Damn! Had a reply all typed out, but it never posted... Hopefulauthor: It is indeed my first cyclamen. Been slightly traumatic, watching those beautiful blooms and leaves turn to mush... How can you tell the difference between the natural dormancy cycle and true death? I might just be freaking out, but it went downhill just this week after I doused it. And there were new blooms. GB: Thanks for the info. Looks like National Pigeon Grit is a bust. AL: HOWEVER! When I went to return my MG bags I stumbled upon something called Pearl Stone Decorative Soil Cover, which is really just a silly name for some irregularly shaped rocks. The particle size ranged from 1/8" at the very smallest to just a little bigger than 1/4". The bag doesn't tell me the kind of stone, but it probably wouldn't have additives. The Mosser Lee website says, "Mosser Lee Pearl Stone represents the finest in quality rock bedding. The small particles are perfectly designed to loosen heavy soils and provide excellent bases for any gardening or craft project. Pearl Stone�s rich grey color and small dimension are designed for creative creations." Would these work? Well, I guess the point of the granite is that you know it holds water, and this might not. I also found lava rocks though, and other decorative rocks from Whitney Farms. Does anyone have any positive experience with these? If not, I'm officially throwing in the towel on grit and turning to pumice and course perlite. City gardening is *inconvenient*! Here is a link that might be useful: Mosser Lee Pearl Stones

Toni, what I read is...."think of it as a strength and health builder. It's loaded with the many minerals so lacking in our soils. And it's in a form that your plants can absorb immediately. That's why you see lovely changes, so fast it's almost startling!" So I do not think of it as a fertilizer but as a soil conditioner. So I am conditioning the soil so the plant can take up the fert better. Just trying to cover all my bases. Since I was not home daily to care for plants. Now that I am retired maybe I will be able to do better but I still do not think I will be a watering person. I do not like walking around giving plants water. LOL

Snasxs Do not even put cyclamen and AV in one sentence. Cyclamens carry cyclamen mites - which are death to AV violets. Usually large flowers come with a large plant. They can be single or double. Single I can think of right now - Rainman- blue star with white edge, Opera Romeo blue-white edge - fantasy, Super-Duper - huge very double pink, Beachcomber - semi-double white with blue shades.... these what I grow - there are many more of them - but the varieties I mentioned- the plants themselves can be easily grown to 20 inches in diameter and the leaves will cover most of the palm. Good luck - and do not mention cyclamens! Irina

Good Day, ladies, Lucille, I'm so happy you got your trays and book. Great news. You'll be busy for some time playing with your new toys and book. You're saying the trays come in different sizes? When viewing the site I only saw one size, but didn't have time to read all the info either, so probably missed it. I was shocked by their shipping costs. 30 something dollars..Yikes. How did you talk them down? LOL..I'm wondering if 30.00 is actual shipping costs or they include handling like so many other sellers are doing. How did you determine the right size? How many plants fit on each tray? Do they fit according to pot size. I think you said you bought 29 trays..How many AV's fit on each tray, and what size pots are your AV's in? You also mentioned these trays are thicker than those sold at Walmart. Are the trays you're referring to used for sowing seeds? The type Peat Pellets or Jiffy Pots are set in? If that's the case, I've got several. Before getting a gh, I used to sow annuals seed every winter/spring. Still have most of the trays. I agree, they are lightweight, so I double or tripple.. You've given me an idea though, Lucy..thank so much. I use two trays for a Coffee tree, a couple small Hibisucs, Azalea, and Ming Aralia. Since I have extras, I'll see how they work with AV's. Each tray would probably hold, 12, 4" pots. The minimum, 9 pots. I don't have an extra shelf to set AV's, they have to sit atop 3 single shelves in the LR windows. One shelf w/lighting isn't sufficent for AV's, so in winter, I place lower light plants or plants in dormancy. I'm really happy you got your goodies..I wish you'd take a pic of AV's on a tray to give me an idea what it looks like. BTW, I was reading your Bio..You have parrots? Do you mind if I ask their types? birds are the best. Anyway, thanks for the help.. Irina, it's too late..I've already contracted the AV bug..LOL..I'm planning on getting a Tiger, but waiting till cc statement is PIF. LOL. I also want to order the two books, Growing AV's and Growing to Show, but that too will have to wait. But I will, definately buy both books. About soil or soil less mixes, I'm afraid to pot in a completely soil less mix. I've been growing plants in soil so long, to change now is frightening..LOL. Don't get me wrong, my mix contains non-soil mediums like Perlite/Peat/Vermiculte/sand, but I still add soil, too. There are so many experiements I want to try, one is using a completely soil less mix, another is deadheading flowers so nutrients focus on foliage, last, breeding flowers..LOl..Is that what it's called? In my AV Orthos books, one article details how it's done..It sounds easy enough, but waiting is the thing..How long does it take for an AV seed to germinate? Its' been some time since reading the article. I beleive it was stated AV seeds can take up to a year to germinate.. Also converting soil to completely soil lees would be like starting over. I don't water any plant by schedule. (Fertilizing and ST is planned by date.) The AV magazine should soon arrive. I'm hoping between GW and the mag will explain AV care from novice to pro. I hope..(S) How are you girls today? Do you garden outdoors? How about indoor plants? Or dedicatated to AVs alone? Toni