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Gardening with the RHS

Peat-free houseplants and the secret lives of honey fungus

Gardening with the RHS

Royal Horticultural Society

Home & Garden, Leisure, Hobbies

4.4654 Ratings

🗓️ 28 October 2021

⏱️ 28 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

This week we meet Harriet Thompson, who's spearheading an eco-friendly revolution in houseplant growing. RHS scientist Jassy Drakulic explains the latest thinking on an extremely common garden problem, honey fungus. Plus Will Rogers of the State Botanical Garden of Georgia shares his unique approach to conserving the fabulous native flora of the Southeastern USA. For links to more information see www.rhs.org.uk/podcast

Transcript

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0:00.0

Get your tickets for the greatest show in Earth at an RHS garden near you.

0:06.4

Where nature puts on an unforgettable performance of colour and fragrance to delight your senses.

0:13.2

Inspire your gardening adventures and entertain your own little stars.

0:17.4

Race you, let's go.

0:19.5

Catch Springs finest scenes while you can at an RHS garden near you, let's go. Catch Springs, finest scenes while you can,

0:22.1

at an RHS garden near you.

0:24.0

Book tickets online for discounts,

0:26.0

plus under fives go free and under 16s of five pounds.

0:34.9

Halloween is nearly upon us.

0:37.3

So in today's episode of Gardening with the RHS, with me, Guy Barta, we're exploring the

0:43.1

darker side of growing.

0:46.3

We're digging into an issue that's haunting our houseplants, Pete.

0:50.6

A plant pathologist is helping to identify honey fungus, a common garden organism that sometimes

0:57.0

turns into a plant assassin.

0:59.9

And we're hearing how one man is striving to keep imperiled plants alive. But first, there's a problematic substance lurking in many house plant pots across the UK, peat.

1:23.3

Peatland habitats are vitally important in the fight against climate change.

1:28.3

They hold more carbon than all the world's forests combined.

1:32.3

And they also help keep our drinking water clean, reduce flood risk and provide habitats for some incredible plants and animals.

1:40.3

But our peatlands are under threat.

1:43.3

Peat is widely used in gardening as it's a big component of growing media such as potting compost,

1:49.0

and as a result at least 80% of our peat bogs here in the UK have been damaged or destroyed.

1:56.0

To make matters worse, like coal or oil, peat is effectively a finite resource, as it forms at the rate of just

...

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