Domestic Phytology (HOUSEPLANTS) with Tyler Thrasher
Fungus gnats. Overloved cacti. Fiddle fig failures. $20,000 specimens. It’s house plants — and it’s wild, folks. Widely beloved author, artist, house plant expert and Domestic Phytologist Tyler Thrasher joins to talk about root rot, what to grow in a dark basement, the rarest plants in the world, the punishments for poaching them, grow lights for people and plants, houseplant ethics, how to keep your cats from taking whizzes in them, if you should name your plants, how often to repot them, how to keep an orchid out of your trash can, pet-safe, plants, if one should use their own surplus blood to feed them, and what botany crimes I have committed against my own plants.
Listen via Apple, Spotify, iHeart, Podbay, Podcast Addict, or wherever you listen to podcasts.
Visit Tyler Thrasher’s website and follow him on Instagram, Bluesky and TikTok
Buy his book, The Universe in 100 Colors, at Bookshop.org or Amazon, and his journal, Grow a Damn Plant Journal
See Tyler at San Diego’s Oddities Flea Market March 29 & 30, 2025
A donation went to The Loveland Foundation
Links to things we discussed:
Zamioculcas zamiifolia ZZ plant
Trader Joe’s moth orchid maintenance
These tiny succulent plants are being poached by the thousands
In South Africa, Poachers Now Traffic in Tiny Succulent Plants
The DRAMA Filled Past of Philodendron Spiritus Sancti | Pretty in Green Documentary
Rare Houseplant Reddit: Finally got my dream and homeland plant !! Philodendron spiritus sancti
ASPCA’s list of Toxic and Non-Toxic Plants
Poisonous plants for cats to avoid
2025 Brood XIV Cicada Emergence
Fungal Leaf Spots on Indoor Plants
The Mean Seed of the Sweet Gum
Philodendron 'Spiritus Sancti': $24.99
Seasonal affective disorder treatment: Choosing a light box
The effects of ultraviolet-A wavelengths in light therapy for seasonal depression
Bright Light Therapy: Seasonal Affective Disorder and Beyond
The Ultimate Guide to Spectrum Science in LED Grow Lights
Spectral properties of phototherapy for seasonal affective disorder: a meta-analysis
How Light Therapy Can Help With Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)
Video: How Will New Windows Affect My Plants?
What Are Plant Growth Regulators?
DIY Tissue Culture: How to Get Started for Less Than $200
Bright Light Therapy: Growing Evidence Beyond Seasonal Depression
Bright Light Therapy for Nonseasonal Depressive Disorders: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
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FIELD TRIP: I Go France and Learn Weird France Stuff
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Editing by Mercedes Maitland of Maitland Audio Productions and Jake Chaffee
Managing Director: Susan Hale
Scheduling Producer: Noel Dilworth
Transcripts by Aveline Malek
Website by Kelly R. Dwyer
Theme song by Nick Thorburn