エピソード
-
This versus episode kicks off with a discussion about creating a safe space on social media for respectful, loving communication about everything plants and gardens, then digresses into a discussion of Latin pronunciations in botanical, liturgical, and classical settings. When we make it to the Plant Face-Off, Erin leads with peace lily, or Spathiphyllum spp. She explains why some plants in the Spathiphyllum genus have Big Spadix Energy, then explores the fascinating physical mechanism that makes biting a peace lily a bad idea. She explains how to approximate the conditions of its home in the understory of tropical rainforests and how to treat problems, then digs into why she and others are so darned allergic to its pollen. Finally, Erin and Sean dissect the infamous NASA Clean Air Study that still prompts publications to insist that peace lilies can purify your air of household toxins.
In the second half of the episode, Sean confidently takes the stage to predict a win for his favourite plants, Phalaenopsis orchids, also known as moon orchids or moth orchids (for their moth-like flowers). He explains how they grow hanging in the air, attached to trees or stones, and describes the various options for propagating them. Next he covers such controversial topics as what media to grow orchids in, how to water them, and where to position them for the best kind of light. As someone who has rehabilitated many a box-store orchid, he is well equipped with advice on helping them re-bloom and thrive. Sean closes his segment with some history and surprising medical uses for Phalaenopsis.
Who won the Plant Face-Off? Was it Erin with peace lilies or Sean with Phalaenopsis orchids? You decide! Send your vote by email or on Instagram, TikTok, or Facebook with the hashtag #PAWFaceOff.
Instagram: @plantsalwayswinpodcast
Facebook: plantsalwayswinpodcast
TikTok: @plantsalwayswinpodcast
Website: www.plantsalwayswin.com
Shout-Outs:
Southern Ontario Orchid Society: https://soos.ca/
Central Ontario Orchid Society: http://coos.ca/
Knotmoth Micro Crochet: https://www.instagram.com/knotmoth/
Credits
Website Design and Illustration by Sophia Alladin
Intro and Outro Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/soundroll/when-my-ukulele-plays
License code: GWOIMMBAS15FG6PH
Citations
Phalaenopsis Culture Sheet
Phalaenopsis Culture Sheet - American Orchid Society. (n.d.). https://www.aos.org/orchid-care/care-sheets/phalaenopsis-culture-sheet
The Phalaenopsis group on Missouri Botanical Garden’s Plant Finder
Phalaenopsis (group). (n.d.). Missouri Botanical Garden. https://www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/PlantFinder/PlantFinderDetails.aspx?taxonid=264608&isprofile=1&basic=phalaenopsis
An updated version of a 1956 article in the American Orchid Society Bulletin
Phalaenopsis, the Genus - Beginner’s Handbook, XXIII. (n.d.). American Orchid Society. Retrieved January 21, 2025, from https://www.aos.org/orchid-care/orchid-care-and-culture-sheets/phalaenopsis-culture-sheet/phalaenopsis-the-genus
Research into medical uses for commercial orchid waste
Minh, T., Khang, D., Tuyen, P., Minh, L., Anh, L., Quan, N., Ha, P., Quan, N., Toan, N., Elzaawely, A., & Xuan, T. (2016). Phenolic compounds and antioxidant activity of phalaenopsis orchid hybrids. Antioxidants, 5(3), 31. https://doi.org/10.3390/antiox5030031
The history of orchids
Hill, E. (2021, March 26). The history of orchids. Love Orchids. https://www.loveorchids.co.uk/blogs/home/four-things-about-the-history-of-orchids-you-might-not-know?srsltid=AfmBOooOu7XYkq-RGQmlx8YUl1JBoj50X_3xPH1wgEjo3CmOf20X1hMR
Peace lilies’ relatives: plants in the Araceae family
Grant, B. L. (2021, August 11). Arum plant information: Learn about common varieties of arum. Gardening Know How. https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/houseplants/hpgen/arum-plant-information.htm
Information about spathes and spadixes
Ellis, M. E. (2021, November 29). What is a spathe: Learn about the spathe and spadix in plants. Gardening Know How. https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/garden-how-to/info/what-is-a-spathe.htm
Spathiphyllum overview, including pests and diseases
Spathiphyllum (Peace lily, Spathe flower, White sails) | North Carolina Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox. (n.d.). Retrieved January 21, 2025, from https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/spathiphyllum/#poison
Treating pests and diseases of Spathiphyllum
