Thank You novascapes! I had a giant boulder pile that a skilled stone mason converted into a a very artisty stone wall for me. He was freeto express himself in the wall and he did. I love it, he did it by hand and worked around the the natural shelves and legdes that the pile had, to create a wall. It is absolutly beautiful. Before he did the work, we had a massive snake problem. but Prior to the Stone mason, for seven years I planted the boulders. I grew to like having the ground cover and succulents growing out of it. Now that the work is done, I wanted to re-planbt the wall but my husband is against covering any potion of the wall. Now, I realize that I was contributing to the snake problem. The Boulder wall is between 6 feet high and one run of the wall is 70 feet long. Your kind response has put settleed the issue in my heart. I am going to leave the wall alone.

Hi Marty, Physics will tell us that the water comes up the wick, the only place it has to go is where something is more absorptive (and has the capacity for it). This is in fact, why the water comes up the wick! The soil has to be dryer than the wick to draw the water from it-and can't have a barrier against it. Now I know you're saying that the soil is dry but read on... Just IMHO, either: 1. There's not enough soil at the bottom of the root ball for it to draw water from it. 2. The circumference of the wick isn't big enough to really provide the needed moisture. 3. The wick isn't letting it go-perhaps it's coated with something that doesn't allow water to escape. 4. The soil is too dry and has formed a non-permeable barrier against it. So number 4 I have run into. Sphagnum moss *can* get this way sometimes. In fact, I have placed a couple plants into a container to water them from the bottom and found they wouldn't draw water up at all. I had to water them from the top-ensuring the "soil" got damp-before they'd draw from the bottom. It's not quite the same as just watering them first. You have to ensure the Sphagnum moss gets wet. That being said-next time I repot I'm going to amend my soil-less soil with something that enables it to better draw the water up-retains more moisture. In your case, you might want to try the soil thing first. If that doesn't work, then change the wick to something else. Or vice-verse! I'd just do one thing at a time-take one plant and try one thing. If that doesn't work try the next. Otherwise you might not know what the cause was! Best, Judy This post was edited by judyj on Tue, Sep 2, 14 at 19:25

Nah. Just leave them alone and they'll fall off all by themselves. You seem to be concerned that the plant won't get enough water now. Let the surface of the soil dry out. It does NOT need to "look" moist. Get a bamboo skewer and stick it in the soil and leave it. When you want to know if the soil is wet enough, pull out the skewer. It will be dark at any level that the soil is sufficiently moist for the plant. Or just wait until it wilts a little. Peppers prefer it too dry than too wet; wilt won't hurt them at all. Dennis BTW, no matter what the manufacturer says, remove the peat pot when potting up. It may take a few roots with it, but the plant will benefit greatly. Peat pots act like real pots in that they constrict the roots. I've seen plants in large pots with no (or very few) roots beyond the original peat pot.

Agree with the above. Woody Mediterranean-type herbs are hard to keep going inside. They need full sun and will not tolerate wet soil. I've tried rosemary in containers outside many times and it's never really taken off. They like sandy, well-draining potting medium that is not loaded up with fertilizers. You might try a citrus/catcus mix for potting soil, but without full sun it won't really matter. If you want a herb houseplant you might try dill, cilantro, parsley, chives. They might tolerate low light conditions better, but again you need to cut back on the water and let the potting soil dry out between watering.