Photo: Alessia Resta @apartmentbotanist

Click here to listen to the episode!

Welcome back to part 2 of the Aroids 101 series. I hope you enjoyed last weeks Part 1 on the general information and care for the amazing Araceae family. If you haven’t listened to Part 1 yet, I would suggest hitting pause here and listening to that episode first, as it lays the groundwork for the information we dive into today. We are joined again today by Enid, the founder of NSE Tropicals. NSE Tropicals is an online plant shop that has some of the most rare and unusual plants on the Internet. Enid founded NSE Tropicals 18 years ago as a hobby and it has turned into one of the go to resources for rare and exotic plants. She is an avid collector of aroids and other hard to find plants and even served as the President of the International Aroid Society.

Today’s episode is all about the different species that make up the Araceae family, and the popular Aroids we know and love. Enid walks us through what we need to know about Philodendrons, Alocasia, Anthuriums, Rhaphidophora, Monstera and more and suggests great plants to start with when dipping our toes into the Aroid pool… not to be confused with the aquatic plants we also discuss! This talk is full of fun facts that I hope help you bloom and grow your indoor jungles. I know I am super inspired to bring some more aroids home after this conversation!

Plant Friends… I feel like I owe it to you to just own how much I butcher the Latin language in this episode. Don’t worry… I’m working on finding the perfect guest for Plant Latin episode to be airing in your earbuds soon.

In this episode we learn

• Specific care instructions for the various genus of aroids: Philodendrons, Alocasia, Anthurium, Rhaphidophora, Monstera,
• Why Philodendron Pink Princess is so popular
• How Enid keeps tracks of all of the varied species of plants
• How these plants get divided and their names get determined
• Watering hacks for bulbs
• The history of the Alocasia Polly
• Enid’s trick to help with proper aeration of soil and healthy root systems
• What size pots go best with these plants with large leaves that don’t necessarily have large root systems
• How to harvest seeds from your Aroid Inflorescence
• What the “toughest” aroids are to try indoors
• Aquatic aroid basic recommendations
• Enid’s fertilizing practices

Mentioned in today’s episode:

• Please visit www.bloomandgrowradio.com/aroid101_2 for photos of the plants discussed
• International Aroid Society aroid.org
• Article by Episode 07 Guest, Olena Shmahalo on change of taxanomy for Thaumatophyllum Bipinnatifidum https://www.quantamagazine.org/dna-analysis-reveals-a-genus-of-plants-hiding-in-plain-sight-20180904/

Thank you Modern Sprout for sponsoring today's episode! For more information on Modern Sprout's amazing line of indoor grow lights (that Maria personally uses) and hydroponic grow kits, visit www.modernsprout.com and use code “BLOOM” at checkout for 15% off.

Follow Enid and NSE tropicals:

Instagram and Facebook: @NSETropicals  

 https://www.nsetropicals.com/index.html

Follow Bloom and Grow Radio:

Instagram and Facebook: @BloomandGrowRadio

Website: www.bloomandgrowradio.com

Garden Club: www.bloomandgrowradio.com/garden-club