So I kept trying to get it to just sort 342 00:25:33.519 --> 00:25:34.920 of form above the plant, and I was thinking, oh, maybe if 343 00:25:34.960 --> 00:25:41.079 I have super highlight, that will happen. There were some questions around the 344 00:25:41.079 --> 00:25:45.440 soil for a while too, so you really I was a little bit worried 345 00:25:45.440 --> 00:25:47.920 as mine was getting going. Was I thinking, Okay, do I have 346 00:25:47.960 --> 00:25:52.519 the right soil mixt there's no consensus online about how to plant this yet, 347 00:25:52.759 --> 00:25:55.720 and if I do it wrong, I could be you know, I could 348 00:25:55.720 --> 00:25:57.039 have this potato sitting here for six months, and then you know, my 349 00:25:57.400 --> 00:26:02.279 shelf sprace is kind of precious in my house, like so lack. Only 350 00:26:02.319 --> 00:26:04.039 a potato in a pot doesn't take it A ton of room. But that 351 00:26:04.119 --> 00:26:08.599 was really something that a lot of people encountered, was this potato that they're 352 00:26:08.640 --> 00:26:11.720 like, is it alive? Right? And you know, you can figure 353 00:26:11.720 --> 00:26:15.000 this stuff out. But I just think that for some reason, I thought 354 00:26:15.039 --> 00:26:18.480 I was getting this, you know, plant that was a bit more set 355 00:26:18.480 --> 00:26:21.759 it and forget it. So, you know, maybe it's an expectation issue 356 00:26:21.799 --> 00:26:25.519 on my side too. I think that for me, it was very much 357 00:26:25.559 --> 00:26:30.200 what Stephen is saying. The leaves were much smaller than I was kind of 358 00:26:30.319 --> 00:26:33.880 anticipating. It's hard to tell scale in photos that you see on social media 359 00:26:33.920 --> 00:26:37.599 a lot of the time, and you know, obviously people are staging these 360 00:26:37.640 --> 00:26:41.160 to look beautiful, and a photo on Instagram that's twenty five thousand likes it's 361 00:26:41.160 --> 00:26:47.720 a beautiful plant. But like, we really struggled because the initial care information 362 00:26:47.720 --> 00:26:49.839 that we were reading was like, you know, water when dry, it 363 00:26:49.960 --> 00:26:55.440 was a gritty soil, protect them from bright light. They don't tolerate it. 364 00:26:55.839 --> 00:26:57.519 And we found that they actually want a lot more water. They don't 365 00:26:57.519 --> 00:27:02.960 mind a much more rich and kind of heavier substrate. They like to stay 366 00:27:02.960 --> 00:27:07.079 fairly moist when they're in leaf. They like bright light, Like yeah, 367 00:27:07.359 --> 00:27:11.559 like you know, the brightest light that we can offer indoors here is not 368 00:27:11.759 --> 00:27:15.519 that strong compared to a lot of the rest of the country, and especially 369 00:27:15.559 --> 00:27:21.759 like further south. But I grew mind to best success on a south window 370 00:27:21.799 --> 00:27:26.240 sill, like completely unprotected, and even then the leaves were fairly scant. 371 00:27:26.279 --> 00:27:30.079 It's not a twining plant, so the vine doesn't grow up and want to 372 00:27:30.160 --> 00:27:33.480 twist around its support, so you have to kind of like wire it on 373 00:27:33.559 --> 00:27:37.839 a bit. You have to kind of like manipulate it to follow the trellis. 374 00:27:37.559 --> 00:27:41.559 That takes a little bit of styling, and I kind of like the 375 00:27:41.680 --> 00:27:48.519 overall like wild look of having a fairly compact shoot coming out of the bulb, 376 00:27:48.839 --> 00:27:52.079 the corm, the tuber, and then having those round leaves cover it. 377 00:27:52.559 --> 00:27:56.240 But even the best that I ever got with it, it was not 378 00:27:56.400 --> 00:28:02.559 pretty enough to really compete with the nicest plants that I had seen on social 379 00:28:02.599 --> 00:28:04.160 media. So that was my thing of like, all right, this is 380 00:28:04.200 --> 00:28:08.720 handsome, but like not nearly as good as what I thought it would be, 381 00:28:10.119 --> 00:28:14.839 And I would rather grow nastertiums for this. If I want this look 382 00:28:14.920 --> 00:28:18.119 like, I'll just put nastertium seeds in my garden and forget about them, 383 00:28:18.200 --> 00:28:22.119 Well, I would not go that far, but Stevin wouldn't. Yeah, 384 00:28:22.160 --> 00:28:25.400 I would say, like if you know that stuff you know we've just said, 385 00:28:25.680 --> 00:28:27.920 and you sound up and you feel up for that, then I would 386 00:28:27.920 --> 00:28:32.480 still go for it. You know. I wouldn't maybe like import them like 387 00:28:32.519 --> 00:28:34.720 we did then and you know, do all of that. But if you 388 00:28:34.720 --> 00:28:37.880 see one around, I think they're still worthwhile, you know, if you 389 00:28:38.000 --> 00:28:42.039 know all of that going in. I'll also say that as much as people 390 00:28:42.519 --> 00:28:45.319 you know still love these plants, like, by all means, I agree 391 00:28:45.319 --> 00:28:48.319 with Stephen, like collect them if you want them, just you know, 392 00:28:48.480 --> 00:28:51.319 media your expectations to prepare to work a little harder than you thought that you 393 00:28:51.400 --> 00:28:57.000 might have to. But there are so many more like complicated care tips for 394 00:28:57.039 --> 00:29:02.240 these plants. Now, one of our lowal specialty shops that really focuses on 395 00:29:02.359 --> 00:29:07.599 rare plants had them like like a bucket of these bulbs, and they had 396 00:29:07.640 --> 00:29:11.599 really detailed care information about keeping them warm from the bottom, about covering the 397 00:29:11.640 --> 00:29:18.839 bulb in the pot while it was waking up to sprout, keeping the humidity 398 00:29:18.920 --> 00:29:22.640 high. There were a lot of very like kind of precious details that I 399 00:29:22.640 --> 00:29:26.200 don't know. I'm just I'm going to put it out there that maybe those 400 00:29:26.200 --> 00:29:30.680 are things that have worked for some people, but it's more like coincidence or 401 00:29:30.720 --> 00:29:33.039 happen or like it happens to work, but you don't need to go to 402 00:29:33.079 --> 00:29:37.039 that. We both found that bottom heat worked, So putting them in an 403 00:29:37.039 --> 00:29:42.519 area where the soil itself is warm helps a lot, and giving them strong 404 00:29:42.640 --> 00:29:48.200 light helps a lot. I don't think it's really needs to overthink these really 405 00:29:48.200 --> 00:29:52.359 like elaborate care things they're forgiving. Like if they grow up a bit and 406 00:29:52.359 --> 00:29:56.359 then they kind of don't do their thing, you can literally prune that vine 407 00:29:56.400 --> 00:30:00.640 off and start over like just and it'll keep growing. Yeah, exactly. 408 00:30:00.720 --> 00:30:03.759 Yeah. I think it sounds like if we go with if we're going along 409 00:30:03.799 --> 00:30:07.640 the line of the plant parent personalities, you know, a mindful plant parent, 410 00:30:07.720 --> 00:30:11.400 maybe someone that really wants to like be up in their plants business all 411 00:30:11.400 --> 00:30:15.880 the time. This could be a great option for because it is it sounds 412 00:30:15.920 --> 00:30:18.319 like it's a much more high maintenance plant. So two things for me and 413 00:30:18.359 --> 00:30:25.920 my experience with the ERECTA three things. Number One, when that potato showed 414 00:30:25.960 --> 00:30:30.400 its first sign of growth, it was incredible, Like the weight when you 415 00:30:30.480 --> 00:30:34.240 have a plant that really experiences that dormancy and it wakes up for you and 416 00:30:34.279 --> 00:30:40.960 it starts growing. That is a very fun couple of weeks in your household. 417 00:30:41.240 --> 00:30:45.279 So I really enjoyed that, right, Like I loved because I don't 418 00:30:45.319 --> 00:30:48.640 have a lot of houseplants that experience that leaf loss, So for me, 419 00:30:48.880 --> 00:30:55.519 it was really interesting. But you know, the leaf it's it's gone to 420 00:30:55.559 --> 00:30:59.000 sleep for the winter. And now I do have a potato in a pot 421 00:30:59.359 --> 00:31:03.000 amidst all of my beautiful tropical foliage, and like does it bother me? 422 00:31:03.079 --> 00:31:04.920 Know? But from an esthetic point of view, like how does it look? 423 00:31:04.960 --> 00:31:10.119 I don't know. And when you talk about light, I found that 424 00:31:10.279 --> 00:31:12.720 mine did its best when it was under a grow light, so under like 425 00:31:14.000 --> 00:31:19.160 really optimum light, which I thought was really interesting. So I think we're 426 00:31:19.200 --> 00:31:22.680 giving this information because I think a lot of times you see these plants on 427 00:31:22.720 --> 00:31:27.000 Instagram, you immediately get it and then, like all three of us experienced, 428 00:31:27.039 --> 00:31:30.279 you're like, wait, holy shit, what did I just commit myself 429 00:31:30.319 --> 00:31:33.680 too? So you know, if this calls to you, go for it. 430 00:31:33.759 --> 00:31:37.480 But the next question I have for you is say I want the codic 431 00:31:37.680 --> 00:31:41.559 style, but maybe I don't want that much of a high maintenance plant. 432 00:31:41.759 --> 00:31:45.880 Are there other types of the Stefania genus that maybe are easier to care for? 433 00:31:47.200 --> 00:31:52.839 Slash other genus in general, other species in general. So I would 434 00:31:52.839 --> 00:32:00.279 say within Stefania, another one that I really love is kawa kawasekii is probably 435 00:32:00.480 --> 00:32:05.279 how that is pronounced. It used to be called Stefania nova. In my 436 00:32:05.319 --> 00:32:07.640 mind, care is pretty similar, but it doesn't make the same sort of 437 00:32:07.720 --> 00:32:12.759 vining and you know, hanging and creeping sort of growth habit. It's a 438 00:32:12.839 --> 00:32:16.440 lot more compact. You'll get one or two or three super showy leaves. 