Very nice. I think they will help. I started work on faq's for the Herbs forum but then the growing season intruded on that work. When snow flies, I'll get back to those. If there are any big FAQ gotchas, I would appreciate it if you could let me know. My own big gotcha was not putting something up first (like you did) and working it out from there. I got stalled with a "paralysis by analysis" from differences in opinion in trying to get something reasonably acceptable to the majority. I think you took a much smarter approach. A few suggestions/comments: - I don't know the limitations of the faq's format but if you could use some HTML list structures (ul or ol) or blockquotes (those do work in posts) you can format the text in some of the FAQ's to improve readability. - I think you intended a list instead of a paragraph under kinds of pictures in attaching a photo but that is not how it turned out. - I like the blooming season idea. Perhaps a quick note about "adjusting for your own North American growing conditions/seasons may be required" will address the concerns. - I think the ideas of zones and regions are nice but that is a level of complication and detail I don't think you want at this point. It could come later if desired and may require the expertise of others more acquainted with those regions as well. - Perhaps a note in the ID resources about the other forums on GW like the Rose ones that may offer more specific cultivar identification and details including growing instructions. Makes me think, a short "what do I do once I have my ID?" faq is a possibility. Many do want to look for care info following an ID. Maybe some quick pointers on how to start that search would complete the circle. - In the "What details" FAQ, I would personally change "Please don't taste any unknown fruit" to be on a line by itself in BIG BOLD letters, "Do not taste any part (berries, fruit, leaves, etc.) of a unknown plant! It could be deadly!" I simply can't believe the foolish folks talking about what taste a plant has when they don't know the first thing about it! I think you just have to stupid-proof it a little more. It still won't help the terminally stupid but... FataMorgana

Alexa, I have recalculated this entire thread and the results are as follows: Ultimate 100 hostas Edition 2008 Votes Sagae 32 June 32 Blue Angel 13 Liberty 16 Great Expectations 15 Gold Standard 16 Guacamole 10 Sum and Substance 12 Paul's Glory 14 Montana Aureomarginata 11 Paradigm 11 Inniswood 7 Sun Power 14 Krossa Regal 9 Regal Splendor 7 Whirlwind 8 Orange Marmalade 6 Guardian Angel 9 Northern Exposure 5 Thunderbolt 12 Touch of Class 8 Stained Glass 5 Pineapple Upsidedown Cake 5 Pandora's Box 6 On Stage 6 Old Glory 6 Niagara Falls 7 Love Pat 6 Lakeside Dragonfly 5 Kiwi Full Monty 5 Jimmy Crack Corn 5 Ice Age Trail 5 Halcyon 7 Fragrant Bouquet 8 First Frost 5 Elegans 7 El Nino 5 Earth Angel 5 Blue Mouse Ears 8 Abiqua Drinking Gourd 4 Abiqua Moonbeam 4 Alex Summers 4 August Moon 4 Big Daddy 4 Dick Ward 4 Dream Weaver 4 Fragrant Blue 4 Queen Josephine 4 Rainforest Sunrise 4 Revolution 4 Savannah Supreme 4 Spring Fling 4 Yellow River 3 Wolverine 3 Toy Soldier 3 Summer Music 3 Summer Breeze 3 Striptease 3 Stiletto 3 Risky Business 3 Rascal 3 Praying Hands 3 Potomac Pride 3 Permanent Wave 3 Parhelion 3 Olive Bailey Langdon 3 Marilyn Monroe 3 Lady Isobel Barnett 3 Fire and Ice 3 Maiden 3 Eskimo Pie 3 Blue Mammoth 3 Christmas Tree 3 There were 709 votes posted and 246 different hosta names were noted. Sorry, everything is not in perfect order. Papou