Spengler, T. (2021, May 29). Diseases in spathiphyllum: Tips on treating peace lily diseases. Gardening Know How. https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/houseplants/peace-lily/diseases-spathiphyllum-tips-treating-peace-lily-diseases.htm
How calcium oxalate crystals in peace lily leaves cause reactions
Wismer, T. (2015). Feline toxins. August’s Consultations in Feline Internal Medicine, 7, 791–798. https://doi.org/10.1016/b978-0-323-22652-3.00079-7
Spathiphyllum as an unusually bad trigger for allergies among houseplants
egás, V. H., Duch, G. D., García, V. G., De La Losa, F. P., Fernández, M. C., Velandia, D. G., & Jané, P. G. (2019). Allergy to Spathiphyllum wallisii, an Indoor Allergen. Journal of Investigational Allergology and Clinical Immunology, 29(6), 453–454. https://doi.org/10.18176/jiaci.0419
Debunking popular NASA Clean Air Study interpretations
Editorial Staff. (2017, February 15). Getting into the Weeds: Do Houseplants Really Improve Air Quality? American Lung Association. https://www.lung.org/blog/do-houseplants-really-improve-air-quality#:~:text=This%20NASA%20study%20showed%20that,long%20history%20of%20health%20impacts
NASA’s own account of the Clean Air study
Plants clean air and water for indoor environments. (2007). NASA Spinoff. https://spinoff.nasa.gov/Spinoff2007/ps_3.html
A deeper dive into the study and how houseplants really benefit your home
Russel, E. M. (2020, September 7). Debunked: Despite NASA clean air study claims, houseplants don’t effectively purify air. Clean Air Gardening. https://www.cleanairgardening.com/do-houseplants-clean-air/
Timestamps
00:57 Intro
01:13 What’s Growing On?
01:15 Opening our Discord to the Gardening World
2:45 Booking Some Public Gigs
04:20 The Plant Face-Off
04:43 Face-Off Results for Milkweed vs. Beardtongue
05:30 Pronouncing Latin: A Context Sport
07:05 Erin’s Plant: Peace Lily
07:22The Arum Family (Araceae)
08:20 Spathes and Spadixes
09:02 Corpse Flower Amorphophallus titanum: Big Spadix Energy
11:05 Peace Lily’s Not-so-Peaceful Toxic Reaction
14:09 Caring for your Peace Lily
19:52 Peace Lily Allergies
21:55 The Infamous NASA Clean Air Study
31:55 Sean’s Plant: Phalaenopsis Orchid
33:13 Orchid Taxonomy (and What’s Taxonomy, Anyway?)
33:06 Orchid Origins
36:33 Epiphytes on Trees and Lithophytes on Rocks
37:22 Three Ways to Propagate an Orchid
40:22 What to Grow your Orchid In
42:59 How to Have a Happy Orchid
48:50 Orchid Pests, Pestilence, and Stress
50:00 History Time, Featuring Orchid Delirium
53:30 Orchids in Medical Research
55:09 Shout-Outs
55:13 Ontario Orchid Societies
55:37 Knotmoth Micro Crochet
57:17 Contact Us and Outro
-
You might think a gardening podcast would focus on guests who have a lifetime of gardening expertise and plenty of credentials. But we want to emphasize that anyone can garden, and amateurs everywhere find niches to flourish in. That’s why we invited Amanda Jewell to share her adventures in learning to grow native plants from seed.
Amanda is a vision therapist by trade. In her free time, she uses her postage-stamp urban yard in Northern Ontario to grow hundreds of native wildflowers every year. She describes for us the joy she felt the first time she discovered that her garden was supporting local insects and how the focus on bringing more wildlife to her yard drove her interest in native plants. She also explains how winter sowing has become such an effective technique for her, in spite of mishaps along the way, and how leaning in to nature’s lack of orderliness is both useful and liberating. We wrap up with conversation about finding community among gardeners and about resources and seed sources for listeners who want to try starting their own native plants.
Amanda’s Shout-Outs:
The Ottawa Wildflower Seed Library distributes free seeds to organizations and gardeners every winter: https://wildflowerseedlibrary.ca/
The Butterflyway Project supports the creation of connected patches of butterfly habitat throughout neighbourhoods: https://davidsuzuki.org/take-action/act-locally/butterflyway/
The Miskwaadesi native garden is a new garden in North Bay, Ontario created by the North Bay Indigenous Friendship Centre: https://www.miskwaadesi.ca/
Timestamps
00:51 Intro
01:25 Gardening in Urban Northern Ontario
03:20 Observe Before You Grow
04:16 Becoming a Disney Princess for Hornets
08:10 A Cheap, Low-Maintenance, Wildlife-Friendly Garden
10:00 Growing Native Perennials Is Beginner Friendly!
