July 21, 2021 • 9 mins
In this bonus episode, Mangesh is beating the heat this summer with a field trip to a plant nursery as he searches for a new house plant. Listen and discover the plant diversity and expertise of local garden and plant centers. Plus, learn about the surprising polka dot plant Mangesh takes home.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:03):
Hey there, I'm Mongisatiular're a co host of Part Time Genius,
one of the founders of Mental Flaws, and this is
Humans Growing Stuff, a collaboration from My Heart Radio and
your friends at Miracle Grow. Our goal is to make
this the most human show about plants you'll ever listen to,
and along the way, we'll share inspiring stories, tips and
tricks to nurture your plant addiction, and just enough science
(00:27):
to make you sound like an expert. We are on
summer break right now, but the truth is Molly and
I can't stop our plant addiction, so we're bringing you
some sunny mini episodes to enjoy before we return with
a brand new season. Throughout the summer, we'll be dropping
incredible stories from growers, fun advice we get from experts,
and we'll have some fun conversations around fascinating plants. So
(00:51):
for this bonus episode, Molly and I went on a
field trip to the plant nursery. We wanted to explore
what kind of interesting, fun plants we can discover and adopt,
and we were not disappointed with our options. Start looking
(01:14):
where you want to go? Yeah, do you know what
this is? I have no idea what stage apparently so.
At the start of summer, Molly and I met up
in Brooklyn one day and we went on a field
trip to a local plant nursery to find our next plants.
Do you know what sort of plants you're looking for?
(01:35):
I think I'm going to look at basil like herb plants,
if that makes plants. What are you looking for me?
I got a dragon at last weekend, like one of
those dragon plants, and it's really really sweet. And I
found out it's part of the asparagus family, which is crazy.
I had no idea, but um but I was thinking
(01:56):
about maybe getting it a companion or I also really
want to get like a palm of some sort from
my office. I like it. Let's see it, let's see what.
There's so much here, Yeah, I know, it's beautiful. It's
so fun to be here. And eventually we found ourselves
completely entranced by all of the different flora around us.
(02:19):
These are so these are Yeah. I'm always fascinated by
the fact that, like the different colors or the different
acidity in the soil right like makes it different colors.
I love those purple ones back there. Yeah, that's really pretty. Yeah,
what do you think this. Oh, it looks a little
bit like Oscar the grouches fluff, doesn't it. It's a
(02:46):
silver mound. It's sweet, right, I just want to pet it.
They all had the most clever and whimsical names. This
is amazing. It's got so many little seculents in there.
It's called hens and chicks. Oh my god, that's very cute.
(03:07):
I like all these names, little miss Sunshine, Jewel of
the desert. So we decided to have some fun and
tried naming a few of them ourselves. Okay, not look
at this. What would you mean this planet? It is
of first, I've describe it right now. It just looks
like it's got green pointy leaves. But um, but it
(03:30):
looks like it's supposed to grow pink and beautiful. Um.
I would call it an emerald slipper. Oh, it's named Gina.
His name is Gina. I would have called with leroy.
I guess if I know that, being more conventional names.
(03:52):
But works. Eventually, it was way too hot out for
us to stay outdoors, so we headed into the house
plant area inside where they had ponytail palms and zz
plants and snake plants, and it was there among all
this greenery that we discovered a little gem of a plant,
(04:15):
a spotted bagonia, that I knew I had to take home.
The plant is also known as a trout bagonia or
a polka dot plant. Oh wow, it's polka dot. That's
really lovely, right, yeah. It has these the most large
comma shaped leaves and uh, and they have polka dots
(04:38):
on them, and like white polka dots on green. And
then underneath there they've got this lovely like red pink
color like a watermelon. I canna get one. It's just
kind of neat. But what should we name them? One
of the simplest things I always do at the nursery
is to ask the staff about the plant before I
purchase it. I'm always a little intimidated, but I do
(04:59):
it because that way you'll know if you have some
finicky plant on your hands, you know exactly how it
has to be cared for. My new bagonia, for example,
thrives in diffuse sunlight. In fact, if you put it
in a space that's too dim, it won't flower. So
I found a corner that wasn't front and center in
the window, but close enough where it wasn't in the
(05:20):
dark either and still got a decent amount of light.
I also learned from the nursery team that this plant
needs to dry out completely between waterings. Not as dry
as a cactus, but the top couple inches of the
soil should be dry before you water it again. It's funny.
