I do not have any AV's. In fact, I have not had one in about 15 years. I know I can get some here at the store when I buy my food. But sometimes those don't live very long. I remeber when I had my and when a leaf got broken. I just stuck it in a pot and it started to grow (I didn't know at the time, that is how you can start more plants). If there is someone out there that would like to trade seed or 'Lily of the Nile' seedlings. I would love to try my hand at starting some AV's. PLMK, mkruby7 Here is a link that might be useful: My Trade List Page

Thank you stonesriver and everyone else for the kind welcome. Yes, I think I may have been a bit bitten by the "gardening" germ. Granted, I am nowhere close to where most people on this forum probably are. I am mainly a "decorator" who feels that a house without any indoor plants is sad, dry and too much of a sign of our rushed times. So I decided I HAVE TO get some reasonably elegant indoors plants established. The only thing close to caring for a plant I've done before were some geraniums. They did OK, I managed not to kill them and they bloomed quite a bit over the winter even if they did get leggy. Oh, well. Now I took them outside and I decided that they will go in the basemenent for wintering when times comes. I will no longer keep them in the house because they are not really elegant, gracious plants. I like their bright colors outside in the summer but that's that for now. So I decided it was time for something finer and elegant to go with our classic/traditional living room as well as my busy schedule. I also knew this was going to be harder than a geranium which are quite hard to kill anyway. So off I went to Pikes and I grabbed some plants I had heard were not hard to care for and would do well on our Eastern bay window. A Peace Lily, four AV-s and two yellow begonias. (I did kill a begonia last year but later, after more reading, I realized I was making mistakes with it). A real gardener I will never be - not with a full-time academic career and two small children; but By God, these few plants must stay alive, do well, and even bloom nicely - this is all I hope for. I don't plan to do any complicated wick watering (at least it sounds complicated to me) or much propagation or anything - I just want to keep my living room looking as pretty as it is now, with lots of healthy blooms, if this is not too much to ask. Since I've heard so much about how important the soil is, I think I am going to change the soil the plants came in pretty soon; at least for the AV-s, I don't know whether I should do the same thing for the begonias, but probably should. Having a month between waterings sounds like a lot to me. These are small pots (4" I believe) and I think all moisture would evaporate altogether from such a small pot well before the 1 month mark; especially if I change the soil to something more airy. I did fertilize the AV-s when I watered them the first time - with some 5-7 drops of liquid fertilizer from MIracle-Gro, as indicated on the package. I am a super novice so I just did the novice thing. I guess changing the soil will also change the present routine. Some of the flowers on my AV-s are starting to fade now- they are starting to have little burnt patches on the petals, but I assume this is the natural cycle of the flower - as I bought them with quite a few blooms from the nursery and it might just be their time to go. I am just hoping they will continue to bloom for a while. Thank you again for the kind welcome, I wil certainly be around because I have been clearly "bitten". :-)

Thank you so much, jwv24! I had figured out that the 10X is best used in full sun and it picks up where the meter maxes out on the X1 setting. What I wasn't sure of was which setting is usually used for AV-s. In other words, if I use the X1 setting, and the meter registeres somewhere between 500-1000, does this indicate an adequate amount of light? I assume so because the AV-s want bright light but not direct sun - so I am always using the x1 setting. If I am on the X10 setting and the indicator is barely above 0 (say at 100)...that means we have a 100x10=1000 candles which would be the same as the needle registering at 1000 on the x1 setting - so good. It is my understanding that in order for AV-s to bloom they need a minimum of 500 foot candles ...and ideally between 1000-2000. I am already starting to figure out by the behavior of my AV-s that they probably have been getting too much light where most have been sitting, which is on a stand placed against a south-eastern window where they also receive a few hours of supplemental artificial light, with the light placed about 7-9 inches above them. I wish I was able to lift the light further above the plants but the shelves are not adjustable, so I have reduced the hours instead. Trouble is they also receive some direct afternoon sun, though most of it is filtered by some trees. All in all, it is clear they are getting too much light because as soon as AV-s spend a few weeks there, the crowns start coming in kind of small and tight, stems shorten and leaves curl. I have moved some of them on the lowest shelf of the stand where they don't receive direct light as there is no window at that level...and I have also reduced the artificial light...so we will see if they straighten up. The meter easily registers over 2000 when on the x1 setting. I also have a smaller corner stand right between an eastern and north-eastern vindow (no supplemental light here) but based on what I have noticed, these too seem to be getting more light than they would like. For a few hours, the sun still kind of shines right on them from above, even if it is just morning sun. Being in the South, all summer sun is hot enough sun, I suppose. Things will change though with the colder season coming so my eastern ad south-eastern windows may be just right by the end of September. Thank you again!

Pretty, Debra. Was just wondering about you setup. What kinds of containers are the middle and right hand plants sitting in. Are those 2" pots and are they wicked?