11:23 Why Some Seeds Need Cold Stratification
13:57 What is Winter Sowing?
15:22 Organization Not Necessary
17:05 When to Open your Winter-Sowing Greenhouses
18:56 Collecting Native Seeds
21:29 Wildlife Garden With Their Poop!
22:07 Amanda’s Native-Plant Wishlist
23:19 Making a Microclimate for a Southern Plant
25:08 Making a Rain Garden or Pond
26:18 The Miskwaadesi Native Plant Garden in North Bay
28:29 Garden Centres vs. Nurseries
30:41 The Nativar Debate
36:26 Pollination and Genetic Diversity in the Garden
37:23 Understanding Your Garden Ecosystem
38:40 Add Rotting Wood to your Garden
43:40 A Warning about Growing Seeds in Mulch
47:20 Amanda’s Shout-Outs and Tips
-
エピソードを見逃しましたか？
-
This versus episode is a battle of the native wildflowers. Sean leads with penstemon, also known as hairy beardtongue, a charmingly fairytale-looking native perennial genus with species that grow across North America. Points in this plant’s favour: it has few pests and diseases, pollinators love it, and Sean lets us in on the secret to increased blossoms. Also: tube-shaped flowers = hummingbirds and adorably wiggling bee butts.
Not to be outdone, Erin pushes back with common milkweed Asclepias syriaca, another native perennial that’s important for pollinators and a range of specialist insects, including monarch butterflies. Its sweet-smelling ball-shaped flower clusters seem engineered for human appeal, but this plant’s genes are wild and free. Erin explains what kind of garden space you need to grow them and addresses some common fears about the toxins in milkweed’s sap. And then both our hosts get into The Milkweed Controversy.
Tangents this week include rhizomes, informational websites with no dates on them, the ethics of merch, and the menace of black swallow-wort, a.k.a. dog strangling vine.
Who won the Plant Face-Off? Was it Sean with beardtongue or Erin with milkweed? You decide! Send your vote by email or on Instagram, TikTok, or Facebook with the hashtag #PAWFaceOff.
Fact Check
We weren’t quite certain, but our memories were right: monarch butterflies are listed as endangered in Canada and, as of December 2024, threatened in the United States. However, it’s also important to know that provinces also have their own systems of classification. In Ontario, the monarch is only a species of “special concern,” which doesn’t come with the protections that “endangered” and “threatened” do.
La Grassa, J. (2024, December 13). Canadian monarch enthusiasts, experts welcome possible new protections for butterfly in U.S. CBC. https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/windsor/monarch-butterflies-southwestern-ontario-1.7407440#:~:text=In%20Ontario%2C%20the%20monarch%20is,receive%20species%20or%20habitat%20protection.%22
Comments? Feedback? Want your garden question to be featured in a future Q&A segment? Email us, reach out over social media, or get Q&A priority by supporting us on Patreon.
Instagram: @plantsalwayswinpodcast
Facebook: plantsalwayswinpodcast
TikTok: @plantsalwayswinpodcast
Website: www.plantsalwayswin.com
Credits
Website Design and Illustration by Sophia Alladin
Intro and Outro Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/soundroll/when-my-ukulele-plays
License code: GWOIMMBAS15FG6PH
Citations
Moving Penstemon from Scrophulariaceae to Plantaginaceae
Gerry. (2016, January 24). Genus Penstemon Moved from Scrophulariaceae to Plantaginaceae. USWildflowers.com Journal. https://journal.uswildflowers.com/2016/01/genus-penstemon-moved-from-scrophulariaceae-to-plantaginaceae/
Penstemon Basics:
Hairy Beardtongue. (2025, January 8). Ontario Native Plants. https://onplants.ca/shop/penstemon-hirsutus/
TWC Staff. (2023, February 22). Penstemon hirsutus (By The University of Texas at Austin). Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center. https://www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=PEHI
The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. (1998b, July 20). Penstemon | Native, perennial, flowering. Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/plant/Penstemon
A Beginner’s Guide to Native Penstemons
Native Penstemons: A Beginner’s Guide. (2024, December 22). The Plant Native. https://theplantnative.com/plant/penstemon/
Medicinal uses of Wildflowers
Medicinal uses (By Oregon State University). (2019, March 13). College of Agricultural Sciences. https://agsci.oregonstate.edu/mes/sustainable-wildflower-seed-production/medicinal-uses
Ellen Zachos, author of the books Backyard Forager: 65 familiar plants you didn’t know you could eat, The Forager’s Pantry: Cooking with wild edibles, and How to Forage for Wild Foods Without Dying: An absolute beginner’s guide to identifying 35 wild, edible plants, and more
Zachos, E. Backyard forager. Retrieved January 8, 2025, from https://backyardforager.com/
The David Suzuki Foundation Butterflyway Project
The Butterflyway Project. (2025, January 8). David Suzuki Foundation. https://davidsuzuki.org/take-action/act-locally/butterflyway/
Your local Native Plant Society will have information about the milkweed that grows in your area.