439 00:32:16.839 --> 00:32:22.480 They're really blue. They're so beautiful, right, And I think when I 440 00:32:22.519 --> 00:32:25.279 was, you know, wanting Stefani erecta, I was actually wanting something a 441 00:32:25.279 --> 00:32:29.680 little bit more like this one, kawasekii. So I would I would throw 442 00:32:29.720 --> 00:32:34.119 that one in, you know, at least within Stefania the genus. Otherwise, 443 00:32:34.279 --> 00:32:37.720 there are tons of great options. Ant plants is one that we were 444 00:32:37.759 --> 00:32:40.759 going to mention, that form of big cat x amp plants. Also having 445 00:32:40.759 --> 00:32:45.880 a moment, I'm seeing more of the amtplant lately, even just in garden 446 00:32:45.000 --> 00:32:49.400 centers, you know, and that's something I want to talk about a little 447 00:32:49.400 --> 00:32:52.359 bit later, but I love ant plants, Like that's that's something that we're 448 00:32:52.400 --> 00:32:55.039 going to come back to you, because yes, you do love ant plants. 449 00:32:55.319 --> 00:32:58.559 Yeah. That one surprised me actually, Matthew, because I'm like, 450 00:32:58.599 --> 00:33:00.759 oh, you know what, this is such a me one. I don't 451 00:33:00.759 --> 00:33:04.000 really know if Matthew would like, you know, ant houses as a plant, 452 00:33:04.039 --> 00:33:06.680 but I would love to have a form of caryam like that would be 453 00:33:06.720 --> 00:33:12.920 so cool. So diascoria is another one. Those are often called like elephant 454 00:33:13.039 --> 00:33:15.039 plants, and these ones that you know, you've probably seen them around if 455 00:33:15.039 --> 00:33:19.920 you've looked at different codex you know things before, been to like a succulent 456 00:33:20.039 --> 00:33:22.319 shop or something like that, and I feel like they're kind of always there. 457 00:33:22.359 --> 00:33:27.480 They're never super common. They can be huge and have these really like 458 00:33:28.000 --> 00:33:32.680 kind of geometrical like jagged, kind of big big codexes that they form. 459 00:33:34.039 --> 00:33:37.519 They kind of remind me of like a tortoise shell, like a really old 460 00:33:37.559 --> 00:33:42.759 tortoise that has you know, kind of ridges on its plates. Yeah, 461 00:33:42.799 --> 00:33:45.279 and really there's so many other codex options. The other one I'll just toss 462 00:33:45.319 --> 00:33:50.440 in is one called big foot plant. This is one that again it's like 463 00:33:50.519 --> 00:33:52.720 you can kind of always find it online. It's never super common, but 464 00:33:52.839 --> 00:33:57.960 it grows really quickly. It's been a lot more forgiving care wise. I 465 00:33:58.000 --> 00:34:00.279 think if you want to try, like the big caught experience, one that's 466 00:34:00.279 --> 00:34:04.240 going to kind of grow quickly for you. It's going to shoot up leaves 467 00:34:04.240 --> 00:34:07.200 and then it will go to you know, it'll go deciduous and then it 468 00:34:07.200 --> 00:34:10.679 will come back bigfoot plant. I can get the genus name. I think 469 00:34:10.719 --> 00:34:15.400 it's Gerard Dance this, but big football. We'll put them all on the 470 00:34:15.440 --> 00:34:17.280 show. Notes. Right, that's another good option. I want to dive 471 00:34:17.280 --> 00:34:22.239 into like general codex care with you guys. But when we were talking offline, 472 00:34:22.119 --> 00:34:28.599 I remember you talking about like a really negative aspect of stefania erecta that 473 00:34:28.639 --> 00:34:31.599 I didn't know that much about. But apparently there's a lot of illegal harvesting 474 00:34:31.719 --> 00:34:36.559 going on. So if you are going to buy a stefania erecta, what 475 00:34:36.559 --> 00:34:40.079 do you need to know in terms of who you're buying from and the legalities 476 00:34:40.079 --> 00:34:44.840 of that. Right, this was a tough one. So we made our 477 00:34:44.880 --> 00:34:47.480 episode really early into our podcast. Would I want to say, maybe a 478 00:34:47.559 --> 00:34:53.239 year later someone brought this to our attention, and think that person in Europe. 479 00:34:53.480 --> 00:34:58.320 There was a study that I think some plant retailers kind of funded and 480 00:34:58.400 --> 00:35:01.679 started just to make sure that these Stefania plants that were coming from I think 481 00:35:01.719 --> 00:35:07.840 mostly Southeast Asia were being you know, sustainably harvested or like what the story 482 00:35:07.960 --> 00:35:09.239 was, because so many were coming at once, right, like it was 483 00:35:09.280 --> 00:35:15.119 such a fat everywhere. And what they found was that really probably many or 484 00:35:15.239 --> 00:35:20.360 most Stefania plants that you can buy, especially big ones, are probably wild 485 00:35:20.440 --> 00:35:25.480 harvested and wild collected. So that is sticky, right. And this article 486 00:35:25.519 --> 00:35:30.480 goes on to say that Stefania erecta is you know, it's almost a weed 487 00:35:30.679 --> 00:35:37.440 in some places, so it's not necessarily you know vulnerable or you know, 488 00:35:37.199 --> 00:35:40.639 endangered or something that would really you know, you know should scare us, 489 00:35:40.679 --> 00:35:44.320 as you know, plant enthusiasts. But I do want to jump in and 490 00:35:44.360 --> 00:35:46.880 just mentioned that the passenger pigeon used to be, like I don't know if 491 00:35:46.880 --> 00:35:52.639 it was the most numerous vertebrate on the planet or just the most numerous bird 492 00:35:52.760 --> 00:35:58.119 on the planet or North America, like whatever that statistic was. There were 493 00:35:58.199 --> 00:36:02.639 so many passenger pigeons at a couple decades before they went extinct that no one 494 00:36:02.719 --> 00:36:07.559 thought that they could ever devastate the wild populations of them, and here we 495 00:36:07.599 --> 00:36:12.599 are in a world that hasn't had passenger pigeons for decades. Yeah, I 496 00:36:12.679 --> 00:36:15.360 mean exactly right. So that should not just make you know, in my 497 00:36:15.440 --> 00:36:20.480 mind anyway, that does not make this like okay forever. I would just 498 00:36:20.639 --> 00:36:22.400 urge you, if you're buying it, ask your plant seller, you know 499 00:36:22.400 --> 00:36:27.159 where it's from, you know, try to inquire. I think it's been 500 00:36:27.199 --> 00:36:31.800 common enough over here that we should have people cultivating them here now, or 501 00:36:31.880 --> 00:36:36.840 we should at some point. Part of the study said that the codex does 502 00:36:36.880 --> 00:36:39.079 take a long time to form, right, so they may look smaller and 503 00:36:39.159 --> 00:36:43.039 you may, you know, maybe they don't know how to grow them quickly, 504 00:36:43.280 --> 00:36:45.599 you know, yet, things like that, because it's kind of a 505 00:36:45.599 --> 00:36:51.639 newer plant to collecting the other species, like the one I mentioned Kawaski. 506 00:36:51.960 --> 00:36:55.000 That one I guess is more rare in a wild. So honestly, if 507 00:36:55.039 --> 00:37:00.719 I were buying one again, I would probably look locally. I don't know 508 00:37:00.800 --> 00:37:02.480 if I would order like we did, Matthew, because we didn't you know, 509 00:37:02.519 --> 00:37:06.480 we didn't know this before, and just to fully own that, but 510 00:37:06.559 --> 00:37:09.239 I'd also be worried about buying them locally, because if they're importing them, 511 00:37:09.280 --> 00:37:14.840 you could still be contributing to this. So like ask your local seller where 512 00:37:14.840 --> 00:37:17.039 did you source these? Yeah, you have to inquire, but I would 513 00:37:17.119 --> 00:37:22.000 just really try to do your research with this genus. Yeah, definitely. 514 00:37:22.159 --> 00:37:30.559 One of the reasons that it is like kind of questionable to own some of 515 00:37:30.559 --> 00:37:36.639 these plants in some ways is because the codex doesn't really form if you grows 516 00:37:36.639 --> 00:37:39.519 some of these plants from cuttings. Like a lot of these plants can be 517 00:37:39.639 --> 00:37:45.079 propagated through tissue, but if you take a cutting get it to root viably. 518 00:37:45.440 --> 00:37:47.400 I'm honestly not sure if this is something that they do with Stefania, 519 00:37:47.559 --> 00:37:53.559 but just in general for cotex plants, the codex is a mechanism of the 520 00:37:53.599 --> 00:38:00.199 plant's development that happens when it is grown from seed. So there are are 521 00:38:00.199 --> 00:38:06.599 many times that you can't vegetatively propagate a Cotta sufform plant in order to have 522 00:38:06.760 --> 00:38:12.840 it show a proper codex, like the reason that you're growing it. You 523 00:38:12.880 --> 00:38:15.960 can't just fake it for some of these things. So if you're looking to 524 00:38:16.000 --> 00:38:22.960 get like a really mature kawisekii that has like the size and the shape of 525 00:38:23.000 --> 00:38:29.079 the codex that it can support more than one or two leaves for its active 526 00:38:29.119 --> 00:38:34.559 growing season. You're probably buying a plant that is quite old and that has 527 00:38:34.559 --> 00:38:39.119 been harvested from the wild. Because I don't want to contradict what Stephen said, 528 00:38:39.159 --> 00:38:43.840 but I don't know if we are at a point yet where I don't 529 00:38:43.880 --> 00:38:47.119 know either yeah, like local, you know, to whatever area you're you're 530 00:38:47.199 --> 00:38:53.280 in. I don't know if there are growers who have been growing these from 531 00:38:53.480 --> 00:39:00.360 seed and developing the codexes that are the size that we're seeing for sale and 532 00:39:00.639 --> 00:39:06.480 having like domestically produced seed grown plants. So I also don't know how you 533 00:39:06.519 --> 00:39:13.840 can really verify like yeah, like it's just sticky and it's worth looking into. 534 00:39:14.159 --> 00:39:17.599 And I personally think that for a lot of these Codex plants, there 535 00:39:17.639 --> 00:39:22.519 are some really great ones that are very easy and fairly quick to grow from 536 00:39:22.599 --> 00:39:29.039 seed, which means that there are Codex choices that are very popular, very 537 00:39:29.039 --> 00:39:32.880 available, not very expensive in the house