Dee, I think you may be misunderstanding a couple things about 5:1:1. The 5:1:1 doesn't *need* to dry out in order to have oxygen...that's the whole point. The particles are coarse enough that there's always space for air to diffuse into the soil. In addition, the bottom of the pot will not be saturated with water (or at least very minimally so), as is common with retail potting soils. So don't worry too much about watering every day - if the root ball is dry, you need to water. Unless the root ball is staying dry even when you *do* water, a potting mix that quickly drains is rarely a bad thing. How did you remove the old potting mix? The most common way is to thoroughly soak the root ball in water, and then use a stream of water to forcefully rinse it away, perhaps with the aid of a bent fork or screwdriver (root hook). What I've learned from this forum is that you don't need to be particularly gentle, and that for most kinds of plants, heavily pruning old, woody roots is very good for their long term health. However, in the very short term, heavy root pruning can cause problems for the plant in getting enough water to the leaves to maintain turgidity. Water is moving out of the leaves into the air faster than the roots can supply it. When leaves are wilted, they can't photosynthesize. As I understand it, for woody plants, pruning the top growth to "match" the roots is not as important as commonly thought. But for softer plants like many houseplants, leaving all of the top growth can make it impossible for roots to supply enough water right after repotting. This is especially true because humidity is usually relatively low indoors. You can help your plant out by keeping it in the shade until it recovers, removing the largest, oldest leaves, and providing it with high humidity just until it is no longer wilting. Humidity can be increased by using a "humidity tent". You can make a simple one using any kind of boxy frame with clear plastic or saran wrap all around it. If you already have a large bell jar or terrarium, that's essentially perfect. You'll be delighted at how quickly this works! Misting and using a humidity "tray" (water and pebbles underneath the plant) is generally a useless gesture, as it has no significant effect on the humidity level. Do NOT put a plant that has a humidity tent in full sun, as it will "cook" the plant. A struggling new transplant should be in the shade anyway. Also, resist the urge to fertilize before the plant has had a chance to recover. Good luck!

Freegle, The little babies are supposed to come out through the soil. They're not supposed to grow from the cut edge of the leaf. It would be best if you put it in as small a pot as you can and put them in larger pots as they grow. Plastic solo cups (the ones that are 2 in. across the mouth) work real good. Make sure you poke holes in the bottom for drainage. Then don't pot them in anything larger until they are more than 6 in. across. Convention for pots size is that the pot should the 1/3 the diameter of the plant. Good luck, Larry

Thanks to everyone! I appreciate all the ideas! After re-measuring, I realized that the window doesn't sit in half the room, more like 60%, so the whole idea of spliting the room in half doesn't work. So yay! It's the one big room & laundry* idea. ;-) I LOVE our clawfoot tub - it's original to the house (or at least the bathroom). Great soaking tub. Not so great shower, hence the desire for a separate shower. I have room for a 4.5x5ft shower in the closet space. * I have an Asko laundry pair so 240v and stackable. I actually have a condensing dryer, and I'll admit, it has been troublesome and I recomend a vented system to anyone who's thinking about dryers. That's one advantage to moving the laundry to the 2nd floor - I have a totally below grade basement and solid masonry exterior walls (no studs anywhere on the exterior walls) so there's no way to vent a dryer in the basement. Above grade, I can at least chisel out a hole for a vent pipe in the 14in thick wall. Thanks again! It was worth thinking about. Always ;-) Hunzi

Thank you all so much for the kind words! For those of you who thought Jammer and I were already married....well, we were in heart. Now we are just doing the legal stuff. I have felt guilty ever since I made this post because I felt I didn't say enough about Tatum. It's just so hard to say how much she meant to all of us and how much we miss her. I have told stories here about her. She kind of reminded me of Marley in the book Marley and Me. She was soooo hyper and soooo big! She broke two of my toes on two different occasions just because she was running around me and I was barefooted. I quickly learned to always have something on my feet when around her! And when I took her on the leash, LOL, was like seeing a cartoon. Tatum trying to run and me being dragged behind! We didn't even use a typical leash, we used a horse lead rope. LOL She loved socks and we had to make sure none were laying around if she was in the room. One time she grabbed a thin black sock and then making sure she was just beyond my reach, she stared deep into my eyes and proceeded to swallow the sock. I could tell she felt so satisfied to do that. Anyway, she has left a big hole in our lives, but we have some great memories. As far as the wedding plans....we are getting married tomorrow in our church. Just Jammer, me and the preacher. I am still not feeling well and don't feel like being around people.