Native Plant Societies. (n.d.). North American Native Plant Society. Retrieved January 8, 2025, from https://nanps.org/native-plant-societies/
The Xerces Society Milkweed Finder can help you find seeds if you want to grow your own.
Milkweed Finder. The Xerces Society for Invertebrate Protection. Retrieved January 8, 2025, from https://xerces.org/milkweed/milkweed-seed-finder
Raising monarch butterflies
Pasternak, Carol. How to Raise Monarch Butterflies: A Step-By-Step Guide for Kids (How it Works). E-book ed., Firefly Books Ltd., 2015.
The life cycle and migration of monarch butterflies
“Life Cycle”, Monarch Joint Venture, https://monarchjointventure.org/monarch-biology/life-cycle. Accessed 20 November, 2024.
A close study of milkweed and the species it hosts
Holdrege, Craig. “The Story of an Organism: Common Milkweed”, The Nature Institute, 2010, www.natureinstitute.org/article/craig-holdrege/the-story-of-an-organism-common-milkweed
Timestamps
00:11 Intro
01:04 What’s Growing On?
01:50 Sean’s Puppy Update
02:03 Erin’s New Book
05:00 The Plant Face-Off
05:23 Face-Off Results for Poinsettia vs. Amaryllis
06:30 Sean’s Plant: Penstemon, a.k.a. Beardtongue
06:57 The Reclassification of Penstemon
08:58 The Value of Dates on Research Materials
11:03 Penstemon Species and Ranges
12:19 Penstemon In Your Garden
14:21 Penstemon Pollinators, Featuring Bee Butts
16:38 Learning Medicinal Uses for Plants
19:30 Tending Penstemon
23:58 Erin’s Plant: Common Milkweed
25:56 What is Rhizome?
27:51 National Garden Bureau’s Year Of the Asclepias
28:55 Milkweed Misnomers
30:14 The Destruction of Common Milkweed
31:43 Toxic Sap and Nuanced Conversations
35:09 Would You Eat (cooked) Milkweed?
35:58 When Growing Milkweed Kills Monarchs
39:52 How to Source Milkweed for Your Region
41:23 Saving Monarchs—who, how, and why
46:00 The Problem of Dog-Strangling Vine
48:16 Outro
-
We’re always pretty nerdy on Plants Always Win, but in this interview episode Alex Meinders helps us take it to a whole new level. He’s a wildlife biologist and videogame enthusiast whose passion project is the YouTube and TikTok channel Geek Ecology. He uses his real-world science know-how to analyze the biology and ecology of Pokémon—yes, those quirky monsters from the cartoon, card game, and video games.
This week Alex speculates with us about the plant-inspired class of grass-type Pokémon. We consider their place in the food web (are they animals or vegetables?), their evolutionary history (what environmental pressure caused them to look like plants?) and their methods of reproduction (do they create clones by seed and genetic diversity by egg?). If you’re worried about missing out on real-world plant talk, never fear! We dig into some fascinating plants along the way, including the parasitic corpse flower, the piratical ghost pipe, and mandrakes, which really do look like that.
Find Alex on YouTube, TikTok, and Twitter at @GeekEcology.
