".... correct me if i am wrong [sic] ..... OK - you're wrong. At this juncture, I think neither of us know what you're talking about. 3:1:2 is a fertilizer ratio very frequently mentioned - nothing to do with any soils I've ever suggested. Whenever it came to discussions about soils, Steve's offerings were peppered with comments like these: "In a variety of links on this site [GW] Al offers very good porous soil mixes that can encourage an aroid to live a long time and grow to a larger size as well as remain healthy. The correct mix and proper watering are far more important than the size of the pot ........ Al, can I suggest you post a link to some of your articles on soil? Steve Corresponding Secretary, The International Aroid Society" "Again, I have to say I fully agree with Al's writings. Pot size is not nearly as important as soil mixtures and proper water (along with adequate light) are the most important factors to successful growth. Like many things in house plant growth, pot size is not well understood nor well explained to many growers." "I have spent a great deal of time studying this subject just as Al has, especially with botanists such as Dr. Tom Croat at the Missouri Botanical Garden and many others. I am also well aware that many people on this and other forums prefer that discussions not be based on science since this is a place where the average grower asks questions. I cannot help but believe many of those people want really good answers to their questions so again my thanks to Al." "Whatever anyone chooses to do is their business. Any grower is entitled to do anything they choose to do but if my email is any indication there are tons of folks out there that want to know how to grow plants as they grow in nature. We receive about 1/2 million hits to our website every year from all over the world and most of them are seeking scientific answers just as Al provides." "I just don't know how to explain things without explaining enough so a grower understands both the concept and the background provided by science. You can find some very good discussions on this forum about soil so if this is useless, please try to find a few of them now, mostly written by Al Tapla." "Just a word of thanks for the information. I have agreed fully with Al's information for many years ..... Thanks again! Steve Lucas www.ExoticRainforest.com" "Al, that is one of the finest growing statements I have ever read! I try to explain this all the time but you have made the statement concisely and quite clearly! Where do people come up with the idea plants "like" to be in such conditions? Thanks! Steve" There are many more .... and I used to email back & forth with Steve from time to time when he had questions or comments about soils. I wish he was still around so he could have offered input on some of the recent soil threads. Steve was always well thought of, and I always appreciated his support. Al

My condolences on losing your grandma. :( Here is my advice based on my personal experiences with these plants (I've grown most of the ones you mentioned)... First, I would suggest repotting all the plants into individual pots. Small pots, a little bigger than the root mass for the plants. The reason I suggest that is that if the plant is in a small pot WITH DRAINAGE HOLES IN THE BOTTOM (a must), it will make it easier to avoid overwatering. With the exception of a few plants that love moisture, overwatering will kill most plants faster than anything else - because the soggy soil smothers the roots and makes them rot. Underwatering will also kill plants of course, but not as fast as rot will. It is easier to save an underwatered plant than one that is rotting from too much water. For Crotons, a combination of SUNSHINE and HUMIDITY seems to be the key thing. When I got my croton last winter, I put it on top of my aquarium (so the evaporating aquarium water will keep it humid) directly in front of a western window. It seems to like that. I would suggest putting your croton in an unobstructed East, West or South facing window if you can (north windows don't give enough light). I would also suggest putting it right on the windowsill - even being a few feet from the window drastically reduces the amount of light it gets. For humidity, if you don't have an aquarium handy, you can try raising humidity by sitting it on a tray of pebbles with some water sitting in the bottom of the tray (the pebbles are to keep the pot from sitting DIRECTLY in water, which would let water seep into the pot and keep the soil too soggy). Check how moist the soil is with your finger every day and water it when the soil starts to dry out. As said above, don't water it so often that the soil always stays soggy, but if you wait too long to water it the plant will likely drop leaves. If you pay attention to how moist it is every day until you get the hang of things, it will be okay. For a rubber tree, don't panic just because it dropped the leaves. It doesn't mean that the plant is going to die. All Ficus plants (the rubber tree is a kind of ficus) drop leaves very easily when they are under any kind of stress. I would suggest putting it in a sunny location (again, East, West, or Southern window if possible). It doesn't seem to care as much about humidity as the croton does. I'd just water it when the soil dries out, and when you water it I'd suggest putting it in the bathtub and letting the shower spray over it for a few minutes to clean off the leaves (to clean off any dust and discourage spider mites, which like to attack rubber trees) As mentioned above, Rubber trees can burn if they are put in direct sun too rapidly when they're not used to it, but once they get used to it, they love being in as much sun as they can get. The rubber tree I have spent the summer outside where it received direct southern sunshine all summer. After it adapted to the light, it thrived. It looked gorgeous when I brought it in for the winter. For dieffenbachia: Most people consider this a pretty easy plant to keep. Dieffenbachia doesn't seem to mind low light, so if you have a north facing window, go ahead and put it there. Water it when the soil dries out. In my experience, it doesn't seem to care about humidity levels. If you have any kids or pets, be careful and put it somewhere that they cannot reach it. Dieffenbachia is notorious for having nasty toxins in its leaves that can cause mouth irritation/swelling if a child or pet were to eat it. I'd also suggest washing your hands if you get any of its sap on your hands when you pot it. But as long as you don't get the sap in your mouth, it's harmless. Peace lily: It's hard to say if it will live or not without having seen what it looked like before you cut it back. Sometimes plants that wilt from not getting enough water can be saved if you start watering them again, but after a certain point they get past the point of recovery and there is nothing that can be done. If I were you, I'd put it in a northern or eastern window and water it for a few weeks to give it a chance to recover. Maybe it will put out some more growth. Peace lily does seem to be thirstier than a lot of other plants, so I'd be careful about not forgetting to water it - but again, don't let the soil stay constantly soggy; let it dry out a little between waterings. Just don't let it get bone dry between waterings. Philodendron: Is it the vine kind of philo? If it is, that should be a fairly easy plant to keep too. It can tolerate low light so it can be ok in a north window too. Water it when it dries out. If you have long vines, you can try clipping the ends of the vines off an putting them in a glass of water to root them and make more plants (whcih might be a good way to make backup plants until you get the watering down pat). I wouldn't bother trying to take cuttings if the philo is very small though. Spider plant: Are you sure it's a spider plant? Some types of Dracaena look similar and are often used in these kinds of baskets. Assuming it's a spider plant, it should do ok in low light too (though it would probably prefer an eastern window if it can get it). Again, it is pretty tolerant of just being watered when it dries out. Paradise palm: Could it be a Parlor palm? I've seen Parlor palms used a lot in this kind of basket too. They are supposed to be easy plants as well but I hesitate to give advice because I've killed several of them. They are supposed to tolerate low light and seem to be another plant that likes humidity in my experience, but I'll let someone else give you the detailed advice about them. Hope this advice helps you. Hope some of the plants survive.

