Hello and welcome to On the Ledge podcast, episode 140.

It's Diva Week.

Yes, this is the week.

We'll be giving some R-E-S-P-E-C-T for those houseplants that are a little bit extra. And if you don't know how to keep them

happy, they will turn up toes and die and make you feel terrible in the process. The format for

this week will be a little bit different than normal. Those of you who are regular

listeners will remember back to trailing plants week. And it's the same format. One short podcast every day.

This time I'm only doing weekdays though. So there'll be a today's episode and then four more on

Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday next week. Each one covering a different

plant. And today's plant is Ficus Lyrata, the fiddly fig. Tiny bit of housekeeping before we

begin. Thanks to Nancy and Ms. Holly for becoming

Patreon subscribers this week, unlocking exclusive extra content. And a big thumbs up to Cal,

so who wrote a lovely review of On the Ledge on Apple Podcasts, who says the show is relaxing

to listen to while cleaning dishes repotting and

working from home. Thank you, Cal. It is great to have your support. And also just a quick

reminder that houseplant hour, a whole hour of chat on Twitter about houseplants, takes place

at 9pm, BST, and you can get involved by following

the hashtag houseplant hour or following the at houseplant hour account. That way you can show

off your plants, get advice and generally hang and shoot the breeze with fellow houseplant lovers.

Right on with Ficus Lirata. So why did I

pick this as my first diva plant? Well, as I confess in the upcoming interview, this is not one of

my favourite plants from the genus Ficus, but it is one that many, many, many of you grow and quite a

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