Fact Check:
We promised some fact-checking during the episode! Here are the results:
Alex brought up the subject of a tissue-culture mammoth meatball that made news headlines. This was created in 2023 by Australian company Vow as a way to bring attention to their cultivated meat products. It turns out the meatball was not eaten since no one knows how our immune systems will react to protein from 10,000-year-old DNA. If someone wanted to eat it, the company would need to re-do the process with closer attention paid to the needs of regulators. But it’s a great story!
The Pokémon Grimer was part of Generation 1, which came out in Japan in 1996. Points to Sean for remembering that accurately.
It was actually four different fish who beat Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire, since, for health reasons, their owner swapped in a different one every twelve hours. But, yes, the notoriously fail-proof game has been beaten by the random movements of fish swimming around a tank with quadrants mapped to the controller buttons.
We also mention the Feejee Mermaid. It turns out there were many such “mermaids” made from combining the bodies of fish and monkeys. They have cultural significance as “ningyo” in Japan, but when westerners like PT Barnum got their hands on them in the nineteenth century, shenanigans ensued.
Comments? Feedback? Want your garden question to be featured in a future Q&A segment? Email us, reach out over social media, or get Q&A priority by supporting us on Patreon.
Instagram: @plantsalwayswinpodcast
Facebook: plantsalwayswinpodcast
TikTok: @plantsalwayswinpodcast
Website: www.plantsalwayswin.com
Credits
Website Design and Illustration by Sophia Alladin
Intro and Outro Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/soundroll/when-my-ukulele-plays
License code: GWOIMMBAS15FG6PH
Citations
The mammoth meatball (which was not, in fact, eaten by anyone):
Carrington, D. (2023b, March 28). Meatball from long-extinct mammoth created by food firm. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/mar/28/meatball-mammoth-created-cultivated-meat-firm?CMP=share_btn_url
P.T. Barnum’s Feejee Mermaid (one of many from the 1800s):
Szalay, J. (2016, September 9). The Feejee Mermaid: Early Barnum Hoax. livescience.com. https://www.livescience.com/56037-feejee-mermaid.html
The meaning behind the name Oddish:
Fandom. (n.d.). Oddish. Codex Gamicus. Retrieved December 10, 2024, from https://gamicus.fandom.com/wiki/Oddish
Mandrakes:
The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. (1998, July 20). Mandrake | Description, Species, & Traditions. Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/plant/mandrake-Mandragora-genus#ref202668
Corpse flower, Rafflesia arnoldi, definitely the inspiration behind Vileplume
Rafflesia arnoldi. (n.d.). Kew Royal Botanic Gardens. Retrieved December 10, 2024, from https://www.kew.org/plants/rafflesia-arnoldi
Ghost pipe, a mycoheterotroph:
Ghost pipe. (n.d.). Nature Conservancy Canada. Retrieved December 10, 2024, from https://www.natureconservancy.ca/en/what-we-do/resource-centre/featured-species/plants/ghost-pipe.html
Timestamps
00:46 Introduction
01:56 Pursuing wildlife biology because Jurassic Park isn't real
3:54 What is Geek Ecology?
5:08 Pokémon Food Webs
10:27 The Fish who beat Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire
11:30 Why “grass type” and not “plant type”?
13:02 Are Pokémon their own kingdom of life?
14:00 A discussion on evolution
18:07 Angiosperms (flowering plants) and gymnosperms (non-flowering plants)
19:09 Impatiens would make good Pokémon
20:30 Plant Pokémon reproduction: seeds AND eggs??
22:10 Sean wants a Pokémon breeding simulator
12:45 Do Pokémon need to be pollinated?
25:29 What plant inspired the Oddish?
30:58 Vileplume: it’s just a corpse flower, right?
34:45 Parasitic plant tangent
29:25 Pokémon with fake Latin names
40:50 Find Geek Ecology online
42:55 Contact Us & Outro
-
In this Versus episode, it’s the battle of herbs and spices. Get your fill of these fascinating aromatic plants that have flavoured our food and changed our history since paleolithic times. Learn why they bother smelling so good—and what you can do to make the most of their flavour—then get ready to cast your vote in the Plant Face-Off. Sean is representing the herbs with bay laurel, a plant not to be confused with the many other bays and laurels in the world—especially not the toxic ones. Learn how it grows, how to preserve the leaves, and why there are so many misconceptions about its safety. Erin follows up with mustard seed and how to grow and prepare it…but first she shakes things up with some tasty knowledge about spices around the world.
Who won the Plant Face-Off? Was it Sean with bay leaves or Erin with mustard seed? You decide! Send your vote by email or on Instagram, TikTok, or Facebook with the hashtag #PAWFaceOff.
