No idea about the moss, but, well, Stromanthes are one of those plants that a lot of people find hard to keep alive. I personally won't even attempt them. Some people will no doubt post that I'm being excessively negative. But if you "have no idea with plants," well. Don't get real attached. Nevertheless, let's try: The big key is water. Don't let the plant dry out (like, water when the top half-inch of soil is dry, give or take), and -- the more difficult part -- they need high humidity. Pretty much all the time. Which is probably what's wrong with yours; it's reacting to the dry indoor air. Calatheas and Marantas (other plants in the same family) will do the same thing. There are varying schools of thought on how to increase humidity levels. Sometimes this leads to arguing. I don't want to start anything, but: Some people say you can get a misting bottle and just spray water at and around the plant at various times during the day. The problem with this is that it may or may not (there's where the argument comes in) actually raise the humidity levels more than about five minutes at a time. I think it's probably better than nothing, and for plants that appreciate moist air but don't *need* it, it's nice to do sometimes, but I don't think it's the answer here. Another school of thought involves the use of "pebble trays," which are more or less what they sound like: trays. With pebbles in them. If you keep water in the tray, and have it near, or under, the plant, then the water evaporating off the tray raises the local humidity level. The down side is that there's disagreement about whether this provides enough of a long-term increase to be worth bothering with. There's also a danger of drowning the plant: if the soil touches the water, the water can be drawn up into the soil. With a Stromanthe, that might not be such a terrible thing, but even so, I wouldn't recommend putting the plant *on* the tray. Maybe tray-adjacent, if you bother with one at all. So, what to do? If it was me, I would be inclined to discard the plant and start over with something a little less bothersome. But if there was, like, a $1 million prize for keeping it alive for a year, I would. . . . Put it in a terrarium, a clear plastic box of some kind, something that could be opened and closed easily to tend the plant, pick off old leaves, etc., but would keep humidity and water levels steady. Maybe a garage sale aquarium, or something like that. This isn't foolproof -- you would have to watch for rot, when you first set it up, and then after it's established you have to make sure not to let it sit in sun at all, or it'll cook to death. But it's a lot easier than sitting next to it, misting every fifteen minutes. Alternately, you could try keeping it in a bathroom, if you have or can get reasonably strong light in your bathroom on a steady basis. Though that depends on what your heating and air conditioning situation is like in the bathroom. I'm sorry I can't be more encouraging about this. We have optimists around, somewhere, though; maybe one will come by.

In case the link is ever broken, cut and paste the PDF file here: Linda Chalker-Scott, Ph.D., Extension Horticulturist and Associate Professor, Puyallup Research and Extension Center, Washington State University The Myth of Gypsum Magic âAdding gypsum to your yard or garden will improve soil tilth and plant healthâ The Myth Upon continued prodding from one of my university extension colleagues, I recently watched several episodes of a well-known gardening program on television. My kids joined me, alerted by my animated responses to the hostâs non-stop torrent of advice. Among many amazing discoveries I learned that by adding gypsum to my yard or garden I would improve my problem soils by changing the particle size and loosening compaction. Further searching on the web revealed that gypsum would also improve drainage, decrease acidity, and eliminate soil salts. Previously, I had heard of gypsum for use in soil reclamation projects, but not for a typical urban landscape. Since gypsum is simply calcium sulfate, could this chemical truly transform soil structure and serve as a fertilizer for yards and gardens? The Reality This myth falls into the category of agricultural practices misapplied to ornamental landscapes. Gypsum effectively changes the structure and fertility of heavy clay soils, especially those that are heavily weathered or subject to intensive crop production. Gypsum also improves sodic (saline) soils by removing sodium from the soil and replacing it with calcium. Therefore, one can see improvement in clay soil structure and fertility, and desalinization of sodium-rich soils, by using gypsum. What other effects will gypsum have on soil and plant health? There are a number of scientific studies on gypsum usage both in the literature and on websites. Briefly, researchers have found: ⢠Gypsum does not usually change soil acidity, though occasional reports of both increasing and decreasing pH exist; ⢠Gypsum can increase leaching of aluminum, which can detoxify soils but also contaminates nearby watersheds; ⢠Gypsum can increase leaching of iron and manganese, leading to deficiencies of these nutrients; ⢠Gypsum applied to acid soils can induce magnesium deficiency in plants on site; ⢠Gypsum applied to sandy soils can depress phosphorus, copper and zinc transport; ⢠Gypsum can have negative effects on mycorrhizal inoculation of roots, which may account for several reports of negative effects of gypsum on tree seedling establishment and survival; ⢠Gypsum is variable in its effects on mature trees; ⢠Gypsum will not improve fertility of acid or sandy soils; ⢠Gypsum will not improve water holding capacity of sandy soils; and ⢠Gypsumâs effects are short-lived (often a matter of months) With the exception of arid and coastal regions (where soil salts are high) and the southeastern United States (where heavy clay soils are common), gypsum amendment is just not necessary in non-agricultural areas. Urban soils are generally amalgamations of subsoils, native and non-native topsoils, and - in home landscapes - high levels of organic and non-organic chemical additives. They are also heavily compacted and layered (and gypsum does not work well on layered soils). In such landscapes, it is pointless to add yet more chemicals in the form of gypsum unless you need to increase soil calcium levels. This nutrient deficiency can be quickly identified by any soil testing laboratory for less than a bag of gypsum costs. (If you need to improve sulfur nutrition, itâs wiser to use ammonium sulfate). To reduce compaction and improve aeration in nearly any landscape, application of an organic mulch is more economically and environmentally sustainable. The Bottom Line ⢠Gypsum can improve heavy clay soil structure and remove sodium from saline soils ⢠Gypsum has no effect on soil fertility, structure, or pH of any other soil type ⢠Most urban soils are not improved by additional gypsum ⢠Before adding gypsum or any chemical to a landscape, have soil analysis performed to identify mineral deficiencies, toxicities, and soil character ⢠Adding gypsum to sandy or non-sodic soils is a waste of money, natural resources, and can have negative impacts on plant, soil, and ecosystem health For more information, please visit Dr. Chalker-Scottâs web page at http://www.theinformedgardener.com.