plant market that you're almost going to 538 00:39:32.880 --> 00:39:39.119 be able to guarantee has not had any devastating ecological poaching impact. Basically, 539 00:39:39.519 --> 00:39:44.280 Yeah, something I want to explore on the podcast this year and listeners if 540 00:39:44.320 --> 00:39:46.320 you are interested in this, please DM me and let me know. But 541 00:39:46.559 --> 00:39:52.000 I spoke at a really large horticulture conference industry conference a couple of years ago, 542 00:39:52.360 --> 00:39:58.559 and I was shocked at how little we as the consumer understand about the 543 00:39:59.079 --> 00:40:05.719 grower to seller to plant shop experience. Like, the horticulture industry is this 544 00:40:05.800 --> 00:40:08.400 huge industry that we don't really know that much about. And I really want 545 00:40:08.400 --> 00:40:14.360 to kind of explore how growers conduct their business, how you grow a plant, 546 00:40:14.360 --> 00:40:17.280 how you get a catic seed, how you secure one, how you 547 00:40:17.320 --> 00:40:21.079 grow it, then who the distributors that it's going to, Like I just 548 00:40:21.119 --> 00:40:23.400 think that's also fascinating. But anyway, we're here to talk about cotics plants, 549 00:40:23.519 --> 00:40:29.320 so that's an episode for later. So care what do we need to 550 00:40:29.360 --> 00:40:34.280 know in terms of general care for if we're taking home a coutics, whether 551 00:40:34.320 --> 00:40:37.880 it's one of the Stefania's or another coutics. Are there some kind of high 552 00:40:37.000 --> 00:40:40.599 level things that you need to know for these types of plants that are going 553 00:40:40.639 --> 00:40:44.599 to differ from our normal tropical house plants. Yeah, and I think that 554 00:40:44.639 --> 00:40:50.400 this is this is a really simple kind of plant, Like we're talking about 555 00:40:50.440 --> 00:40:53.840 the challenges of growing them. But I want to just throw out that if 556 00:40:53.880 --> 00:40:59.320 we're talking about these as being quote high maintenance plants, it's not because they're 557 00:40:59.400 --> 00:41:04.679 caring needs are super exacting. It's just because they have like specific little attributes 558 00:41:04.719 --> 00:41:07.440 that have to be observed. They have growth cycles that do things at different 559 00:41:07.440 --> 00:41:13.880 times of year. So in a very broad general sense, just research the 560 00:41:13.920 --> 00:41:16.280 individual plant that you have, because the care will vary quite a bit between 561 00:41:16.320 --> 00:41:22.159 them. But with all of that said, the general parameters are that they 562 00:41:22.239 --> 00:41:29.719 often like well draining soil. They want to have pretty good amounts of light. 563 00:41:29.840 --> 00:41:35.360 Like I haven't had any codex plant that hasn't tolerated at least a few 564 00:41:35.400 --> 00:41:40.440 hours of direct sunlight on a window sill, or ones that would prefer to 565 00:41:40.480 --> 00:41:45.119 have all their full sun you know, perhaps outside under grow lights whatever. 566 00:41:45.480 --> 00:41:49.920 They all want good light. A lot of these plants either are adapted for 567 00:41:50.159 --> 00:41:55.039 ecosystems where they have to conserve moisture because it's more of a desert arid environment, 568 00:41:55.079 --> 00:41:58.800 which means that they're going to get high, strong light, or they 569 00:41:58.800 --> 00:42:07.000 come from areas that have high monsoon season rains and low dry season moisture availability, 570 00:42:07.239 --> 00:42:12.800 and then when they're ready to grow, they'll shoot out scrambling vines that 571 00:42:13.039 --> 00:42:15.119 go and they try to reach as much light as they can to store it 572 00:42:15.239 --> 00:42:21.639 more resource for that codex to grow larger, to produce fruit, flowers, 573 00:42:21.679 --> 00:42:25.480 everything that it needs for coming seasons. So don't underdo the light for these. 574 00:42:25.960 --> 00:42:31.159 Some of them might burn if you put them directly into full direct completely 575 00:42:31.199 --> 00:42:38.519 like unforgiving Texas or southern California your Arizona sun. But in a general sense, 576 00:42:38.920 --> 00:42:43.320 these are fairly high light plants, and they're going to look their best 577 00:42:43.360 --> 00:42:49.119 and grow their best and stay the most compact with good strong light. Many 578 00:42:49.159 --> 00:42:53.239 of them want good amounts of water while they're in act of growth because this 579 00:42:53.400 --> 00:42:58.480 adaptation they put out on foliage, they put on whatever else they're going to 580 00:42:58.519 --> 00:43:02.599 do above ground seasons where they have the resources. So if you've got like 581 00:43:02.679 --> 00:43:08.440 a climbing onion and it's putting out foliage, water it pretty heavily. You 582 00:43:08.480 --> 00:43:14.119 want that soil to barely dry out between waterings. You almost never find a 583 00:43:14.159 --> 00:43:19.719 codex plant that wants to sit in water or have really super heavy, unbreathable 584 00:43:19.800 --> 00:43:23.119 substrates. But in many cases, like just a general potting soil is going 585 00:43:23.159 --> 00:43:27.039 to work for some of them. You are going to want to incorporate some 586 00:43:27.159 --> 00:43:31.960 pear lights and pumice corsand grit, but a lot of them actually want a 587 00:43:31.960 --> 00:43:37.760 fair amount of nutrient rich compost so that you can kind of you get the 588 00:43:37.760 --> 00:43:43.280 most bang for your buck in that active growing season. So research the individual 589 00:43:43.280 --> 00:43:46.360 plant for sure, because there are exceptions to this. But when the plants 590 00:43:46.360 --> 00:43:51.480 in active growth, give a good light, give it as much water as 591 00:43:51.519 --> 00:43:55.480 it wants. If you start to notice foliage withering or dying back, it 592 00:43:55.639 --> 00:44:00.800 portions of the plant are dying back when you think it should be actively growing, 593 00:44:00.039 --> 00:44:04.639 that's your sign that you're triggering a dormancy and should be watering it more. 594 00:44:04.920 --> 00:44:07.559 Right. Yeah, Yeah, Like I agree with all that Matthew to 595 00:44:07.559 --> 00:44:12.039 paint with the broadest brush. It's like, start with how you care for 596 00:44:12.159 --> 00:44:15.800 succulents in your house and then just make sure there's plenty of water when it's 597 00:44:15.800 --> 00:44:22.360 an active growth. Love this all, Okay, two questions when watering. 598 00:44:22.199 --> 00:44:27.360 I remember when I was first potting up my Steffania erecta. I was like, 599 00:44:27.840 --> 00:44:34.000 do I only water the soil around the cottucks? Or am I putting 600 00:44:34.000 --> 00:44:37.880 the water on top of the cottucks and I'm letting the water stream over the 601 00:44:37.920 --> 00:44:44.159 bulb and then go into the soil. What are your practices all right? 602 00:44:44.159 --> 00:44:49.599 So me first, Yeah, I just water around because I'm thinking of it 603 00:44:49.639 --> 00:44:52.559 as like a succulent sort of right, So I'm like, oh, you 604 00:44:52.559 --> 00:44:54.239 know what, I don't want there to be water in little nooks and crannies, 605 00:44:54.280 --> 00:44:58.360 You're no. No, I water around it, and I don't think 606 00:44:58.400 --> 00:45:01.159 I ever let it touch the cott itself if I can help it. But 607 00:45:02.039 --> 00:45:07.960 I now, really that doesn't surprise me because like you and I are similar, 608 00:45:08.719 --> 00:45:13.559 are you do Do you do that too well? I usually use like 609 00:45:13.599 --> 00:45:17.239 a little like squeeze bottle, you know, like the kinds of like soft 610 00:45:17.320 --> 00:45:21.760 plastic bottles, Yeah, a restaurant or I think of them as like tattoo 611 00:45:21.760 --> 00:45:24.840 shop or like laboratory bottles. But I love those for like watering my small 612 00:45:24.920 --> 00:45:30.760 plants because I can target exactly where that water goes. And so I water 613 00:45:30.880 --> 00:45:34.280 around the outset of the pot if I've let it dry a lot. We're 614 00:45:34.280 --> 00:45:37.960 all familiar, like super dry soil kind of like shrinks pulls away from the 615 00:45:37.960 --> 00:45:39.960 side of the pot. So if you water around the edge like that water 616 00:45:40.079 --> 00:45:44.840 is just draining through to the saucer. It's not really soaking in a lot. 617 00:45:45.199 --> 00:45:50.000 So if I have a plant that is drawing a lot between waterings, 618 00:45:50.360 --> 00:45:55.280 I do squirt that water like around the cotex. I'll get the whole cottex 619 00:45:55.400 --> 00:46:00.280 wet. Because in my mind it's like these plants are from Thailand or you 620 00:46:00.320 --> 00:46:04.800 know, wherever, Like I'm sure they're going to get rained on. Yeah, 621 00:46:04.960 --> 00:46:07.280 I don't know, but like that way, I know that the water 622 00:46:07.360 --> 00:46:13.280 is running around the outside of the codex and then it's soaking in like right 623 00:46:13.320 --> 00:46:16.960 around the base of it. If I was really worried about some particular cotex 624 00:46:17.000 --> 00:46:22.000 plant rotting, I would probably not do this, or I would plant it 625 00:46:22.280 --> 00:46:28.159 slightly higher above the soil than it wants, and then I'd put like a 626 00:46:28.280 --> 00:46:32.679 medium fine gravel top dressing just on the top of the pot so that it's 627 00:46:32.760 --> 00:46:37.760 elevated off of the soil substrate, so that it is I am watering the 628 00:46:37.880 --> 00:46:43.719 codex itself is not sitting against something that's wet, but it's like supported by 629 00:46:43.719 --> 00:46:46.320 the gravel. It gives a good drainage zone. That's like a really precious 630 00:46:46.360 --> 00:46:50.840 thing that I do sometimes that it's hard to then tell what the soil moisture 631 00:46:50.920 --> 00:46:54.480 level is if it's covered in gravel. But like there's there's ways around this, 632 00:46:54.559 --> 00:46:59.039 and I actually don't think I don't think that it matters