FWIW - I wrote & posted this about using H2O2 in containers a number of years ago and several times since. H2O2 has an extra O atom (compared to H2O) in an unstable arrangement. It's the extra atom that makes it useful in horticultural applications. Generally, we're not concerned with aerobic forms of bacteria normally occurring in container media or on roots. Since H2O2 is an unstable molecule, it breaks down easily. When it does, a single O- atom and a molecule of water is released. This O- atom is extremely reactive and will quickly attach itself to either another O- atom forming stable O2, or attack the nearest organic molecule. Reduced O levels and high temperatures encourage both anaerobic bacteria and fungi. Many disease causing organisms and spores are killed by O, and the free O- H2O2 releases is very effective at this. Additionally, when plants growing in water-retentive media are treated with H2O2 it will break down and release O into the area around the roots. This helps stop the O from being depleted in the water filled air soil air spaces until air can get back into them. High O levels at the roots will encourage rapid healthy root growth and discourage unwanted bacteria/fungi. I know H2O2 comes in several different strengths, the most common of which are 3% and 35% solutions. Least expensive is the 35% product (what I use) which you dilute (to an approximate 3% solution) by mixing 1:11 with water. I have used the 3% solution at 1 to 2 tbsp per gallon as a cutting dip/soak, and have mixed it into irrigation water for plants in extremely water retentive soils at up to 3 tbsp per gallon, both with good results and nothing adverse apparent. H2O2 in high concentration is a powerful oxidant and quickly oxidizes almost anything it contacts, so be careful with it if you use it. A solution that is too strong can destroy any organic molecule it contacts. I've seen this chart posted several times as suggested strength solutions for use in watering plants. You may wish to start at a lower concentration , such as I've used, and experiment. TO THIS AMOUNT OF WATER ADD THIS AMOUNT OF 3% HYDROGEN PEROXIDE --OR-- ADD THIS AMOUNT OF 35% HYDROGEN PEROXIDE 1 cup, add 1-1/2 teaspoons ... 35% - 7 to 10 drops 1 quart, add 2 tablespoons ... 35% - 1/2 teaspoon 1 gallon, add 1/2 cup ... 35% - 2 teaspoons 5 gallons, add 2-1/2 cups ... 35% - 3 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon 10 gallons, add 5 cups ... 35% - 6 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons 20 gallons, add 10 cups ... 35% - 3/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon 1) you can use them together w/no problems, but you shouldn't need it if you're watering correctly & the gritty mix is made even CLOSE to the suggested recipe. 2) Plants are reactive organisms. They will reach favorably to increased O2 in the root zone, and unfavorably to reduced levels. If you use excessive amounts of H2O2, it can kill viable tissues, so don't over use it. 3) Your plants won't get addicted to H2O2 to any greater degree than they are addicted to water. I would urge you to lift the plant from the pot & take a look at the roots to see what's going on, then prune roots back to sound tissue if you find rot as an issue. At that point, a dunk in a solution of H2O2 or unscented household bleach might be an appropriate measure. Al

We have had 3 porches..... one was a good quality of outdoor carpeting over concrete. The carpeting did not hold up that well. Will your porch be exposed to the elements at times? We then did a porch with tile. It cracked where the 10 ft. extension (cement slab) was added. Although I loved the look of the tile, was mad about the crack. Our present porch is 20+ years old and is brick veneer over a cement. We bought the house 10 years ago. It has stood up to the elements for all this time. We are getting ready to move and hope to have our next porch done in a brick floor. The only drawback to the brick is we like to mop it after pollen season and that is a little difficult with the bumps and ridges. We cover part of it with an indoor-oudoor rug made of recyclible material. Good luck. It sounds great!

We were active members of the local society when we had a local society. Some of the above post have started to nibble at the edges of the real issues. 1. Distance. There are limits to how far people will go to attend a meeting. Most of our regular attendees traveled less than half an hour to the meetings. The farthest among them traveled about 45 minutes. While some people may happily travel longer, it is a very real constraint. 2. Time of meetings. Every group I've been involved in has been torn in half between two very basic points of view. Older, retired people often dislike driving at night, and prefer holding meetings weekend afternoons. Younger, working people dislike having meetings during their prime gardening hours and prefer holding meetings weekday evenings. 3. Programming. This was our biggest issue. There really aren't that many speakers/programs with the breadth of experience to give a totally new program every year. It isn't easy to come up with interesting enough programs once a month, almost every month, year after year. This is the one area the ARS really let us down. Because of our size, we were very dependent on outside material. At that point, they had about 3 canned programs on hardy roses, and that was it. It was equally hard to get appropriate newsletter material from outside. If you are far enough north that you can pretty much cut and paste standard HT culture articles, this isn't going to be an issue. If you feel the standard articles need a lot of editing to be accurate, then you are going to be in our position where everything has to be created by your society, and that is a lot of work. 4. Participation. 'Many hands make light work' is true. None of this is a problem if you have enough people willing to help. If you can get 12 people to each contribute a newsletter article once a year, that's an original article every month, with nobody doing a lot of work. However, you have to ask a lot of people to get those 12. The same is true for every other society job. Someone may be willing to be President for a year or two, but quits in a huff after ten years because they have been pushed too far. Notice I haven't said anything about shows. Within fairly reasonable guidelines, shows can be what the local society wants them to be. We had shows where the Dowager and Modern Shrub classes had more entries and more exhibitors than Exhibition HT. If we had continued on, we were seriously considering creating our own Shrub certificates because we needed a Shrub court.

Rave Smith - I hope you come back and see this comment. I was not making any comment on your use of "paper tiger" as being rude or disgusting. I was trying to figure out what other folks were trying to refer to without being flagged. I thought you were giving a hint, but I still couldn't figure it out and thought you could be more specific. I didn't think you were being rude. At all. I apologize if you misunderstood my meaning in my second post - it had nothing to do with you. At all. I was referring to name calling happening in other forums by other people. (I think the term "paper tiger" is a perfectly useful and descriptive phrase. I suppose it was once considered rude, but those days are long gone.)