I meant sphagnum as THE media, yes. It's used in pots to grow neps and VFTs quite a bit, so why not in terrariums? Live would obviously be superior to re-wetted dried moss, but since dried moss has a tendency to 're-grow' through spores, it's still a good idea. Vermiculite, et all would be examples of substrates on their own, as with the sphag. moss for CP terrs. Vermiculite can also be added to a soil mix, but I use just bark, and I love it! All of my plants also love it, from the selaginella to ferns to broms to orchids, terrestrial or epiphytes. It is just a good substrate, that's all. =) CHC would be better than bark (doesn't break down as quickly), but it is much more expensive. DianaMay's post much have slipped off the edge! I really do hope someone copied it. . . I may have, I'll have to check tomorrow. Sterilization: Media: all good potting soils are sold already sterilized. This does not, however, guarantee that you won't get mold growing in your terrarium after you have set it up. But you might also get little ferns and mosses growing (I did), so perhaps it's not such a bad thing. Bark chips/mulches/CHC, etc. are not sterilized to the best of my knowledge, but I have not found sterilization to be neccessary for these substrates. Driftwood: if the piece is small enough to fit into your largest pot, cover it with boiling water and boil it for at LEAST 5 minutes. Make sure the wood is wet through, so that the entire piece of wood reaches 100 degrees C for at least 5 minutes. If the piece is large, I have found soaking it in a chlorine bleach solution works. Put it in your bathtub (for truly large pieces) or in a rubbermaid container, and cover with water and bleach. Let it soak for 24 hrs, then drain and rinse. Soak in fresh water for another 48 hrs, doing at least 2 complete water changes in this time, to leach out any chlorine residues. One could try adding a dechlorinator to the rinse water as well, to detoxify any remaining traces. The wood itself may actually bleach (turn white), so if you would not find that attractive, don't do it. Try soaking in soapy water (will kill bugs and eggs) instead. Do more rinse water changes if you use soap, because soap residue is more harmful to vivarium animals than chlorine. Rocks: just wash them like you would dishes. If they are textured and/or have lots of ridges, use an old toothbrush or similar item to scrub every nook and cranny. If you're really paranoid, you could also bleach your rocks. Again, make sure everything is well-rinsed. David: aquarium silicone can be found at most pet stores, and if not, then all specialty fish stores should have it. It is more expensive at a pet store though, so if a hardware store has it, get it there! Low light plants: pothos (aka devil's ivy), ferns (eg. Lemon Button Fern), Fittonia, lucky bamboo (Dracaena sanderana), parlour palm/neanthe bella (Chamadorea elegans), China doll (Radermachia sinica), Dracaena deremensis and cultivars, english ivy, Ficus (?), most non-variegated (plain green) plants. Med. light plants: african violets, selaginella, java moss, anubias, ferns (eg. Rabbit's Foot Fern), some variegated plants (white only, yellow and other colours need more light), many bromeliads, syngonium, green tillandias, Pilea (aluminium plant). High light plants: 'low light' orchids (Phals, Paphs, some species; anything rated at 500-2000 ft.c. of light), polka-dot plant, nepenthes, other carnivores, silver tillandsias, cryptanthus (to keep good colour), anthuriums. Very high light plants: more light-demanding orchids, like oncidiums, cattleyas, etc. It should be noted that most 'low light' plants are merely TOLERANT of low light. They will grow much faster, and more compactly, in better light. Do NOT go by how bright your tank looks to you, as the human eye is easily deceived. Pay attention to your plants. If they are leaning or stretching towards the light, or have very thin and gangly growth, or variegated plants revert to plain green (on new growth), they need more light. If plants look compact and robust, are growing at a good rate, keep their colour, or even develop a 'tan' (some orchids will get more purple in their leaves), you have good light. And no matter which bulbs you choose, always use a good reflector, or you will be loosing 50% of your light (the half of the bulb that faces away from your terrarium). As for watts/lumens per gallon, I have about 1W (CFl)/4W (Incandescent equivalent) per gallon, or 66 lumens/gal. That's four 23W Philips Daylight screw-in compacts evenly spaced over my 85 gallon terrarium. That is high light, enough to rebloom my Paph orchids, and low-light species like Bulbophyllums, but not enough for a polka-dot plant to maintain good colour. (Not good enough for me, anyways). Feel free to add more plants to my examples.

As you can see back when Ken did the FAQs he did an outstanding job. My recollection is they fell to the wayside due to a lack of member participation, and lack of member usage. This is unfortunate as the concept is an excellent idea. DA