too much if 633 00:46:59.039 --> 00:47:02.800 you get your cotex. Don't worry if your cotex is one that's like really 634 00:47:02.960 --> 00:47:07.840 craggy, and if you're growing it in a high humidity, low airflow environment 635 00:47:07.840 --> 00:47:12.760 and it's never going to dry and there's water collecting in cracks and crevices, 636 00:47:13.360 --> 00:47:15.599 yeah, that's going to invite rot. But like how many people have that 637 00:47:15.679 --> 00:47:20.760 condition in their home for their plants. There are some cotex plants that I 638 00:47:20.800 --> 00:47:24.320 know that kind of grow like a kind of like a jelly donut kind of 639 00:47:24.400 --> 00:47:30.639 style codex or like a like a red blood cell where it's a little indented 640 00:47:30.679 --> 00:47:34.599 in the center. It's not classically a codex. Yeah, Like there's some 641 00:47:34.719 --> 00:47:39.039 codaciform bogonias and like tubrisk bagonias that aren't really caught ex plants, but they 642 00:47:39.079 --> 00:47:44.800 will have that indentation in the center so that if there's water that will collect 643 00:47:44.800 --> 00:47:47.599 and that can cause rot of new growth as it comes out. But you 644 00:47:47.639 --> 00:47:52.119 know, just just take that into account as your water. You don't want 645 00:47:52.159 --> 00:47:55.719 water to collect in the cotex See. This is fascinating to me, and 646 00:47:57.039 --> 00:48:02.639 I love panels like this because we literally all have different experiences. Stephen doesn't. 647 00:48:02.719 --> 00:48:07.199 For the most part, Matthew is still a little controlled about it. 648 00:48:07.639 --> 00:48:13.800 I started so precious with my Stefania erecta. I only watered the little strip 649 00:48:13.800 --> 00:48:16.199 of soil. I was like, so, but I'm a pretty chaotic water 650 00:48:16.920 --> 00:48:21.960 I don't have those fancy bottles that I that I know exactly what you're talking 651 00:48:22.000 --> 00:48:24.920 about I have. I have a watering cam with a skinny spout. But 652 00:48:25.199 --> 00:48:29.119 there were a couple of days where I was watering just chaotically, and I 653 00:48:29.480 --> 00:48:32.800 like, I set my plants up. They're all on trays that whatever they're 654 00:48:32.800 --> 00:48:36.920 sitting on is not going to get wet because I know that I'm going to 655 00:48:36.960 --> 00:48:40.039 get water on whatever they're sitting on all the time. And so there was 656 00:48:40.079 --> 00:48:45.639 one day where I was just like, but also, everyone's environment is different. 657 00:48:45.199 --> 00:48:50.199 It's thirty percent humidity in my house. I do not grow my stefania 658 00:48:50.400 --> 00:48:54.559 under a dome or with a humidifier, Like my stefania has adjusted to my 659 00:48:54.719 --> 00:49:00.880 house right. So one day I was like, this would be kind of 660 00:49:00.880 --> 00:49:04.440 fun if I like made it rain all over this plant and like had a 661 00:49:04.440 --> 00:49:10.280 waterfall moment and nothing happened. So now I water as like chaotically as all 662 00:49:10.280 --> 00:49:15.519 my other plants, and it doesn't. I mean it grew, it grew 663 00:49:15.599 --> 00:49:21.119 until it didn't. But I think that's very interesting. I would not overthink 664 00:49:21.159 --> 00:49:23.400 it, and I think I love that. And I think when when you're 665 00:49:23.440 --> 00:49:29.280 thinking about rot, because this plant that has this large mass is set up 666 00:49:29.280 --> 00:49:34.320 for rot, it's more about knowing the actual cotics, if there are those 667 00:49:34.320 --> 00:49:37.199 holes where water is going to collect inside of it, or it's more about 668 00:49:37.199 --> 00:49:42.639 the substrate because if this that's what I stressed about was I was like, 669 00:49:42.960 --> 00:49:47.079 I have this potato sitting on this moist soil, how is the bottom not 670 00:49:47.320 --> 00:49:52.440 gonna rot? But also I got my cotics with no roots, and so 671 00:49:52.480 --> 00:49:57.320 I was like, how are roots growing on this thing? And I knew 672 00:49:57.360 --> 00:50:00.840 that water and you know, the change in having the humidity and having the 673 00:50:00.880 --> 00:50:06.840 water is probably what also triggers the roots to start to grow. So it's 674 00:50:06.880 --> 00:50:09.719 all interesting to me. So that's a really good thing to mention about, 675 00:50:09.800 --> 00:50:13.679 like where do the roots grow, how do they come out? They obviously 676 00:50:13.719 --> 00:50:15.159 need to have the presence of moisture, to tell them to grow roots. 677 00:50:15.440 --> 00:50:20.719 But my first go of growing my stefania, we also tend to grow these 678 00:50:20.719 --> 00:50:25.280 and fairly small pots. So side note, buy some those little squeeze bottles, 679 00:50:25.280 --> 00:50:30.039 Maria like it is gonna be. Yeah, like they're they're they're they're 680 00:50:30.159 --> 00:50:32.280 cheat. You can get a six pack of them. Book, Like, 681 00:50:32.400 --> 00:50:37.480 when you're growing plants in a fairly small pot, because they want to have 682 00:50:37.639 --> 00:50:40.039 like you know, confined roots. You don't want the contex to be like, 683 00:50:40.480 --> 00:50:43.599 you know, two inches in the center of a ten inch pot. 684 00:50:44.480 --> 00:50:46.679 When you're using a watering can, even with a narrow spout, it's hard 685 00:50:46.800 --> 00:50:51.760 to get the soil wet. So get that little squeeze bottle. It's very 686 00:50:51.840 --> 00:50:54.960 easy, and you can do it regularly so that it like drains through. 687 00:50:55.039 --> 00:51:00.199 It's good. But I had to adjust my soil recipes because these are succulents. 688 00:51:00.199 --> 00:51:04.519 They want to dry a bit between waterings, so I use gritty course 689 00:51:04.599 --> 00:51:08.159 mixes. I am a lazy waterer. I have had up to four hundred 690 00:51:08.159 --> 00:51:10.639 plants at a time. I have five less than that right now. But 691 00:51:10.719 --> 00:51:15.400 it's hard to be moved enough times that I trust that that census. Yeah, 692 00:51:15.119 --> 00:51:22.079 it's it's hard for me personally to water often enough to keep them in 693 00:51:22.159 --> 00:51:28.960 good growth with a really gritty substrate. So my climbing onion, my bowie 694 00:51:29.039 --> 00:51:35.880 volubilis, and my stefania both kawasaki e and the nice work you landed both 695 00:51:35.880 --> 00:51:42.960 of those pronunciations nations and also do that. Wow, it's like some tongue 696 00:51:42.960 --> 00:51:50.360 exercises or something. It's some tongue exercises. You know what bowie of volubilis. 697 00:51:50.360 --> 00:51:52.760 Okay, I'm gonna have you say that, Okay, Maria in about 698 00:51:52.800 --> 00:51:58.119 five minutes. Random. It's a fun little word, and I love the 699 00:51:58.119 --> 00:52:00.559 way that Summer rain Oaks says it. She like really punches the word. 700 00:52:01.039 --> 00:52:09.000 Um. But I started transitioning to more moisture retaining typical like foliage plant generic 701 00:52:09.079 --> 00:52:14.320 potting soil because I knew that they would dry enough and the roots would be 702 00:52:14.320 --> 00:52:19.079 healthy enough with my watering habits, so like make sure that they have enough 703 00:52:19.119 --> 00:52:23.679 moisture retention. We're also going to be slammed into dormancy more often, less 704 00:52:23.719 --> 00:52:29.599 consistently. Like it's it's not great. I was just going to say regarding 705 00:52:29.639 --> 00:52:34.199 dormancy, just to put this out there, I have not had a dormant 706 00:52:34.239 --> 00:52:37.559 stefania. In a couple of years, they're growing really, Oh tell me 707 00:52:37.639 --> 00:52:42.039 more. Yeah, so I just but I mean, you know this is 708 00:52:42.480 --> 00:52:45.079 you know, we have different plant personalities Matthew and I a little bit right, 709 00:52:45.079 --> 00:52:47.119 like you're okay, you set up your plants, right, Matthew to 710 00:52:47.440 --> 00:52:52.199 have them water like watered less frequently, because you know, that's how you 711 00:52:52.280 --> 00:52:55.440 do it. For me, I have a really strict schedule where I'm like, 712 00:52:55.480 --> 00:52:59.559 okay, I know Monday and Thursday on my watering days, and I 713 00:52:59.639 --> 00:53:01.039 can kind like get it all done and know that I'm on top of it. 714 00:53:01.320 --> 00:53:05.159 If I watermine once a week, I keep it under the grill lights. 715 00:53:05.679 --> 00:53:09.679 I have a pretty consistent fertilizer routine too, or like I'll just mix 716 00:53:09.719 --> 00:53:15.679 in fertilizer in the water. Under those conditions, it's just stayed flowering, 717 00:53:15.840 --> 00:53:20.199 Like leaves will die back. I'll get another shooting a flowering story with foliage. 718 00:53:20.280 --> 00:53:23.239 Yeah, so I think you can get there. Yeah. Stephen has 719 00:53:23.280 --> 00:53:29.800 created like permanent summer for his plans, exactly unending summer. And I think 720 00:53:30.239 --> 00:53:31.199 just to say, like, you know, we've been saying, Okay, 721 00:53:31.199 --> 00:53:34.639 there's some pitfalls, like in the rest of this episode, right, but 722 00:53:34.840 --> 00:53:38.719 you can get there and yeah, yeah, Now what I wanted to say 723 00:53:38.760 --> 00:53:42.960 about growing the Steffani at the very very first time when it was in that 724 00:53:43.000 --> 00:53:49.280 tiny pot, I actually sad story. It was the most gorgeous like antique 725 00:53:49.480 --> 00:53:53.679 Japanese bonds eye dish and have the most beautiful like malachite green glaze. I 726 00:53:53.800 --> 00:53:57.960 spend way too much money, but I love that pot. It fell and 727 00:53:58.000 --> 00:54:01.480 it broke, and I was devastated. I was angry at YouTube. Stephen 728 00:54:01.599 --> 00:54:05.440 was something that I want to put that pot in my will so that like 729 00:54:05.440 --> 00:54:07.480 when I die, Stephen gets it. Oh my god, I love that. 730 00:54:07.599 --> 00:54:10.559 It was literally the most beautiful like piece of ceramic I've ever owned. 