Obviously, we don't need worm castings from the POV of soil structure, because they are very fine and reduce aeration/drainage. Micro-organisms in container media aren't necessary for healthy plants, and their populations are notably influenced by other cultural factors to the point where they are often boom or bust. So, lets look at them from a nutritional POV, and leave lots of room for any discussions that might not agree with what I say. I think it would be a good idea to first define what our goal is when we provide supplemental nutrition to our plants. I've thought about that, and this is what I came up with and saved for use in conversations like this: Whenever we discuss what is or isn't an appropriate part of the methodology we use to make certain our containerized plants get all the nutrients essential to growth and good health, we would probably first want to be sure our objectives are on target. It's difficult to argue with the idea that our focus in supplying supplemental nutrition to our plants should be on ensuring all the nutrients plants normally assimilate from the soil are A) IN the soil and available for uptake at all times, B) in the soil in a favorable ratio - that is to say in a ratio that mimics the ratio at which the plant actually uses the nutrient, C) at a concentration high enough to ensure no nutritional deficiencies, yet still low enough to ensure the plant's ability to take up water, and the nutrients dissolved in that water won't be impeded (by a high concentration of solubles in the soil solution). At this point, you (used collectively) can accept these premises as worthy goals or argue against them. If accepted, we should then necessarily examine our efforts at supplementation in the light of whether or not our efforts bring us closer to or limit our ability to see the goals implemented. YMMV, but I'd be interested in how to improve on what I said. What's in worm castings? What nutrients? The fact is, we don't know. We have no idea what they supply, or how much of any particular nutrient they supply. Their contribution to any increases in soil biota populations would only serve to break down the soil faster than it would normally break down w/o them. How then, do we know if we are limiting our ability to reach our goal. We need control over what we supply, and plants are best served when the ratio of nutrients in the soil are matched as closely as possible to the ratio at which plants actually use those nutrients. IOW, WCs don't supply anything you can't get from a well-made fertilizer that provides all the essential nutrients in a favorable ratio. The fact is, in light of the goal, they have as much or more potential to be limiting than beneficial. Changing topics ....... I think if you rearrange your thinking about your starting point for building a better soil so it's more like: Start with a ______ (fill in the blank with a coarse material or materials that ensure you can actually amend what you start with). If you start with potting soil, how can you amend it? You'll need to add well over 50% of other coarse materials (like pine bark) to get it to a point where you can water correctly. If you have more than 50% bark, didn't you actually 'start' with bark; or, maybe the better question is, wouldn't it then be a bark-based soil instead of a soil based on whatever potting mix you're using as the filler? I suggested a goal for nutritional supplementation, so how about a goal for the quality of your soil? From my perspective, an appropriate medium is a medium that allows us to water to beyond the point of saturation, at will, so we're flushing the dissolved solids (salts) that are present in tapwater and fertilizer solutions; this, w/o the plant having to pay the penalty of reduced root function, or perhaps wrecked root health, due to those prolonged periods of soil saturation after watering correctly. All the dissolved solids in tapwater and fertilizer solutions are left behind and accumulate in soils whenever we're forced to water in sips, which is commonly employed as a strategy to help avoid the sogginess that limits root function and wrecks root health. It's important to realize that a healthy plant is not possible w/o a healthy root system. If you have established goals that include healthy and attractive plants, it's critical that you have a plan to avoid the limitations imposed by over-watering and an accumulation of dissolved solids (salts) in the soil solution. Not every grower fully understands the dilemmic issues associated with inappropriate soils that force the plant to pay a vitality tax resultant of an unhealthy amount of water being retained for extended periods when we water correctly – which is to say, when we flush the soil to limit salt build-up. On one hand, we have the potential for over-watering, and when we act to avoid it by offering dribs and drabs of water here and there, we have high salt levels to deal with. It's easy to see how we all might benefit from use of a soil that allows us to water so we're flushing away excess salts without limiting our plant's vitality via waterlogged soils. You can see that getting to the point where you can water correctly w/o problems is a worthy goal. I should also say, there are ways to get you to that point w/o a lot of difficulty, just by employing some simple methods/arrangements that force excess water from the soil. Al