Comments? Feedback? Want your garden question to be featured in a future Q&A segment? Email us, reach out over social media, or get Q&A priority by supporting us on Patreon.
Instagram: @plantsalwayswinpodcast
Facebook: plantsalwayswinpodcast
TikTok: @plantsalwayswinpodcast
Website: www.plantsalwayswin.com
Credits
Website Design and Illustration by Sophia Alladin
Intro and Outro Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/soundroll/when-my-ukulele-plays
License code: GWOIMMBAS15FG6PH
Citations
What is a spice?
Hogeback, J. (n.d.). What’s the difference between an herb and a spice? Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/story/whats-the-difference-between-an-herb-and-a-spice
Essential Oils/Volatile Oils
Biology Online. (2023, September 15). Volatile oil - Definition and Examples - Biology Online Dictionary. Biology Articles, Tutorials & Dictionary Online. https://www.biologyonline.com/dictionary/volatile-oil
iHerb.org’s Herbs of the Year
International Herb Association. (2023, May 30). Herb of the Year™. https://www.iherb.org/herb-of-the-year/
Bay laurel’s history and use
Belsinger, S. (2009, March 18). Bay (Laurus nobilis): From Legend and Lore to Fragrance and Flavor. Fine Gardening. https://www.finegardening.com/article/bay-laurus-nobilis-from-legend-and-lore-to-fragrance-and-flavor?srsltid=AfmBOoonN-BDS8stQ2WPnnKPaq6O6XNdSRjOD1nROnT2zNqDeIo7KlEC
The toxicity of laurel hedges
Hopes Grove Nurseries. (2024, September 23). Are Laurel hedges poisonous?. https://www.hopesgrovenurseries.co.uk/knowledge-base/are-laurel-hedges-poisonous/#:~:text=You%20are%20here%3A%20Home%20%C2%BB%20Are,cause%20serious%20complications%20if%20ingested
Medicinal uses and side effects of bay laurel
BAY LEAF: Overview, uses, side effects, precautions, interactions, dosing and reviews. (n.d.). WebMD. Retrieved December 27, 2024, from https://www.webmd.com/vitamins/ai/ingredientmono-685/bay-leaf
The biology of white mustard (also known as yellow mustard)
Canadian Food Inspection Agency. (2022, May 6). The biology of Sinapis alba L. (mustard). inspection.canada.ca. https://inspection.canada.ca/en/plant-varieties/plants-novel-traits/applicants/directive-94-08/biology-documents/sinapis-alba#a24
Growing saffron in Ontario
Balzer, D. (2024, November 6). Growing saffron – in a cool Canadian climate! Donna Balzer. https://donnabalzer.com/growing-saffron-in-a-cool-canadian-climate/
Timestamps
00:12 Intro
00:53 What’s Growing On?
01:07 Erin Gets Native Seed Mail
02:17 This Episode is Dedicated to Siblings
02:58 The Plant Face Off
03:08 Herbs and Spices: Definitions
04:25 How Bias Affects Research
06:00 Sean’s Plant: Bay Laurel
08:05 The Laurecea Plant Family
08:45 A Laurel by Any Other Name Might be Toxic
10:02 Mediterranean Evergreens
11:22 Tree Genders
13:28 Medicinal Uses of Bay Laurel
14:40 Bay Leaves: They’re Sharp
17:49 Preserving Bay Leaves
19:40 Growing Bay Laurel
20:40 Aromatics to Deter Pests
23:50 Erin’s Spice Journey
24:59 Preserving Spice Potency
26:41 Spice Fun Facts
28:56 Erin’s Plant: Mustard
29:12 The Fascinating Brassica Family
32:28 Making Your Own Mustard
36:26 Mustard Types
39:13 Q&A: Low-Fuss, Low-Light Houseplants
43:23 Listener Feedback
45:41 Contact Us & Outro
-
In this interview episode, Sean chats with Paul Zammit about the life of a garden communicator. Paul has had a long career in horticulture and is presently a professor of Horticulture and Environmental Studies at Niagara College as well as CBC’s Ontario Today gardening expert—although “expert” is a term he would like to contest. After all, we never stop learning, and that’s especially true in the garden. Paul and Sean talk about selfish gardening (taking space from nature for ourselves) compared to building a biodiverse space that wildlife can enjoy alongside us—even if that means broadening our definition of beauty. They lament the spread of incomplete and untrue gardening tips online, although they’re still excited about the information-sharing power of social media. And although they’d happily talk forever, they force themselves to wrap up the conversation by answering some listener questions about insect-afflicted ash trees and re-blooming orchids.