1. How do I handle this? do I need to make sure all the wood on the doors, trim, and floor have the same color stain? >>This is a matter of personal preference so there's no absolute right answer. Personally I like the doors, door trim, base and crown mold to match. They don't need to match the floor but of course they do need to be complementary. 2. If so, is it possible to stain the existing woodwork darker without an excessive amount of work ( like sanding it all the way down)? >>Yes it is despite what I've read others claim. Speak to a reputable painter who is skilled at wood finishing. Just as is used on kitchen cabinets, there are stains that can be brushed or sprayed over existing finish once it's properly prepared. As long as you're going darker, it's not necessary to sand all the way to raw wood. 3. Is wood trim and moulding considered dated, these days? >> Styles come and go. Unless you move every few years, do what you like, not what would appeal to the majority. 4. Would it be better to go with replacing it all with white composite? (Lots of the woodwork needs repair as the previous children used it as a medium for carving pictures and their names) >> If you're going to paint, damaged areas can be filled, sanded, primed and painted. Just keep in mind that the grain on the old wood might show through in the finished product. Do a test on a piece to determine whether it meets your expectation and consider the cost difference between replacement and refinishing or painting. 5. The windows are also the same color of wood, would it look strange if they didn't match the trim around them? >> There again it's personal preference. I prefer that they match. There's nothing that says you can't paint the wood.

I have spent some money and some time to resurface my traditional office desk which already has a layer of stain and poly. It has few scratched and peeling, so I need to sand it down and redo the surface. I followed all instructions and still having bubble on top of the newly applied polyurethane. Finally, I created my own method. - Clean up and remove all dust on the surface of the wood, in my case, it is the table top of my office desk. - Apply oil based polyurethane with stain color with brush; I used the cheap $1.25 bristle brush from Lowe's. I chose polyurethane with stain color in it. You can choose different color at Lowe’s and it also has gloss and satin (semi gloss) choices. Apply a thick layer on the surface of the wood or on my office desk in my case. There should be many bubbles on the top. Some suggest using heat gun while applying so the bubbles pop and disappear, I have not tried that because I don’t have a heat gun. I ignore the bubbles there for now. Then let it dry thoroughly after few hours or next day. - Sand the surface with very fine 300 or higher sand paper with an electric hand sander. Sand out all bubbles on surface as much as possible. It will scratch the entire surface, don't worry. But do not sand too deep, we still want the polyurethane and the stain on the surface. It is very difficult to remove all trace of bubbles, I stopped when most bubbles are not noticeable. When sanding with electric sander, make sure you sand fully the surface, do not sand with an angle off the wood and do not create track or ditch on the wood. - Clean up and remove all dust on the surface. I use web cloth, and then dry paper towel. Let it dry before next step. - Now mix the poly (with build-in stain color) with mineral spirit in about 5 to 1 ratio. Apply the mixture on the surface again. Do not uses brush this time. Use a paper towel and fold it into a square 2"x2" shape. Then wrap it with a fine cloth, I use silk cloth in my case. Use it to apply the mixture on top of the wood surface. The mixture must be thin enough so that you can swipe across surface without resistance. Add more mineral spirit if necessary. Follow the wood grain and "sail" along the surface with the cloth. Make sure the mixture cover entire surface. - Now let it dry. The surface should be shiny again. You could repeat above step if necessary until you have an almost smooth wood surface or table top. The stain in the poly will create darker or lighter color on the wood surface, that is ok and that is nice. - You are not done. Now mix the oil based fast drying polyurethane with mineral spirit and use new cloth and paper towel to apply one more layer on the wood. Again, make sure the mixture is thin enough and your cloth is fully absolve with the mixture. Apply the mixture to entire surface, you don't need to follow wood grain direction this time. You make sure the entire surface is wet. After it is dry, you can apply 2nd layer until the wood surface is smooth enough for you. Notice that this fast drying poly will deepen the color of your surface. The more layer you apply, the deeper the color. It takes a few days :-)