A quick review of the second paragraph in my post above will reveal that cuttings tend to retain the growth phase of the material they are taken from. Your cuttings, taken from sexually mature parts of the plant retain the ontogenetic age of the parent material, so are sexually mature. If your plant was to produce a basal sprout, regardless of the plants age,and you severed/rooted it, you would have to wait for the basal sprout to move through the growth phases before the leaf form changes; this, because the basal part of the plant is ontogenetically youngest and the cutting would retain the more juvenile growth phase of the plant part from which it was taken. Most of the variegated houseplants we would grow are chimeral or pigmentary in nature, but a few (Abutilon) might be viral, and several are commonly the result of reflection (mostly the gray variegates). Trees have an expected life span for a couple of reasons. The first is, we know how fast they usually grow, and the second is, we know the limits of the tree's ability to move water and nutrients to distal parts of the tree. Trees genetically programmed to grow slowly and with the ability to move water efficiently to distal parts grow oldest. Trees die from mechanical injury, dysfunction, or energy depletion, but not old age, per se. Aging in animals is measured in the rate of cellular autolysis (breakdown):cell restoration. Trees are much different because they can't regenerate cells in the same spatial planes, so we look to the ratio between the volume of living wood being walled off and the volume of living wood with cells being generated. To understand this concept, you would need to be somewhat familiar with how trees compartmentalize injuries. A tree must be generating more cells than it is losing through compartmentalization, shedding, and mechanical disruption every growing period, or it is dying. In situ trees usually die from energy depletion, which is often resultant of mechanical injury. The ratio of dynamic mass to non-living mass and infected mass is important to survival. Young trees are nearly all dynamic mass and have a very strong 'will to live'. Old trees exhibit a much lower % of dynamic mass & exhibit a reduced ability to resist mechanical injury, stress, and strain. Trees don't often die as a result of mechanical injury, dysfunction, or energy depletion alone; these processes start them along the road to death. After a certain point, the trend is irreversible, dysfunction systemic, and there will be a wide variety of agents using energy stored by the host. In consideration of the above, we can see why bonsai trees are able to survive for centuries, where their counterparts in the landscape are only able to survive for a fraction of the time a bonsai can. This plays directly on the ratio of dynamic mass & the number of cells being generated, vs static mass & the trees inability to regenerate. Al

I was just outside watering my porch plants and thought of your question because I have a few "combo pots." So I realized I have some general advice that may help. Plants with similar needs (light/water) should be grouped together. If you juggle some tall plants, and some short, you can fit more in each pot. The philodendron and english ivy can be transported as cuttings in water if you get really desperate for space. When I have to move plants in a moving truck, I try to pack the back of the truck with the plants in mind, so they have a place to sit where they won't be able to tip over. A laundry basket or box can help several pots hold each other up. Put each pot in a plastic bag, leave open, but pull the plastic as high as possible. If anything does tip over, the dirt will stay in the bag, and the plastic sheath may help prevent breakage of stems.

I can't comment with any great authority on the merits of worms in indoor plants, as that is a bit of a new adventure for me, but I have been growing absolutely thriving outdoor plants in containers for years..... and every time people ask me what my secret to thriving pot plants is I tell them just add worms and sheep poo! Yes is does change the soil structure but my plants thrive in it. I was agast reading comments of people ridding obviously outdoor plants like fruit trees of worms! I have very high yielding lemon, orange, lime and mandarin trees in pots and are absolutely full of wigglers. Not to mention all the veges, palms, ferns and flowing plants. In the larger fruit tree pots I've never had a problem with drainage and if I ever do in smaller pots I simply repot with new homemade potting mix and a healthy dose of the original worm filled soil. I regularly buy the marked down "sad" plants from the nursery that look like they're on their last legs and have about a 95% hit rate for reviving them and turning them into healthy, lasting plants...which, you guessed it, I do in my worm filled potting mix! I hope that newer gardeners reading this don't turn off worms in their outdoor potted plants as they are wonderful! I understand the effect they have on soil structure but at the end of the day the proof of their benefits (in outdoor potted plants) is on the pudding (or in this case my thriving garden). These forums are a wonderful medium for sharing knowledge but try different things out for yourself to see what works for you. Why not do a little experiment with 2 identical (outdoor) pots and plants and try adding worms to 1 and leave the other alone and see what happens? After reading this forum and the differing opinions re indoor plants I'm currently trying the same thing with some indoor plants as as I mentioned that's a bit of a new gardening adventure for me and I'm still discovering what works for the temperamental little buggers! Happy gardening!