731 00:54:10.840 --> 00:54:16.119 But regardless, with the Stefania being like now in a pile of pot chards 732 00:54:16.159 --> 00:54:21.719 and dirt on the ground of my apartment, I was surprised to find that 733 00:54:21.760 --> 00:54:24.760 it had two roots. It had grown vine and a couple of small, 734 00:54:24.800 --> 00:54:30.159 pitiful leaves. It had two tiny roots coming out of it that had branched 735 00:54:30.159 --> 00:54:32.719 a bunch. So if you're trying to get your plant growing, like, 736 00:54:34.119 --> 00:54:37.840 if you can keep that soil lightly evenly moist, that's going to really help 737 00:54:37.880 --> 00:54:42.159 you grow a lot more roots out because some of these kind of sufformed plants 738 00:54:42.199 --> 00:54:45.760 that come from like a potato that you can ship, like you know, 739 00:54:45.960 --> 00:54:51.280 a dormant little knob, they'll grow roots in different ways. Some cyclaming grow 740 00:54:51.360 --> 00:54:54.360 roots just from the top, some growing just from the bottom, some grow 741 00:54:54.400 --> 00:54:59.159 from all around. So if you really want to get into some of these 742 00:54:59.280 --> 00:55:02.559 plants and get them growing really well, see if you can find a little 743 00:55:02.559 --> 00:55:07.400 bit of information about where the roots grow out of the specific one that you're 744 00:55:07.440 --> 00:55:12.039 growing, because that can vary a little bit and it might just change how 745 00:55:12.039 --> 00:55:15.400 you pot them up, how you get them going, and it'll probably benefit 746 00:55:15.440 --> 00:55:20.119 the plant in its first growing season once it wakes up for you if it 747 00:55:20.159 --> 00:55:24.360 has that really good chance to establish a root system immediately. Also about your 748 00:55:24.400 --> 00:55:28.639 pot, did it shatter or did it just break into one? Or oh 749 00:55:29.039 --> 00:55:35.480 because iote okay, I recently broke a pot that was very meaningful to me 750 00:55:35.519 --> 00:55:39.719 and I actually ordered online. Did you get that Japanese repair kit? Yeah? 751 00:55:39.840 --> 00:55:45.519 Yeah, the repair kit with the gold And that's on my to do 752 00:55:45.599 --> 00:55:50.920 list for my holiday break off to just spend some time learning how to do 753 00:55:50.960 --> 00:55:54.519 that. I have this alabaster pot or something I did the same thing to 754 00:55:54.639 --> 00:55:58.239 it. Very curious to hear how it turns out for you. I think 755 00:55:58.280 --> 00:56:01.440 it's so fascinating that you're right. If you eliminate the changing of seasons, 756 00:56:01.519 --> 00:56:05.280 you don't need to have your plant go dormant. But if it does go 757 00:56:05.360 --> 00:56:07.559 dormant, what do we need to know about these plants when it's time for 758 00:56:07.599 --> 00:56:10.639 them to kind of take a bait, take a beat, go to sleep, 759 00:56:10.679 --> 00:56:14.519 You walk in, there's a potato in your pot. Yeah, like 760 00:56:14.840 --> 00:56:22.360 sometimes exactly exactly what do you do? Some of these plants, it's an 761 00:56:22.360 --> 00:56:28.280 obligatory mechanism of others, it's not a mechanism that they observe at all. 762 00:56:28.440 --> 00:56:31.119 And for some apparently it's kind of like up to the plant's whims and fancies 763 00:56:31.360 --> 00:56:36.559 or the growing conditions that you've subjected them to. For me, my stefania, 764 00:56:36.639 --> 00:56:39.280 even giving it consistent water, growing on a window so where it got 765 00:56:39.400 --> 00:56:45.199 natural daylight levels and lengths, that triggered dormancy for it. From what I 766 00:56:45.239 --> 00:56:47.320 can tell, it's not like I change my watering. The leaves just you 767 00:56:47.360 --> 00:56:52.199 know, yellowed and fell off eventually. But that's honestly one of the things 768 00:56:52.239 --> 00:56:57.800 that makes context plants to me a little bit more of a collector's plant, 769 00:56:58.119 --> 00:57:04.639 and it adds to that sort of like additional challenge or like higher maintenance plant 770 00:57:05.039 --> 00:57:08.679 kind of you know, quality that we're assigning to them. Because you have 771 00:57:08.719 --> 00:57:13.400 a part time plant, you have a plant that is sometimes in beautiful foliage 772 00:57:13.440 --> 00:57:16.159 and then other times of the year it is a potato or it's just like 773 00:57:16.159 --> 00:57:23.079 this naked lump. It is rugged and architectural. Okay, architectural, yeah, 774 00:57:23.079 --> 00:57:27.400 it is rugged and architectural. But like, let's say what you're like 775 00:57:27.519 --> 00:57:31.800 me, and you have window sills not with drapes or curtains but instead plants, 776 00:57:32.000 --> 00:57:37.519 and so like, if I have a couple of trellises of some really 777 00:57:37.559 --> 00:57:43.559 beautiful, like you know, climbing yam plant, that's providing me some esthetics 778 00:57:43.599 --> 00:57:46.320 in my home, and it's providing some screening from people peering in my windows. 779 00:57:46.599 --> 00:57:50.559 That's not going to be there all year round. So you have to 780 00:57:50.639 --> 00:57:54.239 kind of like alter your your decor how you've style these plants. Some of 781 00:57:54.280 --> 00:57:59.199 them want, you know, dryer, cooler conditions. Some of these plants 782 00:57:59.199 --> 00:58:02.280 really don't need any kind of seasonal change at all, and they might still 783 00:58:02.280 --> 00:58:06.400 trigger these dormancy. So this is the period where you don't water them very 784 00:58:06.480 --> 00:58:09.320 much. It's super easy. They don't even need light because they're not photosynthesizing. 785 00:58:09.679 --> 00:58:15.400 So for some of these plants, you can literally just kind of like 786 00:58:15.480 --> 00:58:19.360 take those pots, put them in a cool, out of the way spot. 787 00:58:19.639 --> 00:58:22.840 You don't want it to be too warm to trigger them into like active 788 00:58:22.920 --> 00:58:25.519 growth even if you're not watering, but give them, give them a little 789 00:58:25.519 --> 00:58:30.480 bit of water sometimes for some of them. I killed my steffani erecta because 790 00:58:30.519 --> 00:58:32.960 I didn't water it at all over its dormancy, and then I started watering 791 00:58:32.960 --> 00:58:36.320 it again and I was like, oh, this is a husk, Like 792 00:58:36.519 --> 00:58:38.360 there's no more roots. Yeah, oh look all the roots dried up. 793 00:58:38.360 --> 00:58:44.400 There's not even an interior to this cottex anymore. It's all yeah, and 794 00:58:44.440 --> 00:58:46.920 it's that looked like rat It wasn't. It just didn't get any water. 795 00:58:47.440 --> 00:58:51.920 So some of them, also, the roots will just die, and that's 796 00:58:51.920 --> 00:58:54.199 fine because they'll sprout new ones. That's why you can ship them that way. 797 00:58:54.519 --> 00:58:59.400 But if you want the codex to not use up reserves just trying to 798 00:58:59.400 --> 00:59:04.119 sustain it self for another seasonal growth, do a little bit of research about 799 00:59:04.159 --> 00:59:08.280 how much off season off growing season water it might want. Some of these 800 00:59:08.400 --> 00:59:14.360 may want a bit or else they'll be completely depleted and withered before they wake 801 00:59:14.480 --> 00:59:17.519 up. For some of these plants, like I'll put adeniums in this group, 802 00:59:17.960 --> 00:59:22.519 they might just kind of go deciduous, but they're a little photosynthetic. 803 00:59:22.599 --> 00:59:27.559 The stems might be silvery, they might be greenish. You probably still want 804 00:59:27.599 --> 00:59:31.000 them to have some light. But when they're not an active growth, you 805 00:59:31.119 --> 00:59:36.920 hold off on the water a lot, you hold off on fertilizer. It's 806 00:59:36.960 --> 00:59:40.920 not really that tricky. It's mostly about just remembering to give them enough water 807 00:59:42.000 --> 00:59:45.679 that they don't suffer before it's time to wake up, and then keep an 808 00:59:45.719 --> 00:59:50.159 eye on them because there could be some signal like either light levels or heat 809 00:59:50.239 --> 00:59:54.400 levels independent from water access that could trigger them to grow. Because these store 810 00:59:54.519 --> 00:59:59.519 moisture for the plant to resume growth. If the daylight's become longer, suddenly 811 00:59:59.559 --> 01:00:04.159 in the plant is able to sense that it might begin to grow new shoots 812 01:00:04.719 --> 01:00:08.800 before water is there, because that's how they're adapted in the Wildlike of daylight 813 01:00:09.039 --> 01:00:13.159 you know, increases, they know it's monsoon seasons. Soon as they want 814 01:00:13.199 --> 01:00:15.719 to get going. Make sure that you're paying attentions so that if they begin 815 01:00:15.800 --> 01:00:20.039 to wake up, then you can start giving them what else they need. 816 01:00:20.079 --> 01:00:23.199 In addition to their higher light, they're more consistent temperature patterns, all of 817 01:00:23.199 --> 01:00:27.599 that. That's what I would say for their general care. Love that. 818 01:00:27.880 --> 01:00:35.199 Okay, So let's call this section Stefania but better. That is an homage 819 01:00:35.199 --> 01:00:38.000 to Joshua Weissman if you guys follow him on YouTube of the Chef. But 820 01:00:39.599 --> 01:00:44.960 what are other cot ex plants that might be a better choice for people who 821 01:00:45.159 --> 01:00:50.840 are looking for a lower maintenance plant or just like easier success with plants. 