Find Paul on Instagram at @paulsplantpix
Paul Zammit is a professor at Niagara College’s School of Environment and Horticulture.
He can be found giving garden advice on CBC’s Ontario Today program
He occasionally co-leads international tours of public and private gardens.
Comments? Feedback? Want your garden question to be featured in a future Q&A segment? Email us, reach out over social media, or get Q&A priority by supporting us on Patreon.
Instagram: @plantsalwayswinpodcast
Facebook: plantsalwayswinpodcast
TikTok: @plantsalwayswinpodcast
Website: www.plantsalwayswin.com
Credits
Website Design and Illustration by Sophia Alladin
Intro and Outro Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/soundroll/when-my-ukulele-plays
License code: GWOIMMBAS15FG6PH
0:45 Preamble
1:15 Interview
2:33 Paul’s Impressive Résumé
4:04 Leading Garden Tours
7:11 “Garden Expert”, and Other Misnomers
13:07 Gardening is different everywhere!
15:25 Biodiversity: If You Plant it, They Will Come
16:24 Invasive Species and Constructive Conversations
21:30 Rethinking Beauty
24:03 Cultivars Aren’t Evil
26:24 Gardening for Ourselves and for Nature
35:20 Social Media and Iffy Plant Hacks
42:07 Intermission
42:50 Q&A
44: 26 Emerald Ash Borers
46:35 Re-Blooming Orchids
53:12 Paul's Shout-Outs
56:20 Outro
-
In this “versus” episode, Erin and Sean face off with two big holiday plants: Poinsettias and Amaryllis. Erin comes in swinging with the fraught history of settler (Poinsettia) and Indigenous (cuetlaxochitl) names for her plant, but Sean pushes back with the romantic (or is it?) mythology behind amaryllis. Both contenders shatter misconceptions (Poinsettias are not toxic! Some amaryllis are imposters!) and share care tips for keeping these festive flora in good shape during the holidays and year round. A few tangents slip in about specialist insects that thrive on toxic plants and the way plants interpret light and darkness. And of course we get a plant rant about florists and nurseries using spray paint and glitter. The episode wraps up with a listener question about how late she can plant an evergreen tree.
Who won the Plant Face-Off? Was it Erin with poinsettias or Sean with amaryllis? You decide! Send your vote by email or on Instagram, TikTok, or Facebook with the hashtag #PAWFaceOff.
Comments? Feedback? Want your garden question to be featured in a future Q&A segment? Email us, reach out over social media, or get Q&A priority by supporting us on Patreon.
Instagram: @plantsalwayswinpodcast
Facebook: plantsalwayswinpodcast
TikTok: @plantsalwayswinpodcast
Website: www.plantsalwayswin.com
Credits
Website Design and Illustration by Sophia Alladin
Intro and Outro Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/soundroll/when-my-ukulele-plays
License code: GWOIMMBAS15FG6PH
Citations
Cultural history of poinsettias
Kohfeld, M. (2024, November 30). Cuetlaxochitl: A cultural history of the Poinsettia. Swansons Nursery. https://www.swansonsnursery.com/blog/history-of-poinsettias
Chart of specialist insects who sequester the toxins (glycocides) in milkweed sap
Holdrege, C. (n.d.). The Story of an Organism: Common Milkweed — The Nature Institute. The Nature Institute. https://www.natureinstitute.org/article/craig-holdrege/the-story-of-an-organism-common-milkweed
Commercial production of poinsettias
Environmental Horticulture Department - UF/IFAS. (n.d.). Production Guidelines - Poinsettia Cultivation. Commercial Floriculture. https://hort.ifas.ufl.edu/floriculture/poinsettia/production_guidelines.shtml
Dr. Ing-Ming Lee’s research into phytoplasmas
Ing-Ming Lee. (n.d.). The American Phytopathological Society (APS). https://www.apsnet.org/members/give-awards/awards/Fellows/Pages/Ing-MingLee.aspx
Care and reblooming of poinsettias
Schnelle, M. (2017, April 1). Poinsettia Care. Oklahoma State University Extension. https://extension.okstate.edu/fact-sheets/poinsettia-care.html
Weisenhorn, J. (2024). Growing and caring for poinsettia. UMN Extension. https://extension.umn.edu/houseplants/poinsettia
Plants in the amaryllis family
Petruzzello, M. (2016, March 8). List of plants in the family Amaryllidaceae | Amaryllis, Narcissus, Hyacinth. Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/topic/list-of-plants-in-the-family-Amaryllidaceae-2058006
Facts about Amaryllis
DeJohn, S. (2024, October 17). Amaryllis Legends and Fun Facts. Gardeners Supply Company.
