These are some of mine! A micro mini trailing African violet (the others around it are all mini African violets) Some miniature gardens I put together with plants that like being indoors (ignore the dead Serissa in the back of the oval one - I've been hoping it'll come back, but my hope is fading...). Pen for scale.

Hey Marquest. Didn't see you reposted. What size Amary bulb was it? Mini Amary bulbs are less than an inch. . When they sent the freebie Amary bulbs, they looked dried out..I thought, what the heck, then tossed with the Epi. I'm curious how yours turns out. Please post pics when it's larger. Great, after seeing your plants, and since you use both VF and ST, I'll do the same..now if only we got sun..lol. Or maybe it doesn't matter..since VF isn't a fertilizer it shouldn't matter. I'm grateful you told me. Last wk I ST'd Hoyas. I was planning on using VF thinking it was a fertilizer. Big dilemma. Do I use a third product, a fertilizer, too? My plants and pets eat better than I do. lol. I eat 1.5 meals per day..the puter takes so much time..lol..When working on plants, forget the .5. It's worse in spring when working on the outside garden AND indoor plants. Some days I don't eat anything..maybe a bowl of cereal and a popsicle. lol. Since your story is working, I agree, stick with it..like they say, don't fix something that isn't broken. Marquest, I usually don't keep lists..like you, if I see something I like, and it's affordable, I get it. But last summer I found four succulent nurseries that sell gorgeous plants. I spent a good amount of time reading and studying each succulent, choosing those I liked. Same with a nursery in Thailand..I adore red Aglaonemas. He has the most beautiful Ag's ever, at very reasonable prices. They're very healthy. Found this guy in 2009, took a chance ordering overseas..They're doing fantastic. So, I went through his site, 'took over an hour,' lol, and jotted those I liked. Give your Begonias time. Especially your beautiful Escargot. Do you ST Begonias? Dottie and cousins, most Roseo Picta Calatheas are difficult. Don't think I have any RP types left. They died. I tried Cynthia and Cora a few years ago, but gave up..I have Cals but stay away from RP. My fav Cals/Sro/Ctants are Peacock, Tri-Color, C. Rufibarba and, darn, can't think of the name..it's leaves look like snakes. lol. Have you ever tried STromanths or ctenanthes, sp? They have beautiful colors, and hardier than Cals. Last year I bought the most beautiful Prayer Plant/Maranta ever. It was in a 4" pot, and needed water every couple days..Well, during Christmas, the area was blocked, and I forgot about it..It's now a goner. Its stems were over a foot long. Colors outstanding..doubt I'll ever find this type again. Marquest, btw, your Cal looks fine to me. Or is that a summer pic? What size is the pot and do you let soil dry a little between waterings in winter? They love humid air, but not wet feet. Toni

I have heard from more than one source that synthetic fertilizers can produce weak growth. This is likely due at least in part to such fertilizers' concentrations, which are usually relatively higher than organics. The user's misapplication can also exacerbate this potential peril. In addition, like synthetic vitamins, synthetic fertilizers do not accurately reproduce all the nutrient elements in the same forms and/or ratios that are typically found, with all their accompanying micro-elements, in nature. Manufacturers of synthetics tend to create ingredient formulations designed for quick, impressive growth at the expense of the long term, well-rounded health of the plant. Perhaps for this reason, synthetics can be harder for plants to process and can cause them more stress. Also, while it is not entirely impossible for beneficial microorganisms to live in a synthetically-fertilized medium, their populations will suffer even in a best case scenario; of course, this negatively impacts plant health. In contrast, some organic houseplant fertilizers out there actually include microorganisms in their formulations. (For example, I just Googled "organic houseplant fertilizer" and found Organica brand.) What's more, synthetic fertilizers, unlike organic ones, have the disadvantage of producing soluble salts, which, if sufficiently accumulated in the soil, can cause toxicity reactions to the plant (particularly leaf tips). To avoid this, the plant owner must regularly leach these salts out and/or scrape them off the top of the soil and pot. From an environmental perspective, synthetic fertilizers are petroleum derivatives, and petroleum, as we know, is a non-renewable resource whose extraction and processing can cause considerable environmental--not to mention societal and political--destruction. Finally, if one has any thought of ever disposing of one's synthetically-fertilized houseplant and/or its soil, then one should realize he/she will be releasing the fertilizer's synthetics and their potentially toxic by-products into the environment--whether it be a compost pile or a landfill.

Here's the study. Surendra K. Pradhan was interviewed on CBC radio this week. Discussing the benefits of urine as a fertilizer, on public radio - it's a new day. He suggested a time lapse of a few days between applying the urine and the wood ash, to avoid ammonia offgassing. By coincidence, or intuition, we've been tossing urine and wood ashes, and occasionally manure, on our scrubby roadside wild rose hedge in hopes it would grow and help block the sight and sound of traffic. The hedge, which was growing virtually in gravel, is now three times the height and breadth it was ten years ago, blooming beautifully, and admired by visitors. It's maybe not surprising that so much groundbreaking R&D on waste-separating toilets and waste as fertilizer is coming from northern countries like Finland and Sweden. My sister-in-law, an outpost nurse in rocky northern Canada, says heaps of disposable diapers can be seen in the brush around communities from the air as she flies in - there's nowhere or way to bury them. Here is a link that might be useful: study