822 01:00:50.880 --> 01:00:53.000 I know, Matthew, we should begin with you discussing the ant plant because 823 01:00:53.039 --> 01:00:59.079 I know you have a very strong opinion about this plant. So why don't 824 01:00:59.079 --> 01:01:02.199 we start there? Well, we start there because these are to get Matthew 825 01:01:02.199 --> 01:01:06.880 about it. These are in the coffee family. Actually, like there's I 826 01:01:07.039 --> 01:01:12.400 did right, classic Seattle guys talking about their coffee plants. And the term 827 01:01:12.440 --> 01:01:15.400 ant plant is broad. It's not a taxonomic term. It's a term to 828 01:01:15.440 --> 01:01:21.159 describe plants that have developed relationships with ants too, have like hollow portions or 829 01:01:21.239 --> 01:01:23.800 something that ants can inhabit. So there's like in the Codex right there, 830 01:01:23.800 --> 01:01:28.360 are tunnels, there are places for these ants to live and in the wild 831 01:01:28.400 --> 01:01:31.199 it actually happens. For me, this was kind of really no no. 832 01:01:31.360 --> 01:01:35.920 I saw it on my honeymoon when I was in Costa Rica. I saw 833 01:01:36.039 --> 01:01:38.599 real life ant plants in the junglo is so cool. They are really neat 834 01:01:38.679 --> 01:01:44.559 and so it's a it's a relative of the gardenias and the coffees, and 835 01:01:45.039 --> 01:01:51.760 they have this like really impressive codex that just grows as an epiphyte. They 836 01:01:51.800 --> 01:01:57.199 have kind of like you know, white brittle roots that cling to their surface. 837 01:01:57.320 --> 01:02:00.719 In the wild, they get rained on so they need high amounts of 838 01:02:01.159 --> 01:02:06.039 air on their roots, but they also get very consistent moisture. Some of 839 01:02:06.039 --> 01:02:08.159 them are good with drought, some of them for for more consistent water. 840 01:02:08.440 --> 01:02:12.840 So again, you do have to kind of research the individual species that you're 841 01:02:12.840 --> 01:02:15.679 growing. So I first learned about ant plants when I was like doing my 842 01:02:15.719 --> 01:02:21.719 first vivarium build back in like two thousand and seven or something, because they 843 01:02:21.800 --> 01:02:27.800 were being listed by vivarium plant sellers as good like medium to large size planted 844 01:02:27.920 --> 01:02:31.840 tropical terrarium plants, because you know, they grow well as epiphytes. They 845 01:02:31.880 --> 01:02:37.760 like humidity, they're evergreen. They maintain their foliage all year, and since 846 01:02:37.800 --> 01:02:40.440 that point there were only a few that were available. There are quite a 847 01:02:40.480 --> 01:02:49.000 few different genera of these cottasiform ant plants, really different looks and shapes and 848 01:02:49.159 --> 01:02:52.199 leaf shapes and everything. Yeah, and some of them are fairly hard to 849 01:02:52.280 --> 01:02:58.920 distinguish, but you will find at least a few varieties in many plant shops 850 01:02:58.960 --> 01:03:04.239 today. They're the Hydna phy Item genus, which is a pretty common one. 851 01:03:04.719 --> 01:03:08.000 I grow that one. Then there's also myrmophy item, so there's a 852 01:03:08.039 --> 01:03:13.400 lot of options that might have narrow leaves, they might have round leaves the 853 01:03:13.599 --> 01:03:19.719 codex maybe like around, like smooth, lumpy kind of shape like the Hydna 854 01:03:19.760 --> 01:03:23.320 phy item. Or it might be more spiny with little aerial roots that jut 855 01:03:23.360 --> 01:03:30.000 out like thorns like I've seen on my myrmophy item. And you just want 856 01:03:30.039 --> 01:03:34.559 to grow them in a really coarse, well draining but moisture retaining mix. 857 01:03:34.880 --> 01:03:37.880 So I actually use basically the same mix that I use for a lot of 858 01:03:37.920 --> 01:03:43.880 my aroids, a lot of my hoyas. It's just chunky with coconut husk 859 01:03:44.000 --> 01:03:51.000 chunks and charcoal and pearlite and pumics, and it allows excellent drainage, but 860 01:03:51.039 --> 01:03:54.519 it also allows them to stay fairly consistently moist for long periods of time before 861 01:03:54.519 --> 01:03:59.679 I need to water them again. And in the summer you keep them pretty 862 01:03:59.679 --> 01:04:02.800 well. They respond well to fertilizer. They always have air moving through the 863 01:04:02.920 --> 01:04:08.519 roots, so you can keep them pretty moist. They will rot if you 864 01:04:08.599 --> 01:04:12.000 keep them too wet, and if there's not enough air flow, like those 865 01:04:12.039 --> 01:04:15.920 two things together become a problem. So if your mixes finer, let them 866 01:04:15.000 --> 01:04:19.079 drive more. If your mixes supercourse, keep them wet, and you can 867 01:04:19.159 --> 01:04:23.360 grow them mounted, but you basically have to water them every day if you're 868 01:04:23.360 --> 01:04:27.920 going to do that. But the really great thing about these is that they 869 01:04:28.079 --> 01:04:32.039 grow into amazing specimens pretty quickly. And I've had the two that I'm growing 870 01:04:32.079 --> 01:04:36.480 now. They live on a west facing window sill that gets really good light, 871 01:04:36.880 --> 01:04:41.840 and I'm actually growing them in that kind of like layered planting technique that 872 01:04:41.920 --> 01:04:45.280 I've discussed and it's on our ticket. Yeah, Like it's a glass vase 873 01:04:45.400 --> 01:04:48.159 that has a hole drilled in the side of it so that there's like the 874 01:04:48.239 --> 01:04:53.960 lecca layer that water flows out of the side hole like where the water reservoir 875 01:04:54.079 --> 01:04:57.239 ends. Then there's a wick to draw the water from that reservoir into the 876 01:04:57.320 --> 01:05:00.119 chunky aeroid mix that it's in. But I f them a few times of 877 01:05:00.199 --> 01:05:06.559 summer and they grow surprisingly fast, Like it might not look like it's growing 878 01:05:06.960 --> 01:05:10.840 super fast, but if you look and compared to older photos, would be 879 01:05:10.840 --> 01:05:14.239 like, dang, that condex is three times bigger than it was when I 880 01:05:14.239 --> 01:05:18.559 planted it two years ago. And they also have cool flowers. They are 881 01:05:18.679 --> 01:05:25.480 not very showy because they show right between like leaf axles along the stem. 882 01:05:25.639 --> 01:05:30.719 But my murmiphy item has true blue flowers, like they are actually pale sky 883 01:05:30.800 --> 01:05:35.280 blue. They're stunning. The Heydna phy item they're just tiny and white. 884 01:05:35.519 --> 01:05:41.159 There's no fragrance unfortunately, like I always expect from Gardinia slash Coffee family plants. 885 01:05:41.519 --> 01:05:45.239 But the cool thing is that they basically self fertilize themselves, so you 886 01:05:45.320 --> 01:05:50.360 often get berries that form on your mature plants. And these berries might be 887 01:05:50.440 --> 01:05:55.480 white, they might be red or yellow, and you could just pluck them 888 01:05:55.480 --> 01:05:59.719 out and then like plant them and you can grow your own new ant plant. 889 01:06:00.039 --> 01:06:02.840 But the reason that I love these so much is because they're very like 890 01:06:02.960 --> 01:06:13.039 kind of tropical foliage appealing they're also bizarre botanical novelty plants that people will just 891 01:06:13.119 --> 01:06:18.960 be intrigued by. They are kind of designed in this like evolutionary sense to 892 01:06:19.039 --> 01:06:23.920 work with certain species of ants that are not native to where we are. 893 01:06:24.199 --> 01:06:27.400 So you're not going to have ants moving in if they're growing in your kitchen, 894 01:06:27.440 --> 01:06:30.440 even if you move them outside for the summer, you're not going to 895 01:06:30.480 --> 01:06:31.880 get ants. I do keep telling Brian like, oh, yeah, I 896 01:06:31.960 --> 01:06:36.159 have an order from Papua New Guinea to get like, you know, a 897 01:06:36.280 --> 01:06:40.320 queen ant from this species that it can live in our kitchen. And he's 898 01:06:40.320 --> 01:06:45.679 like, you're not doing that happened, But it can't happen if you're in 899 01:06:45.880 --> 01:06:49.800 like a greenhouse, because sometimes things come in from where they were grown. 900 01:06:50.119 --> 01:06:53.519 So I have her that as an issue, but as a home person, 901 01:06:54.079 --> 01:06:56.559 don't worry about it. You're not going to get ants in your apartment or 902 01:06:56.719 --> 01:07:00.480 grow room. Yeah. I just think amdpoints are great. There's a lot 903 01:07:00.519 --> 01:07:02.559 of them, you can have a collection of them. They do really well 904 01:07:02.840 --> 01:07:06.719 if you're just faithful with keeping them lightly moist while they're in active growth. 905 01:07:06.920 --> 01:07:12.519 I let them dry a bit over the winter between waterings, and so far 906 01:07:12.599 --> 01:07:16.199 they're not too frustrated. Once they've grown up a bit, they can tolerate 907 01:07:16.239 --> 01:07:19.480 more drought. So if you start to notice the Cotex looking a little bit 908 01:07:19.480 --> 01:07:24.320 shriveled, or if leaves are yellowing and dropping, give it some water. 909 01:07:24.480 --> 01:07:27.559 If it's not growing well, or if the leaves are yellowing and you're watering 910 01:07:27.559 --> 01:07:31.119 it nicely, give it some fertilizer. They're surprisingly easy. I've killed a 911 01:07:31.159 --> 01:07:35.000 bunch of them, but after kind of like doing this like layered planting method 912 01:07:35.159 --> 01:07:41.960 or being more consistent with my water in general, they're surprisingly great. Yeah. 913 01:07:42.000 --> 01:07:45.880 And then Stephen mentioned the Dyscoria and the bigfoot plant earlier, but that's 914 01:07:45.920 --> 01:07:49.480 a huge group that like it's more like the Stefania. But these are plants 915 01:07:49.519 --> 01:07:55.679 that just grow vines out of like this seasonal husk. Some of them become 916 01:07:55.920 --> 01:08:00.480 enormous. Yeah, like barky cottas, they're cool, and like I just 917 01:08:00.519 --> 01:08:02.480 want to kind of throw in, like I have a little bit of a 918 01:08:02.559 --> 01:08:06.280 chip on my shoulder about people calling sweet potatoes yams. But these are two 919 01:08:06.400 --> 01:08:14.840 great families for Cotex plants because you have like the mourning glory family is convava. 