Connie, I learned when you first bring a fern into your house, it WILL slowly and painfully (for us owners) drop many dry brown fronds and tips all over the place for a while. After the "molt" is over, the new growth comes in that's more adaptaptable to our lower light, so they need to shed the old stuff like crazy, kinda like a ficus tree does. I just keep the soil moist throughout the ordeal. Keep plucking, or cutting the dead and drying stuff off. In a few months (maybe a little longer) you'll have a nice green healthy looking fern. In the winter you'll always have a little shedding, but nothing at all like it was. Just keep treating it like nothing is happening and keep it on the moist side, even though half of it is on the floor! The bad part is over and now even in the winter it will be nice and green. Just keep it as far away from heating vents as you can. Mine is maybe 18'-20' away. I have to say this too, I never mist any of my plants, including the ferns. At the moment I'm not doing any trading, but maybe in the future ok? Eileen, I have two Boston ferns, the big one (over 85 yrs old) given to me by a friend and one in a hanging 8" pot.The big one on the stand lost so many fronds (they snapped near the rim of the pot) from bouncing up and down as it was being carried out to come here, then loaded onto a truck and laid on it's side. That's why the top looks so flat. The leaves before were more like spray before the move, but it's doing good now, lots of new "spray" growth.I need to take another picture of it. Diane, I'm glad you were able to see the plants! I just wish I had more room for a ton of more! You wouldn't believe how many times I'm sure (I'm not the only one) who has knocked over a plant or plant(s) and right after they were watered too! Messy! I might get another hoya for one of the plant stands when it gets warmer, well, maybe just a couple more:O) Thanks again for all the nice comments! Billy Rae

Thanks Rhizo,we can let this one "fall off" the board then! Funny thing is that originally I was thinking I had posted this here(because this is one of her haunts),when in fact I had started the thread in the off topic side of this forum(which seldom see activity at all these days). ...Not that it wouldn't be perceived in the same way there(I remember the thread you speak of). I just hope she's not gone...after all she's given over a dozen years to this place. Having said that,I think I can safely say we can be done with this thread. *whistles past the graveyard*

Hi Blutarski, We all make mistakes, it's part of the learning curve, happens to everybody, whether they admit it or not. An early mistake I made was to grow Xmas Cactus in C&S mix (seemed logical, it's a cactus). I learned over time it was the wrong mix, too heavy for those plants & have since learned mine do much better in AV mix w/ added perlite (it's lighter & fluffier & these plants don't make big roots). Our friend Norma above posts lots of really good, useful info. She really knows her plants & shares lots of info. I find sometimes I'll read her comments several times & cull more info from each reading. She was very helpful to me helping me research for my Sans. talk 2 yrs. ago, I'd have had a much tougher time w/out her help & knowledge. I find it difficult sometimes to learn exactly where my plant was native to, can't always find that info. There's a lot to learn & it takes time, patience, lots of plant growing & plant care experimentation (& the loss of a few plants from time to time). One thing few folks explain is that it takes time & experimentation to learn what will & will not grow in one's own particular environment. Example: I can't grow Jades here in NYC. Don't know why, I just can't, have failed enough times to quit them. Also Orchids, very difficult for me, I'm on the top floor of 6, have western exposures & no AC, it gets well into the 90s in summer here. Orchids needs cooler nights to help them in blooming & cooler nights in summer is something I just can't provide. So I've learned not to try that (anymore). W/ my west windows & hot aptmt, I do very well w/ succulents: Haworthias, Gasterias, Kalanchoes, Sans., Euphorbias & Hoyas, lots of Hoyas. I can't grow Ferns or AVs, they just don't find it to their liking here. As to mixes, there are as many opinions on this as there are growers themselves!!! Yes, it's frustrating. But, the short version of why C&S mix is not actually so great for C&S: some mix distributors use peat & some a lot of peat, which brings particular problems w/ re-wetting & resultant either drowning or suffocating the roots. Also, lately I hear some mix folks are adding water retention crystals to their mix (not desireable for succulents). A good safety measure for Sans. & most succulents is to grow them in unglazed terra cotta pots rather than plastic. It can help counteract tendencies to overwater. Also, the clay being porous, allows for some air movement & helps wick away moisture somewhat from the plants. Folks often recommend learning the feel of the weight of our pots, before & after you water. That will begin to make sense to you after a while & you'll be confident abt its watering when you just lift up the pot & feel how heavy (or light) it feels. Sorry to be so long, but lots of info.............. (Hugs, Norma, Happy, Planty New Year to...

I decided to celebrate today as the 29th ANNIVERSARY of my 31st birthday. Much easier pill to swallow, LOL. Luvs, my family knows better than to give me a cake with 60 candles to blow out. Don't want Fire Dept showing up...then again, 4 or 5 hunky firemen...hmmmm. sounds good. I set up a family album on photobucket if anyone is interested in meeting my pride and joy. A warning for those of you who don't know about my youngest son, Jason. His photos are a bit graphic, he suffered total head 4th degree burns when his patrol car exploded in 2001. I'm so proud of him and to me, he's beautiful. His spirit and joy of life shines thru. Some of you know about him already, he's been on TV and National news many times, and has a website about what happened. www.officerjason.org Karen Here is a link that might be useful: sangaree_KS/Family/