Cloughton, as far as having a pot with no drainage holes and can you grow a plant in such ....YES....you can...but its not recommended. Think of it this way...you know you need to water the plant...but how much. Too much, and you know the water will sit for a time in those stones you are taking up space with. How much of the water is the plant using. If you know, if you can trust your instincts, then there is no barrier to letting your plant grow this way. But most of us cant really tell when the plant is using its water...and how much is being taken up. The roots we know should not be continually surrounded by water...like us, we wouldn't think to stand in water too long--our skin would pay for it. So putting drainage holes in the pot, allows iet it drain away that excess water the plant cant use. When we water, we give it enough that we know has gone down to the roots. Its the roots that feed the plant. And we don't want the roots to be forever standing in water...so we let it drain. If such water was allowed to sit at the roots and not be taken up by the plant, they would soon rot and prevent the plant's tissue to tkae up nourishment. Putting a hole into most containers is easy as long as you take it slow, use the correct drill bit and take precautions so as to not cause the pot to split or crack. Enough of that! I suggest you learn something about "exposures". i.e. from which direction the sun is invited to pay its respects to your plants. Usually we speak in terms of direction. North, east, west and south. Such exposures to sunlight does give to plants certain intensity of the sun's rays. West is slightly warmer than south, which is to a degree warmer than east....and all three of them are warmer than north. Most plants do not do well --- cant do as well...put in a northern exposure. You have heard the expressions...."full"...."partial"...and "shade" when referring to how plants are best suited. Its in their genes. Full sun is that which is normally thought to be of a length of time...8 hours.....down to 6 hours is what benefits those types of plants needing it. Partial sun plants get along famously with 5 --even 4 hours of sunlight. Shade plants....and there are different degrees of shade..are those that do well outside in a northern or to the sides of this exposure...intensity. There are a few houseplants that can do very well in a northern exposure. But, when we think about it, how such exposure limits the sun's intensity to give to our plants what they need, we try our best to find a place to put our plants in so that they receive more fuller sunlight. Then there is the question of seaons. Do you know we get our seasons because the Earth is tilted. If the Earth was not tilted on its axis....all seasons would be the same....the north would be cold...the middle warm...the center hot....and I guess would be where we all live happily ever after. All light then would be the same and we could put our plants in any window and get the same intensity. But that's not the case is it. And Peace Lily...."spathiphyllum" is the Latin name...likes it bright...but just not direct sunlight. But then, because the sun is not shining as bright now as it will later on, we can give the Spath more direct light without putting it in jeopardy. I suggest, for the better sake of the plant, you try to give it a better light source. West or south is suggested. Your heat register causes air currents to flow in and around your room. If a plant is in direct path of such current of air, it can dry out that much quicker and the abrupt change of temeperature can affect badly a plant. How much, depends on many factors concerning the plant. So generally, try to not let your plant be put in a direct path of warm air currents. This also applies to cold air currents....from doors that are constantly being opened and closed. (windows too) Plants too should not be where they can be bumpted into by persons using the traffic paths. Where sunlight is not so bright, and if one wishes to give such light, then try to "raise it"...either by placing it on a pedestal or table or shelf....or hang it up from the ceiling. If walls are of a brighter color--especially white or oft white, such wall can reflect light back to our plants. This can amount to a very helpful way of giving more light to our plants when they need it. Generally, keep a plant trimmed when it is actively growing....it can then fix itself for how we treat it. Too, we often trim our plants' leaves to keep them in good looking order. We use scissors to trim the edges or tips when the occasional brown or yellow shows up. Most housepalnts though are slow --to a point--growers and need not be pruned per se to any great degree. Withdrawing them from light will often cut back their growth potential. Same goes for how much fertilizer we give them and how much water we give them. But don't starve your plant of either should they need it.

Laura, you might want to post this on the houseplants or aroids forums. Peace lily, Spathaphyllum, is not a true lily - it is an aroid and does require some more specialized attention than a stick-in-the-ground-and-wait-for-blooms blubous lily :-) And while I can grow anything outdoors, I have a decidedly brown thumb when it comes to houseplants.