920 01:08:15.199 --> 01:08:17.720 Like I said before, that's where we get like sweet potatoes. But 921 01:08:17.800 --> 01:08:24.319 there's also a lot of like quote, mourning glories that do grow from a 922 01:08:24.439 --> 01:08:30.159 very stefania like tuber and they'll grow beautiful vines, a beautiful foliage, beautiful 923 01:08:30.199 --> 01:08:33.399 flowers. They're a little bit harder to find, but you can get them 924 01:08:33.399 --> 01:08:38.520 online. You can get them through specialty places. They're stunning. And we 925 01:08:38.560 --> 01:08:42.600 all know what morning glory flowers. This whole family has those like trumpet shaped 926 01:08:42.640 --> 01:08:47.359 blooms. I think they're fantastic. And then the Yam family. I hope 927 01:08:47.399 --> 01:08:54.720 that I'm saying this right. It's Discoriaca, and they're fairly similar because there 928 01:08:54.800 --> 01:08:59.800 are vines that come out of these plants, and there are just some really 929 01:09:00.000 --> 01:09:03.119 amazing plants in both of these groups. That is where I would put people 930 01:09:03.199 --> 01:09:10.039 towards, Like if you want a seasonal vine that just has like gorgeous foliage 931 01:09:10.039 --> 01:09:15.119 that grows rapidly. Some of these flower some of them have cinnamon scented flowers, 932 01:09:15.159 --> 01:09:17.720 like the Yam family, the morning glory family. Take a look of 933 01:09:17.760 --> 01:09:21.840 their there's so many choices. There's a lot of very similar plants elsewhere that 934 01:09:23.079 --> 01:09:26.720 kind of do the similar thing, but they're very seasonal. So you gave 935 01:09:26.800 --> 01:09:30.119 us kind of some high level places to look. But if you want to 936 01:09:30.239 --> 01:09:32.640 grow these types of plants, catics plants, it does require a little bit 937 01:09:32.640 --> 01:09:36.439 more research, a little bit more understanding of the species. So take this 938 01:09:36.560 --> 01:09:42.119 kind of high level Stefania but better as we'll have all the names in the 939 01:09:42.119 --> 01:09:45.239 show notes. But then take these names and go do your own research, 940 01:09:45.319 --> 01:09:48.880 see which ones you're drawn to, and explore because it really is a wide 941 01:09:48.960 --> 01:09:54.960 and wild world of cotys. And you can really just Google, like if 942 01:09:54.960 --> 01:09:58.880 you're on like I Love etc. And eBay for ordering some of my weird 943 01:09:58.920 --> 01:10:03.439 plants, you can just like search for cotex plants and you can find new 944 01:10:03.439 --> 01:10:08.439 ones that you haven't heard of. There are species geraniums that do this. 945 01:10:08.760 --> 01:10:12.159 There's a fike it, well, there are several fikeus. But like, 946 01:10:12.319 --> 01:10:17.079 there are cotex plants for a lot of different tastes and styles. There are 947 01:10:17.119 --> 01:10:21.960 some that are very tropicals oriented. There are some that are very succulents oriented. 948 01:10:23.279 --> 01:10:28.439 There are some that are like weird, ugly botanical novelty oriented. Like 949 01:10:28.800 --> 01:10:31.840 there's just a ton of choices here. Yeah, I love it, So 950 01:10:32.640 --> 01:10:38.840 go indulge your curiosities. Ask Google, and I can't let you guys go 951 01:10:39.199 --> 01:10:44.279 without getting your updates. Our audience who knows you probably wants to know what's 952 01:10:44.279 --> 01:10:48.439 been going on. I personally know you and know number one that you're you 953 01:10:48.479 --> 01:10:54.199 know, growing into different types of plant parents, exploring new curiosities that you 954 01:10:54.279 --> 01:10:59.000 have. Also, I want to pat you guys on the back for exploring 955 01:10:59.039 --> 01:11:04.720 your plant passion offline privately and letting that like really fuel you and light you 956 01:11:04.880 --> 01:11:09.279 up. So can I have your updates on? You know, last year 957 01:11:09.359 --> 01:11:12.600 we kind of talked about this what we were looking forward to doing in twenty 958 01:11:12.640 --> 01:11:15.520 twenty two. So what are you guys looking forward to in twenty twenty three 959 01:11:15.560 --> 01:11:20.279 in regards to your plant collections. So for me, I am dusting off. 960 01:11:20.600 --> 01:11:25.000 I had an old online presence called Weird House Plants. It was an 961 01:11:25.039 --> 01:11:28.399 Instagram and YouTube thing. It's a different style than what we were doing at 962 01:11:28.399 --> 01:11:31.239 Plant Daddy. It's a lot more sort of just talking about care and showing 963 01:11:31.279 --> 01:11:34.560 them something that I think is strange and you know, it probably isn't at 964 01:11:34.560 --> 01:11:38.039 this point right, or maybe it never was right right, But like ones 965 01:11:38.079 --> 01:11:42.079 that I think are cool and special. At home, I'm focusing more on 966 01:11:42.159 --> 01:11:45.840 my little cacti and succulents and kind of my stuff like on a table, 967 01:11:45.960 --> 01:11:49.279 like Pokemon size collectible, you know, odd things like that. Yeah, 968 01:11:49.319 --> 01:11:55.520 excited about that, And if I can share it here My next little moonshot 969 01:11:55.640 --> 01:12:00.960 thing that I'm doing with a friend. We're writing a Christmas movie. Okay? 970 01:12:00.800 --> 01:12:04.560 Is that so field? Right? So I have a friend who's a 971 01:12:04.600 --> 01:12:09.920 screenwriter and we wrote this thing kind of for fun, and his manager was 972 01:12:09.960 --> 01:12:13.119 like, oh my gosh, no, this is actually like what people sort 973 01:12:13.119 --> 01:12:15.840 of want right now. So all of my December and this is being recorded 974 01:12:15.840 --> 01:12:18.800 in December. We're a meeting a few times a week trying to do this 975 01:12:18.880 --> 01:12:23.359 first draft of this movie. And we're both like, what are we doing? 976 01:12:23.479 --> 01:12:26.279 This is such a kind of funny, weird genre. I'm watching tons 977 01:12:26.279 --> 01:12:30.680 of Christmas movies and it's just like a fun Lindsay Lohan movie. Of course 978 01:12:30.720 --> 01:12:35.760 I loved it so many people. Yeah, I love this genre, And 979 01:12:35.840 --> 01:12:39.479 for me, I'm kind of like, sometimes they're good, sometimes they're funny, 980 01:12:39.640 --> 01:12:44.359 right, but they're definitely comforting. Also, Will Ferrell's Knew Christmas movie 981 01:12:44.399 --> 01:12:49.199 that came out on Apple spirited incredible, incredible. Can I sing the holiday 982 01:12:49.279 --> 01:12:54.880 music on your movie? Yes, I'm going to say yes, Okay, 983 01:12:54.960 --> 01:12:58.039 I don't. I don't know how it works yet, but yeah, put 984 01:12:58.039 --> 01:13:00.479 me if you I'll do it for free. Put me in coach, yes, 985 01:13:00.680 --> 01:13:03.239 if you need if you need it, in you know, any sort 986 01:13:03.279 --> 01:13:08.119 of pitch packaging. I'm happy to provide vocals for you. Holiday music is 987 01:13:08.159 --> 01:13:12.439 my favorite to sing. Yeah, wow, okay, perfect, Yeah, 988 01:13:12.479 --> 01:13:15.159 I love it. Oh my god, that makes me so excited. You 989 01:13:15.159 --> 01:13:16.760 didn't. I didn't know that offline. That makes me. You are, 990 01:13:17.239 --> 01:13:20.359 like I say, Stephen, you are an onion, my friend, you 991 01:13:20.520 --> 01:13:26.239 are just the juiciest onion. Okay, what about you, Matthew? Well, 992 01:13:26.399 --> 01:13:32.000 I have since we started our hiatus, I dove into home renovations and 993 01:13:32.319 --> 01:13:38.920 landscaping. Like I replaced a bunch of light fixtures. I like redid the 994 01:13:38.960 --> 01:13:45.039 whole entryway to our house with like stripping and refinishing the front door and making 995 01:13:45.079 --> 01:13:51.520 my own like bespoke address plaque and repainting railings. And I've you know, 996 01:13:51.720 --> 01:13:56.600 like we've lived in this house for over two years now, we've owned it 997 01:13:56.640 --> 01:13:59.159 for one of those years. I knew what I wanted to do in the 998 01:13:59.199 --> 01:14:04.479 garden was planning out in my head all of the little details for more than 999 01:14:04.520 --> 01:14:09.319 a year before I even started doing anything. So as soon as Stephen and 1000 01:14:09.439 --> 01:14:12.680 I were like wrapped up with Season three, I was out in the yard 1001 01:14:13.239 --> 01:14:17.520 digging up everything. There was nothing that I could salvage, so I started 1002 01:14:17.520 --> 01:14:26.840 by just removing every single awful dead shrub and diseased thing from the yard. 1003 01:14:27.399 --> 01:14:32.000 Then we had our brickwork restored because it's a nineteen twenty nine craftsman tutor and 1004 01:14:32.000 --> 01:14:36.000 I now know a lot about masonry and like vintage homes, and I'm researching 1005 01:14:36.039 --> 01:14:42.600 like how to restore like, you know, a previously remodeled nineteen twenty nine 1006 01:14:42.720 --> 01:14:48.439 tutor style craftsmen. So I'm like, you know, downloading twenties catalogs of 1007 01:14:48.600 --> 01:14:54.439 tiles. Yeah, but you know your knowledge of stone, like that the 1008 01:14:55.439 --> 01:14:59.039 die tribe you went off on about stone the other day when we were talking, 1009 01:14:59.039 --> 01:15:01.920 I was like, damn, this guy does research, whether it's plants 1010 01:15:02.079 --> 01:15:05.600 or what like. You are passionate about learning on another level. I just 1011 01:15:05.640 --> 01:15:10.239 have this this vision in my head. And in our neighborhood there's a lot 1012 01:15:10.239 --> 01:15:14.039 of people who do kind of like raised garden bed rockeries, but they're all 1013 01:15:14.119 --> 01:15:16.840 using basalt, which is a common rock around here. For landscaping, but 1014 01:15:16.920 --> 01:15:19.920 I wanted something a little different because I'm just that kind of person. So 1015 01:15:20.000 --> 01:15:24.239 I went with like North Cascade granite because like, I love the idea that 1016 01:15:24.279 --> 01:15:27.439 it's kind of local, and I hike in the North Cascades. And then 1017 01:15:27.479 --> 01:15:31.079 I used flagstone. I laid a big patio in the center of the lawn. 1018 01:15:31.159 --> 01:15:36.760 I did rockeries for raised plants. My vision is that it's all seasons 1019 01:15:36.800 --> 01:15:42.960 appeal, that there's something blooming every day of the year. Every flower that 1020 01:15:43.079 --> 01:15:46.720 was like specifically selected for the flowers, they're all either white or black. 