one uses media in pots.. and save soil for mother earth.. which it is by definition ... so the question was.. do you use new media in the pots ... and you answer you add new soil .. which is it .. ??? we have to define and use the proper terms.. to get to an answer ... because of the incredible high drainage of MEDIA ... all the good stuff is washed out the bottom.. so a heavy fertilizer program is needed... OR .. you simply replace the media every year ... every second year for sure ... they grow 100 year old bonsai in media.. replacing it every year... you can not really expect anything to grow forever in the same media ... in a pot ... sooner or later.. they need to be repotted ... what happens over time.. is that the peat starts breaking down.. and that affects drainage and water movement thru the media ... messing with it predictability .. and what you can end up with.. is bone dry parts in the middle of swampy parts.. the water is not moving freely thru the media.. throughout the pot .... i gave up on pots a long time ago ... i just didnt have the attention span ... nor the will to deal with such foo foo stuff.. especially after moving to 5 acres ... the pots just became a daily job .. with not much of a payback .... too many plants.. in too little media ... means that you have to increase your watering .. up to twice a day ... so maybe you just jammed too much stuff in your pot ... ken

Laura, where do you live? What are your conditions? Can you put this plant outside in the summer? Personally, I wouldn't plant on a pumice rock. You are complicating growing an easy growing plant if it is given enough light and air. Do you have space limitations? I grew these plants easily in NY in small pots with bark. Now that we live in Florida, I've changed how I'm growing them. I'm moving them to baskets with some large bark. They take quite a bit of sun and won't grow well under CFL's as their only light source. I used CFL's to finish spikes in the fall when they had to come back in the house. That new growth on your plant, requires good strong light to develop properly and flower. The older canes might flower, but with some root damage, I'm not sure. Light is your biggest factor right now. Increase light, put it outside if possible and pot the plant in a pot. You could put the pumice inside a clay pot but I don't see the purpose except to weigh down the pot. Give me some more info. Jane

Wisteria seed pods are poisonous to horses [and I assume other animals] so mine are planted away from my horse pastures. Here is photo of my bush last spring - it is just about to start opening blooms. The fragrance is divine - it is, to me, what heaven would smell like. I love to work in my front yard rose bed while it is in bloom - intoxicating! I even bought a pop up shelter to cover it in case of a late freeze - which happened 2 years ago. It had just started blooming, here came the freeze and the blooms were toast. I was so mad I vowed this wouldn't happen again. This bush I now have looks like one I had in my yard when I was growing up and loved. I assume because my yard is mowed every other week that any sprouts that come up are mowed down. I am getting ready to plant another one that I have babied for 2 years in a pot to make sure that it would bloom white like the tag said - it is finally getting ready to bloom and is, indeed, white. These are hard to find and have a different fragrance from the lavender, but its strong and rich scent. I trim mine back sharply every year and it doesn't get out of bounds nor run wild. But - it is out in the middle of the yard and instead of a climber, makes a large bush - this way, it cant get into trouble. When in full bloom, people pull to the side of the road to look. I agree that they can get out of hand unless properly maintained but where mine is placed, it can be kept under control and rewards me with one of the things I love most about spring - 2 weeks of beauty and fragrance that cannot be duplicated. Judith

Total newbie here!! Never ever germinated a thing and now I’m trying rainbow rose bushes and iris seedlings! Any tips/pointers/ideas for iris’s? My car killed off all my previous ones and/or they no longer bloom and I want a million beautiful and different colored blooms and gorgeous styles!!! I live in south Texas, San Antonio, so we have like one week tops of winter weather!! I’m trying to find great advice, preferably step by step for this blonde, or a great website that can help guide me! I want to do it all perfectly so if it’s a total failure... I know never to try again. If there are any experts out there who have had great success in seedlings all the way to gorgeous seasonal blooms, please share? I super duper appreciate it!!