Jungle in the room of Lotte

The Spring Garden Weekend on 25 and 26 March 2023 is dedicated to houseplants. In the run-up to the weekend, students show their own collection of houseplants. Today: the jungle in the room of Lotte van der Krabben. "I sometimes give my plants a good shower."

What are you studying?
I am currently studying the master Environmental Biology at Utrecht University with a focus on plants. Before this, I did the bachelor Biology with a focus on plants, evolution and education.

What do you like about plants?
Plants are organisms that are sessile, which means they can't just move around. This makes them very dependent on their environment and how they adapt to it. I personally find it very cool to see how my climbing plants are always looking for a piece of pole/wall to hold onto.

How many plants do you have in your room?
I have no idea, but i guess somewhere between eighty and hundred.

How did this collection come about?
It all started with herb plants I bought at the Albert Heijn supermarket. I managed to keep them alive and quite enjoyed taking care of them. Later, I bought some more plants. But actually, I got most of the plants as gifts or cuttings.

What is your favourite plant and why?
My favourite plant is my Philodendron scandens (large climbing plant in black pot, see picture below). I once got this one as a cutting from a former housemate. The original plant has died while mine is currently a metre high and half a metre wide. The plant is now so big that you can't even see the climbing pole.

Which plants would you like to expand your collection with?
If I had the space for it, I would like another banana plant.

Do you have any tips for taking care of your plants?
My biggest tip is that it's better to water your plants too little than too much. If you water them too often or too much, they end up drowning in their pots and it also starts smelling really bad! Also, I don't use poison to get insects/pests off my plants. But I give them a good shower when I see insects. By showering them, you are actually doing the same thing as a rain shower outside would do.

Do you have a favourite spot or plant in the Botanic Gardens?
I once spent a summer working in the Botanic Gardens. I mainly did work in the Tropical Greenhouses, because I knew so much about indoor plants. After all, many of the plants there you can also have in your home. Whenever I am in the Gardens, I always look at the plants I put in the ground myself. For example, there are some purple flowers in the corridor towards the Orchid greenhouses, growing like cabbage.