1021 01:15:47.239 --> 01:15:49.479 And I know that I have to kind of like be a little bit flexible 1022 01:15:49.479 --> 01:15:53.279 in what I mean by black. But I've gotten really close with some of 1023 01:15:53.279 --> 01:15:58.239 these things, and everything is fragrant, and I've researched like sage brush, 1024 01:15:58.279 --> 01:16:00.359 So I have like tons of different kinds of art of Nisia, and I 1025 01:16:00.439 --> 01:16:03.920 have like all these mini collections, like here are all of the daphnees, 1026 01:16:03.960 --> 01:16:09.600 here are all the cycloman here's all the Yukahs. So what I'm hearing garden 1027 01:16:09.720 --> 01:16:14.760 party when Maria visits Seattle. Oh yeah, and hell yeah, I've even 1028 01:16:14.840 --> 01:16:17.439 made my own fire pit. Yeah, like the fire pit it is a 1029 01:16:17.479 --> 01:16:21.279 smokeless design. I learned how to do concrete, I learned how to make 1030 01:16:21.439 --> 01:16:26.560 forms. I got a special concrete that's used for like crematoriums and pizza ovens. 1031 01:16:27.520 --> 01:16:29.960 So anyway, that's that's been my whole life. And now that we 1032 01:16:30.079 --> 01:16:33.479 finally started getting like cool, wet winter weather in Seattle and we've actually had 1033 01:16:33.520 --> 01:16:38.439 some snow, like my outdoor plans, they're accomplished, they're done. I 1034 01:16:38.479 --> 01:16:41.880 get to dive back into the spring after things have woken up a bit. 1035 01:16:42.119 --> 01:16:45.079 Oh, You're gonna have so much fun. I have to admit it's been 1036 01:16:45.079 --> 01:16:47.479 really nice, like doing things privately for myself creatively that I haven't turned into 1037 01:16:47.520 --> 01:16:51.800 content. It has been like this is just something that I'm doing for myself, 1038 01:16:51.880 --> 01:16:57.000 and I am just so invested and I'm so passionate about it. It's 1039 01:16:57.000 --> 01:17:01.840 like really reawakened some of my original plant love. And it's been so nostalgic 1040 01:17:01.920 --> 01:17:05.640 as I'm picking some of these plants to remind me of my grandmother or travels 1041 01:17:05.640 --> 01:17:11.239 that I've been on. I just feel so like activated and like fresh now 1042 01:17:11.399 --> 01:17:15.720 because I've been looking forward to this project and I just love making my house 1043 01:17:15.760 --> 01:17:18.119 a home. So that's just all my energy is going there these days. 1044 01:17:18.880 --> 01:17:21.800 That's beautiful. You can see it in the way that you talk about it, 1045 01:17:21.840 --> 01:17:25.880 like you just lit up like a grow light, like a full spectrum 1046 01:17:25.920 --> 01:17:29.520 grow light talking about it. And I think that's really important. And I 1047 01:17:29.520 --> 01:17:32.119 think that's also a huge message for the listeners as we all have our little 1048 01:17:32.159 --> 01:17:36.840 plants to grams and we all have you know, me personally too, just 1049 01:17:36.920 --> 01:17:42.000 like sharing so much. But it's really beautiful to just like cultivate some passion 1050 01:17:42.039 --> 01:17:45.520 on the side that's private and sacred almost in that way. So it's you 1051 01:17:45.560 --> 01:17:49.880 are inspiring me to kind of refresh that within myself too. I just love 1052 01:17:49.920 --> 01:17:54.600 you guys so much. This was so fun. Thank you. Oh it's 1053 01:17:54.600 --> 01:17:58.720 always a blast to join you super fun. Yes, until next time we 1054 01:17:58.800 --> 01:18:03.560 have our standing January weary date, if not earlier. Perfect. I love 1055 01:18:03.560 --> 01:18:13.279 it, Love you guys. Thanks than by all right, special thanks to 1056 01:18:13.319 --> 01:18:15.920 Stephen and Matthew. I certainly hope that we might see more of them in 1057 01:18:15.960 --> 01:18:19.880 the coming months. They're just the greatest and I'm so thankful for their friendship. 1058 01:18:19.920 --> 01:18:24.720 You know, the podcasting space has gotten much larger since I've joined, 1059 01:18:24.840 --> 01:18:28.640 and I've just I love their podcast, and I love these boys. They're 1060 01:18:28.640 --> 01:18:31.199 so nice. I really hope to go to Seattle and visit them one day. 1061 01:18:31.399 --> 01:18:34.439 I seriously need to see all of the amazing work that Matthew's done in 1062 01:18:34.479 --> 01:18:40.039 his outdoor garden. Pictures aren't enough and also special thanks to our sponsors. 1063 01:18:40.039 --> 01:18:44.680 We have a bunch of news sponsors this year in order to help support the 1064 01:18:44.720 --> 01:18:48.800 show and help me create weekly episodes instead of bi weekly episodes. Our sponsors 1065 01:18:48.880 --> 01:18:53.239 are handpicked by me. I approach a lot of them because they make products 1066 01:18:53.239 --> 01:18:56.960 that I like and want and want our community to have. We have such 1067 01:18:57.000 --> 01:19:01.880 an amazing group of companies supporting the show, and I can't speak highly enough, 1068 01:19:02.079 --> 01:19:06.560 especially of the four sponsors in this episode, wind River Chimes the most 1069 01:19:06.560 --> 01:19:11.399 Magical Chimes, the Barraby Waited Blanket, Territorial Seed Company, Oh my god, 1070 01:19:11.840 --> 01:19:15.960 I love all their seeds, and obviously a spam organic my rider dies. 1071 01:19:15.119 --> 01:19:20.119 So thanks again for them supporting and let me know if you try a 1072 01:19:20.119 --> 01:19:24.560 cotics plant after this episode. I'm excited, like I said, for my 1073 01:19:24.600 --> 01:19:28.159 Stefania erecta to wake back up. I mean, we're deep in in the 1074 01:19:28.199 --> 01:19:30.960 winter, so it's going to be a while, but I'm excited for it 1075 01:19:30.039 --> 01:19:34.439 to awaken and try again and maybe trellius it and also explore some of the 1076 01:19:34.439 --> 01:19:38.960 other varieties that they talked about, because they really opened my eyes to so 1077 01:19:39.000 --> 01:19:44.039 many plants that I hadn't really thought about using as houseplants. So with that, 1078 01:19:44.159 --> 01:19:46.279 my plant friends, it's been a joy put this episode together for you, 1079 01:19:46.359 --> 01:19:51.079 and until next time, keep blooming and keep growing Joy. Plant friend, 1080 01:19:51.119 --> 01:19:54.720 thank you so much for tuning in today. If you like what you 1081 01:19:54.800 --> 01:19:57.880 heard, make sure that you're subscribed to the show so you don't miss an 1082 01:19:57.880 --> 01:20:01.560 episode. We have incredible whole episodes lined up in twenty twenty three, and 1083 01:20:01.600 --> 01:20:05.680 I don't want you to miss one topic. And while you're subscribing, would 1084 01:20:05.720 --> 01:20:10.239 you mind clicking over to the review section and leaving us a review. Reviews 1085 01:20:10.279 --> 01:20:14.239 are tremendously helpful for the growth of the podcast, so I thank you in 1086 01:20:14.319 --> 01:20:18.279 advance for helping this podcast reach as many plant earbuds as possible across the globe. 1087 01:20:18.880 --> 01:20:23.119 If you're looking for more opportunities to grow as a plant parent with Growing 1088 01:20:23.199 --> 01:20:26.479 Joy content, we've got a ton of free options for you. First, 1089 01:20:26.600 --> 01:20:30.079 there's the Plant Parent Personality Test. It's so fun it takes literally three minutes 1090 01:20:30.119 --> 01:20:33.760 to complete. You take the test, you get your plant parent personality profile 1091 01:20:33.840 --> 01:20:39.479 and a curated list of plants projects and podcast episodes that are right up your 1092 01:20:39.479 --> 01:20:43.640 alley, tailored just for you inspired by your results. The link is in 1093 01:20:43.680 --> 01:20:45.760 the show notes. Make sure to let me know what your personality is after 1094 01:20:45.800 --> 01:20:48.920 you take the test. If you're looking to up level your plant parent game, 1095 01:20:49.079 --> 01:20:51.840 check out my website. We've got a bunch of free guides that you 1096 01:20:51.880 --> 01:20:57.920 can download on topics like understanding natural Light which is actually a three day worksheet, 1097 01:20:58.000 --> 01:21:00.000 and nine ways to clean up your off this if you need to bring 1098 01:21:00.079 --> 01:21:03.439 a little bit of planty joy into your work life. And finally, I 1099 01:21:03.479 --> 01:21:08.279 want to invite you to join the Plantiest and Kindest corner of the Internet, 1100 01:21:08.279 --> 01:21:13.800 my Online Garden Society. It's both a web platform and an iOS and Android 1101 01:21:13.840 --> 01:21:16.720 app. It allows our listeners to get together in an algorithm and troll free 1102 01:21:16.760 --> 01:21:21.399 online space to swap plantcare tips, humble brag about plant winds, and get 1103 01:21:21.439 --> 01:21:26.600 support when you have plan fails. We have monthly live planty show and tells 1104 01:21:26.640 --> 01:21:30.439 on Zoom which are so fun, and even have a living library of planty 1105 01:21:30.439 --> 01:21:33.359 book recommendation source from our community. You can go to join the Garden Society 1106 01:21:33.439 --> 01:21:36.880 dot com to grab your membership and for anything else, plant friend, I 1107 01:21:36.960 --> 01:21:40.640 am here for you. Feel free to drop me a line, whether you 1108 01:21:40.680 --> 01:21:43.840 have an idea for an episode, an event, or maybe you're even a 1109 01:21:43.880 --> 01:21:47.319 planty business interested in sponsoring the show. And of course following me on Instagram 1110 01:21:47.319 --> 01:21:51.880 and TikTok for daily planty silliness, musics and tips is always recommended. You 1111 01:21:51.880 --> 01:21:57.560 can find me across socials and Growing Joy with Maria. Thank you again so 1112 01:21:57.640 --> 01:22:00.760 much for listening. It is truly my honor and life's delight to help you 1113 01:22:01.319 --> 01:22:06.960 keep looming and keep growing joy. But care is self care. On Growing 1114 01:22:08.199 --> 01:22:09.640 Joy the podcast