Dave - sent you an email. Carolyn

Sorry I didn't get back to you, I have been working on my roses. I usually feed them whenever I water them. Since they don't have soil, they need the nutriments. I never clean the clay balls and you don't have to change the water because you are filling the pot and only about 1 inch of water stays on the bottom. This filters up and waters and feeds the plants as needed. Since the containers are see-through, I just put more water in when the reservoir starts going down. Some people do flush with plain water occasionally but I haven't found that necessary. It is interesting that the roots grow right into the water and it doesn't faze them. I do not like the round clay pellets but I can't mention where I go because they get upset here so if you are interested I can email you the site. You do not have to wait for the plant to be rootbound either. Mine are usually blooming within a month or two. Here is a link that might be useful:

Mersipoo..you know what? You don't give yourself enough credit. So far, every plant you've posted, cuttings, too, are doing fantastic. How many ppl do you know who can root denia cuttings, successfully? Not many. Perhaps you're superstitious..lol..think negative, and plants do well. Be optimistic, they die. Also, if one thinks negative and a plant kicks the bucket, 'becuase it was expected,' the plants death isn't taken as bad. Dr. Toni, analizing Merci. Your bill will be in the mail. lol Tropical, where did those hoya prices derive? Is that the cost where you live or do you mean in general. 25 for an Imperilous. Wow. I paid 5.99 @ Peppers/Accents. Tropical, when you have time, go to www.gardenwatchdog.com Click on your country, then type in Hoyas. You never know what you'll find. Pug, Is your hoya, H. carnosa picta 'variegata?' Found mine on Ebay. Your flowers are gorgeous and there are sooo many. Are they fragrant? How many hoyas do you now have? I haven't any luck rooting hoyas, but a friend roots hers in water. After rooting, they're potted in soil, and voia! Air layering isn't difficult. The best way to experiment is by air layering a common, non-expensive plant, like Dracanea, Janet Craig. Slit diaganally, place 2 toothpicks in cut, mist, wrap moist sphagnum moss around cut, remist, wrap with plastic and ti ends of plastic. Every 3-4 days check moss for moisture. If dry, spray more water. Roots will emerge. After they're 4"+, cut area with a sharp knife, and pot in soil. You'll get two plants out of one. The bottom have should regrow. Pug, denias, hibs, citrus and azaleas won't root in water..they require soil or soil-less mix. Plastic wrapped. Tropical, if there's one plant I won't take cuttings from, it's Hoya.. If a 'flowering stem' is cut, it will not flower. I don't know a flowering stem from a foliage stem, so none are cut. I have a Crinkly hoya, bought in the mid-90's. It'd used to bloom 4-5 times a year. I've taken cuttings a number of times, for friends..it's been more than 4 yrs since flowering. Never again. Merci, keep us posted...Are you going to graft? Toni

Hi and welcome to GardenWeb! Well, I only use artificial lighting for growing annuls (and a few perennials) from seeds each year. Once the weather's right, outside they go and the lights are no longer used. For that reason, I can't be of much help with the type of growing you'll be doing. I do have a light meter that I really like, it's a "DrMeter" - LX1330B. It measures in Lux or FC in selective ranges. As for as it's accuracy, I would think that it's fairly accurate but of course I really don't have anything to compare it to. The meter itself is protected by a removable plastic case and it comes in a nice storage case as well. It cost only $40 and for that money I think it would be hard to beat. I got mine through Amazon.com Regarding your orchids, there's an older post on GardenWeb that you might find helpful Click Here Art This post was edited by art33 on Sat, Apr 6, 13 at 17:00