A timeframe of what could be as long as four or five years, from the concept to the pollination, to the seeds, to the germination selection has now been pushed down.

I could do it inside of two years.

So the benefit of that is not simply the person who wants to get an antherium nowadays because it's prettier, as far as a new leaf,

they're easier to grow, they're faster to grow.

Hello and welcome to On the Ledge Podcast.

I'm your host Jane Perrone, and in this week's's show I'm chatting to a legend in the world of

Anthuriums Dr. Jeff Block, aka Doc Block, breeder of many a beautiful tropical plant

and the creator of Anthurium Michel, a plant that made it through

to the finals of the prestigious RHS Chelsea plant of the year. I'll be finding out why the right

water matters when it comes to velvet antheon, why the slow pokes get the heave hoe if you want to produce the perfect anterium.

And why naming a plant after your wife has hidden benefits. If you've not come across the good doctor before, he really is a doctor. He's an

niece theologist based in Miami, Florida in the US, who has spent decades growing tropical

plants, establishing a botanic garden in his own garden, and producing some wonderful new cultivars of plants we love.

But he's best known, I would say, for his antherian.

Just to give you a bit of context about this interview, Dr. Jeff Block was in London for the Chelsea Flower Show where his Anthurium,

Michelle was up for an award, the RHS Chelsea Plant of the Year award,

which is open to all kinds of plants, not just house plants or tropical plants.

In fact, tropical plants haven't traditionally featured very much in this competition.

Sad to say, Michelle didn't win. That went to a hoster, a red-tinged hoster called Red Ninja.

But even so, it was great to see an Anthurium up there against lots of other very worthy plants, including a streptocarpus,

one of my favourite plants from Dibley's Nursery in North Wales. They were also finalists in this

competition with their streptocarpacarpus serious. And I'll include details of that plant

...