Episode 266: the Chelsea flower show 2023
Botanical Recharge houseplant studio by The Botanical Boys. Photograph: Jane Perrone
I offer up my thoughts on the Chelsea flower show and answer a question about houseplant pests. Plus we hear from listener Ange in Australia.
Want to listen to my podcasts from previous years at Chelsea? Find them here.
Terrarium sculptures outside the Botanical Recharge houseplant studio. Photograph: Jane Perrone.
Check out the show notes as you listen…
The best in show garden for Chelsea 2023 went to Horatio’s Garden designed by Harris Bugg Studio. Full disclosure: I have done some freelance writing work for this studio in the past. You can read a preview piece I wrote about this garden here.
You can see all the show gardens at Chelsea 2023 here.
If you can’t get to Chelsea but are in the UK, there are lots of other RHS shows to visit - here’s a list. There are lots of other non-RHS shows worth visiting including the Rare Plant Fair.
There are also lots of plant societies such as orchid societies and the British Cactus and Succulent Society who put on shows around the UK and beyond. Want to find out about houseplant related events happening around the UK? Subscribe to my weekly newsletter The Plant Ledger.
The Houseplant Studios at Chelsea are all set in wooden garden buildings supplied by Malvern Garden Buildings. Here’s a full list of the medals awarded by the RHS judges. Geb & Green (featured in On The Ledge episode 254).
I was a little disappointed with the houseplant studios this year. Chelsea is all about pushing the boundaries and showing off top flight plants and design - the very pinnacle of horticulture. I just didn’t feel like I saw as much of that as I’d like in the houseplant studios this year. (If you have no idea what I was talking about when I was comparing my feelings to Rupaul’s H&M rant in RuPaul’s Drag Race Uk season 2, watch this.)
My favourite of the five studios was The Botanical Boys’ Botanical Recharge - pictured at the top of the show notes. Its terrarium sculptures (pictured left) were by @trudy.installationsbydesign. The large succulent feltbush I forgot the scientific name for was Kalanchoe beharensis.
The Florida ghost orchid is an enigmatic orchid that provided the focus for a fascinating display about orchid conservation inside the Great Pavilion at Chelsea this year - this was a collaboration between J.P. Wright & Company of Florida and Uk houseplant nursery Grow Tropicals. You can read more about it in this Insta post.
Read about the pollination of the Florida ghost orchid in this paper.
Thanks to Julianne McGuinness of the Smithsonian’s North American Orchid Conservation Centre, Johanna Hutchins of Chicago Botanic Garden and Tony Ruiz from Illinois College for talking to me about this incredible orchid.
Larger terrariums are generally easier to care for than small ones, as I discussed in my interview on The Botanical Boys’ houseplant studio. Photograph: Jane Perrone.
QUESTION OF THE WEEK
Christine in zone 5B got in touch about problems with three pests- aphids, spider mites and what are probably whitefly - on her plants, which include coriander/cilantro and goji berries.
These three pests’ lifecycles are incredible (here’s the aphid life cycle for example) and they can reproduce very fast which is why Christine feels as if the infestation is neverending. Unfortunately there is no ‘silver bullet’ treatment for any houseplant pest - it’s a question of repeated attention to try to keep their numbers under control.
Most of the plants Christine is growing are things that may be under extra stress because they are better suited to life outside. It totally makes sense that we keep some outdoor plants indoors at the start of the growing season when it’s still too cold outside for them, but a lack of light combined with warm temperatures can put plants under extra stress, which can leave them more vulnerable to pests. If you can, adding growlights can really help them to grow strong.
Aphids can fly in the window or come into the house on cut flowers or produce, so it’s hard to be rid of them permanently. The best treatment is repeatedly wiping leaves - you can use a pesticide spray, but the physical action of removing the pests and their eggs with a damp cloth is very effective.
An aside: did you know the leaves of the goji berry (Lycium barbarum) are edible?
Want to ask me a question? Email ontheledgepodcast@gmail.com. The more information you can include, the better - pictures of your plant, details of your location and how long you have had the plant are always useful to help solve your issue.
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CREDITS
This week's show featured the tracks Roll Jordan Roll by the Joy Drops, The Road We Use To Travel When We Were Kids by Komiku, Chiefs by Jahzzar and Whistle by BenJamin Banger (@benjaminbanger on Insta; website benjaminbanger.com).