I've just started wreaths for Christmas gifts. It does take a long time for them to grow in. They say you need 100 cuttings to make one, but I don't have that many for 6 wreaths!!! So I have to wait for the ones I do have to grow. They are done on 12in forms, but are about 14-16in with moss. I use florist pins to hold the cuttings in and the wreaths can be hung after a couple of weeks. It's not my intent to hang them, however. They do dry out too fast when hung I think. They look nice on the patio tables. I also bought two sphere frames to do kissing balls which I haven't started yet.

Before you change the mix, may I pls. suggest instead of C&S mix w/ extra perlite, try African Violet mix w/added perlite (like 30-40% at least). I learned this the hard way w/my Holiday cacti, the C&S mix is too lean & too heavy; AV mix as supplemented as I suggest, is lighter & flufffier & it'll be better. If you still have the branches that broker off, you can just stick back int eh pot w/ the remaining plant & they'll root (as long as their up/down orientation is not changed). FYI: if the banana peel were a good idea, likely some of us would have heard of it. Just as I have in fact, heard of this practice for Staghorn Ferns (very different plants than these).

sootie: This is a fun subject and I hope you're up to a good deal of experimentation. Coincidentally, I'm finalizing some notes for an upcoming "Container Gardening" class I'll be doing here on the Central Coast. Because of your post, I've been looking far and wide for some good info on vegetables in containers and, specifically, in hanging baskets. The fact is, there ain't much out there. The British have done a great deal of work on this concept but even info from their sources doesn't show much in the way of good cultivars for any type of veggie besides summer veggies such as tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, and even zucchini squash. No peas. As far as I can tell, there hasn't been much breeding work in the way of dwarfish garden peas for hanging baskets. Also, I've seen regular peas grown in small containers in the past and I wasn't impressed (to put it mildly). The good news is, your "research" may prove useful (one way or another). Joe

Hi Ange and welcome back, I guess for now just keep things going with water as the location in the old greenhouse has suited for so long. Personally I've never much minded whether plants are rare or common, in either case they can be very rewarding when they thrive, or improve, with a little TLC. If you are replanting you'll have to be prepared with some basics on the assumption that the potting mix they were in, may have really passed its used-by-date except for tossing on the compost heap. Your preparations depend a lot on available cash, available resources, and ingenuity. If you are are a recycler you can probably find what you need. The plants absolutely won't mind what they are planted in, so make do with replacement pots (if the originals break in the process). Plastic pots may break apart, wire ones may be saved but you might need new lining material - there are commercial liners you can buy or coir/bark that you might have available already. What you'll probably need are - spare baskets in case the originals fall apart in the process, and a few pots to spare for making other plants to grow on or give away potting mix suitable to the plants you are dealing with - if ferns and succulents they will both need a little freer draining than most pot mixes, but you can do that by adding more to one and less to another, of a good brand. fertilizer - which they are probably lacking a bit - in the form of slow-release in plastic /pellet form or aged manure of most sources maybe something to lessen transplant shock, like sea-weed emulsion some LABELS for when you have them ID'd a tranquilizer or two (for you) no I'm kidding but the mess upon breaking up a well-established plant and wondering whether you've done the right thing, can throw you a bit. The potting mix blend, and the manner of breaking up plants, or re-potting them, comes next, and you probably DO need to identify them as some ferns have underground growth and some have rhizomey thingeys (you can tell I am an expert) that are happy to grow on the surface or in or out of the pots. Posting pics is not hard here, it depends on whether you have them on your computer hard drive or are trying to link from a web-site. If the latter, you use the link "optional Link URL and cut and paste the location of the photo on your computer. BUT there are size limits it must be under 61 kb to be accepted, or you will have to downsize it a little. Sorry for the waffle, clarify more if you can and I'm sure people can help. Alison