When I went home, I read up on bigonias, and
the first story I found in the New York Times
(05:40):
was headlined it takes a rebel and a show off
to love a Bagonia. The article explained that because bigonias
had peaked in popularity in the nineteen forties, they're kind
of a bargain and you have to be a rebel
to love them, and since they're over a thousand species
of begonia, you can show off your knowledge and looked
like a plant expert. I, for the record, am neither
(06:04):
rubble nor a show off, but it is exciting that
the small, cute plant I bought, which is probably no
bigger than the height and width of my hand, is
going to get pretty big. In fact, on average, the
polka dot pagonias will get anywhere between two to three
ft in height. For me, the best part about wandering
around in garden center or nursery is stumbling into these
(06:25):
unexpected and wondrous plants you never knew existed, and then
getting the chance to learn all about them. I went
home that day with the snake plant and the polka
dot pagonia. But I left the nursery feeling the same
way I often do, excited and inspired and smiling a
little wider than when I had walked in. And now
(06:51):
for another poetry Corner, Nursery Rhyme Edition, two podcasters sought
to find perfect plants, one with bright colors not covered
with ants. So they traveled as far as the subway
would take them to a nursery in Brooklyn with enough
(07:13):
plants to placate them. They found flowers with funny names,
and shrubs that like shade, all sorts of perennials and
cactus and jade. But they searched and they scoured, and
they turned up their noses because, unlike the Bachelor, they
refused to accept roses. So after hunting and pecking through
(07:35):
each and every pot, they finally found one, a tiny
plant with big polka dots. Are you buying it? Asked Molly.
Mango said, Oh I am, it'll look great. On my
sill and even better on the gram. But what's it called,
said Mango, who's not very smart. A spotted begonia, said Molly,
(07:57):
you threw it in the cart. But before they could, hey,
the staff offered some warnings. It will need to dry
out between every watering. Also, they chorused, it likes a
lot of light, but don't put in a window because
that'll be too bright. But then they whispered the best
part of all, if you treat this plant right, it'll
(08:20):
grow big and tall. This plant, it had spunk, It
was dotted with fun. So the podcasters decided it had
to be the one, and along with the snake plant,
who they gave the name Sonja, they adopted this house
plant from the family big going, Yeah, thank you. That's
(08:47):
it for today's bonus episode, but check back here again
soon for more bonus episodes this summer. And don't forget
no matter what season it is or where you're at
in your gardening journey, there's some incredible resources waiting for
you on the America Will Grow website. Humans Growing Stuff
is a collaboration from I Heart Radio and your friends
at Miracle Grow. Our show is written and produced by Molly,
(09:08):
Sosha and Ni mug Shit together. Thank you so much
for listening.
Hey there, I'm Mongisatiular're a co host of Part Time Genius,
one of the founders of Mental Flaws, and this is
Humans Growing Stuff, a collaboration from My Heart Radio and
your friends at Miracle Grow. Our goal is to make
this the most human show about plants you'll ever listen to,
and along the way, we'll share inspiring stories, tips and
tricks to nurture your plant addiction, and just enough science
(00:27):
to make you sound like an expert. We are on
summer break right now, but the truth is Molly and
I can't stop our plant addiction, so we're bringing you
some sunny mini episodes to enjoy before we return with
a brand new season. Throughout the summer, we'll be dropping
incredible stories from growers, fun advice we get from experts,
and we'll have some fun conversations around fascinating plants. So
(00:51):
for this bonus episode, Molly and I went on a
field trip to the plant nursery. We wanted to explore
what kind of interesting, fun plants we can discover and adopt,
and we were not disappointed with our options. Start looking
(01:14):
where you want to go? Yeah, do you know what
this is? I have no idea what stage apparently so.
At the start of summer, Molly and I met up
in Brooklyn one day and we went on a field
trip to a local plant nursery to find our next plants.
Do you know what sort of plants you're looking for?
(01:35):
I think I'm going to look at basil like herb plants,
if that makes plants. What are you looking for me?
I got a dragon at last weekend, like one of
those dragon plants, and it's really really sweet. And I
found out it's part of the asparagus family, which is crazy.
I had no idea, but um but I was thinking
(01:56):
about maybe getting it a companion or I also really
want to get like a palm of some sort from
my office. I like it. Let's see it, let's see what.
There's so much here, Yeah, I know, it's beautiful. It's
so fun to be here. And eventually we found ourselves
completely entranced by all of the different flora around us.
(02:19):
These are so these are Yeah. I'm always fascinated by
the fact that, like the different colors or the different
acidity in the soil right like makes it different colors.
I love those purple ones back there. Yeah, that's really pretty. Yeah,
what do you think this. Oh, it looks a little
bit like Oscar the grouches fluff, doesn't it. It's a
(02:46):
silver mound. It's sweet, right, I just want to pet it.