https://www.gardeners.com/how-to/amaryllis-facts/8660.html
Amaryllis and hippeastrum
Mahr, S. (n.d.). Amaryllis, Hippeastrum. Wisconsin Horticulture. https://hort.extension.wisc.edu/articles/amaryllis-hippeastrum/
0:51 What’s Growing On?
0:56 Winter Prep (and lack thereof)
1:57 Sean Got a Puppy!
2:51 The Plant Face-Off
3:30 Poinsettias and Pronunciation
4:22 Cottoneaster Tangent
4:42 Pointsettia Etymology
5:40 Poinsettia Sap: Not Toxic!
8:25 The Euphorbia Plant Family
10:16 Turning Shrubs into House Plants
12:12 Tricking Plants with Light
14:17 Spray-Painted Poinsettias
17:31 Poinsettia Care
21:50 How (not) to Research Plants Online
23:45 What is—and isn’t—an Amaryllis?
25:01 Amaryllis Relatives
26:26 The Amaryllis Identity Crisis
28:48 Naturalized vs. Invasive Plants
29:58 600+ Amaryllis Cultivars
30:50 Romantic(?) Amaryllis Mythology
31:43 How Amaryllis Grows
38:14 Amaryllis Care
44:47 Q&A: Can You Plant a Tree in Late Fall?
47:28 Contact Us & Outro
-
In this pilot episode of Plants Always Win, Erin and Sean give the Plant Face-Off a trial run…with a twist. Instead of competing for viewers’ votes with the most interesting information about a plant or gardening concept, they go head to head with competing interviews of each other. Find out what theft has to do with Erin’s early forays into gardening, why she makes content about gardening with chronic illness and disability, and how talking about plants every week complements her literary life. Then learn how Sean’s mom got him into a horticulture career, explore the pros and cons of the profession, and get excited about Sean’s dreams for a botanical garden in Muskoka, Ontario. We wrap up with some impromptu (and impassioned) tangents on invasive plants in garden centres, cities that plant only male trees, cultivars vs. nativars, and permaculture.
Find Sean online at @GardenGuyMuskoka on TikTok and Instagram.
Find Erin online at @EarthUndaunted on TikTok, @ErinAlladin on Instagram, and at https://earthundaunted.com/.
Comments? Feedback? Want your garden question to be featured in a future Q&A segment? Email us, reach out over social media, or get Q&A priority by supporting us on Patreon.
Instagram: @plantsalwayswinpodcast
Facebook: plantsalwayswinpodcast
TikTok: @plantsalwayswinpodcast
Website: www.plantsalwayswin.com
Credits
Website Design and Illustration by Sophia Alladin
Intro and Outro Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/soundroll/when-my-ukulele-plays
License code: GWOIMMBAS15FG6PH
00:52 What's Growing On?
1:00: Erin vs. Quack Grass
2:17 Sean's Zone 4 Fruit Trees
3:27 Raccoons 1 | Chickens 0
4:50 First Frosts
6:24 Plant Face-Off
7:00 Sean's topic: Erin
7:52 Stealing Gardens from Parents
8:50 Gardening with Chronic Illness
12:40 Why Erin Agreed to Do This Podcast
13:52 Our Wives Think We’re Big Nerds
15:37 Erin's Least Favourite Thing About Gardening
19:15 Erin's Topic: Sean
19:20 Blame it on Sean's Mom
21:16 The Garden Labour Trap
22:57 The Master Gardeners of Ontario
24:00 Running a Landscaping Business
26:09 The Muskoka Botanical Garden Dream
27:26: Why Sean Started This Podcast
28:53: Sean's Rant: Stop Selling Invasive Plants
33:51 Erin's Rant: Male-Only City Trees
33:22 Nativars and Cultivars
38:17 Selfish Gardening vs. Permaculture
41:26 Contact Us & Outro
