houseplant tuneups (and some plants to covet), with longwood’s karl gercens

COULD YOUR houseplants use a tuneup after a hard winter indoors? I know mine will need it, from re-potting, to light pruning, to full-scale rejuvenation in some cases, so I wanted to get expert advice. Karl Gercens has been growing houseplants since age 5, and the last 25 years he’s been doing that not just at home, but also in the historic Longwood Gardens Conservatory in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania, where he’s the conservatory manager.

In that time, Karl estimates he’s seen more than a million pots of display plants, many of them species we think of as “houseplants,” move through its galleries as different seasonal shows were staged. Each one has to be exceptional to make the grade, the best varieties (like a variegated Thanksgiving cactus, above) and also grown to perfection. So I know he has the answers on both fronts: on which plants to choose and how to care for them.

Read along as you listen to the March 6, 2023 edition of my public-radio show and podcast using the player below. You can subscribe to all future editions on Apple Podcasts (iTunes) or Spotify or Stitcher (and browse my archive of podcasts here).

houseplant tuneups, with karl gercens

Margaret Roach: You’re a little plant-mad, aren’t you? [Laughter.]

Karl Gercens: I think that would be an understatement. I thought everyone was like me. I thought everyone collected plants from the age of 5. I thought everyone filled every windowsill and their car was covered in dirt, but maybe not everyone’s like that.

Margaret: [Laughter.] We should say, for people who haven’t been to Longwood, that even at this time of year you have exhibits on. There’s one called Winter Wonder [below] on right now, isn’t there?

Karl: Absolutely. And being from Mississippi, growing up in a

houseplant how-to state Pennsylvania