They all had the most clever and whimsical names. This
is amazing. It's got so many little seculents in there.
It's called hens and chicks. Oh my god, that's very cute.
(03:07):
I like all these names, little miss Sunshine, Jewel of
the desert. So we decided to have some fun and
tried naming a few of them ourselves. Okay, not look
at this. What would you mean this planet? It is
of first, I've describe it right now. It just looks
like it's got green pointy leaves. But um, but it
(03:30):
looks like it's supposed to grow pink and beautiful. Um.
I would call it an emerald slipper. Oh, it's named Gina.
His name is Gina. I would have called with leroy.
I guess if I know that, being more conventional names.
(03:52):
But works. Eventually, it was way too hot out for
us to stay outdoors, so we headed into the house
plant area inside where they had ponytail palms and zz
plants and snake plants, and it was there among all
this greenery that we discovered a little gem of a plant,
(04:15):
a spotted bagonia, that I knew I had to take home.
The plant is also known as a trout bagonia or
a polka dot plant. Oh wow, it's polka dot. That's
really lovely, right, yeah. It has these the most large
comma shaped leaves and uh, and they have polka dots
(04:38):
on them, and like white polka dots on green. And
then underneath there they've got this lovely like red pink
color like a watermelon. I canna get one. It's just
kind of neat. But what should we name them? One
of the simplest things I always do at the nursery
is to ask the staff about the plant before I
purchase it. I'm always a little intimidated, but I do
(04:59):
it because that way you'll know if you have some
finicky plant on your hands, you know exactly how it
has to be cared for. My new bagonia, for example,
thrives in diffuse sunlight. In fact, if you put it
in a space that's too dim, it won't flower. So
I found a corner that wasn't front and center in
the window, but close enough where it wasn't in the
(05:20):
dark either and still got a decent amount of light.
I also learned from the nursery team that this plant
needs to dry out completely between waterings. Not as dry
as a cactus, but the top couple inches of the
soil should be dry before you water it again. It's funny.
When I went home, I read up on bigonias, and
the first story I found in the New York Times
(05:40):
was headlined it takes a rebel and a show off
to love a Bagonia. The article explained that because bigonias
had peaked in popularity in the nineteen forties, they're kind
of a bargain and you have to be a rebel
to love them, and since they're over a thousand species
of begonia, you can show off your knowledge and looked
like a plant expert. I, for the record, am neither
(06:04):
rubble nor a show off, but it is exciting that
the small, cute plant I bought, which is probably no
bigger than the height and width of my hand, is
going to get pretty big. In fact, on average, the
polka dot pagonias will get anywhere between two to three
ft in height. For me, the best part about wandering
around in garden center or nursery is stumbling into these
(06:25):
unexpected and wondrous plants you never knew existed, and then
getting the chance to learn all about them. I went
home that day with the snake plant and the polka
dot pagonia. But I left the nursery feeling the same
way I often do, excited and inspired and smiling a
little wider than when I had walked in. And now
(06:51):
for another poetry Corner, Nursery Rhyme Edition, two podcasters sought
to find perfect plants, one with bright colors not covered
with ants. So they traveled as far as the subway
would take them to a nursery in Brooklyn with enough
(07:13):
plants to placate them. They found flowers with funny names,
and shrubs that like shade, all sorts of perennials and
cactus and jade. But they searched and they scoured, and
they turned up their noses because, unlike the Bachelor, they
refused to accept roses. So after hunting and pecking through
(07:35):
each and every pot, they finally found one, a tiny
plant with big polka dots. Are you buying it? Asked Molly.
Mango said, Oh I am, it'll look great. On my
sill and even better on the gram. But what's it called,
said Mango, who's not very smart. A spotted begonia, said Molly,
(07:57):
you threw it in the cart. But before they could, hey,
the staff offered some warnings. It will need to dry
out between every watering. Also, they chorused, it likes a
lot of light, but don't put in a window because
that'll be too bright. But then they whispered the best
part of all, if you treat this plant right, it'll
(08:20):
grow big and tall. This plant, it had spunk, It
was dotted with fun. So the podcasters decided it had
to be the one, and along with the snake plant,
who they gave the name Sonja, they adopted this house
plant from the family big going, Yeah, thank you. That's
(08:47):
it for today's bonus episode, but check back here again
soon for more bonus episodes this summer. And don't forget
no matter what season it is or where you're at
in your gardening journey, there's some incredible resources waiting for
you on the America Will Grow website. Humans Growing Stuff
is a collaboration from I Heart Radio and your friends
at Miracle Grow. Our show is written and produced by Molly,
(09:08):
Sosha and Ni mug Shit together. Thank you so much
for listening.
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