Hi Al/plantcrazed/et. al., I thought I should come back and share some results from my "experiment" that I started at the end of April. The controls in my little trial were almost non-existent, but I think that actually makes the results more relevant to me and my growing conditions (and hopefully others will get something from this too). Back in April I got an order of leaves of 19 varieties of AVs. 14 came as pairs of leaves, so I decided to try growing them in different media. As I described in my post in mid-May, 14 leaves went in 100% vermiculite and 19 leaves in 100% turface fines (the smaller stuff left over after sifting for other mixes). The planting tray is an old kit I had leftover from years ago that has a clear cover for germinating/propagating. I had grand plans to carefully measure watering, leaf condition, first sign of roots/new leaves, etc. (like a good experimenter would), but the same day I planted the leaves my toddler ended up in the ER, kicking off several weeks of stress and doctor's visits, not to mention usual life events and adventures when working full time and caring for a small child. My plant care regimen settled in to, basically, watering when I noticed they looked dry. After the plantlets started to appear I took the covers off the trays, but otherwise I've just watered and left them under fluorescent lights and hoped for the best. Here are my results. Vermiculite 4 have plantlets, all of which seem to be growing alright 5 are mostly-dead or all-dead 1 formed a nice-looking plantlet that subsequently died, tho the leaf is still there and has roots 4 have roots but no sign of new leaves (yet?) Turface fines all 19 leaves are still alive 16 have multi-leaf plantlets 1 has a new leaf just beginning to appear 2 are strongly rooted and some gentle investigation revealed new leaves that just haven't broken the surface yet (I had just finished watering when I took this photo, which is why the turface shows wet and dry spots. This is what my usual watering of this tray looks like) A few other observations: the leaves of the new plants in the vermiculite are larger than any in the turface the leaves of the new plants in the turface are much smaller, but there are many of them, they are a strong green colour, and have a vital appearance (my experience tells me these are stronger plants than in the vermiculite) one variety was not in very good shape when it arrived. I considered complaining to the store owner about the quality, but see above re: bigger life priorities right now. That variety didn't survive more than a few days in the vermiculite. The leaf just rotted away. In the turface, it slowly rotted up the stem towards the leaf, but then rooted from the remaining piece of leaf and now has a lovely little plant growing: What these results say to me is that, for my horrible, neglectful treatment of these leaves, the turface was a better growing medium. I'm sure Al or Kevin/ewwmayo would have the correct terms for the properties of the two media, but I would say it seemed like the vermiculite contributed to a less stable environment - it went from a soggy mess when I watered to very dry, very quickly - and the turface was much more stable and allowed these poor things to survive despite my neglect. I've read some of the very lengthy threads about the properties of the various gritty mix ingredients and it makes sense to me that a plant like an AV that doesn't like to dry out but also hates being soggy would appreciate the turface's qualities of holding water but allowing for drainage and air movement through the medium. I think from now on the turface fines will be my preferred method for starting AV leaves (and likely other similar plants like episcias or begonias). I also moved two other AVs (a standard and a mini) into a modified gritty mix (1:1:1, but perlite in place of bark). So far nothing meaningful to report, though neither plant has bloomed and the mini seems to be happier than the standard. But with my neglect of the plants lately I don't think these results are meaningful, beyond saying that AVs can actually survive in the gritty mix even with an inconsistent and sub-optimal care routine. If there's anything interesting to report as these AVs continue to grow and I pot them up (likely into a gritty mix of some sort), I'll be sure to come back with an update. I would happily accept comments/questions/criticisms of my results, but please be kind in your criticisms of my care routine. I might be bad with my plants, but this little one is thriving: Thanks everyone, Melanie

For sure, it's a bit of a transition and it takes some time to get used to the differences in watering and feeding and the like, but in the end, it's well worth the extra effort! Also... be sure to soak that bark overnight before using it in your medium... so it doesn't go hydrophobic on you! You want it ready and able to absorb some moisture when you do water the newly potted plant. When I mix my batches of medium, I add some water to moisten, mix it well, cover my container, and leave it set a day or two to absorb before using it. That way, it's already evenly moistened and I know that unless I forget to water for a really long time, I won't have any problems with it, or with the newly potted plant getting used to its new environment. Happy Gardening!

In my experience, a high % of the growers looking at your plant will be saying, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it"; and if I had a nickel for every time I heard the advice given, I'd be a lot closer to a comfortable retirement. Do you ever hear, "If your car still starts, forget about changing the oil" or "Why bother having the brakes fixed if you haven't had an accident yet?" You know best what the original root mass is like. If it's badly congested, it will affect the plant as long as it remains that way, but it's not a decision I can make ..... whether to go for the whole repot now, or wait until early summer next year. I suppose I would weigh the likelihood that I could get the plant through the winter in decent shape and use that as the issue on which the decision balances. If you're confident you can, then what harm in waiting? If you're concerned, then maybe best to don your gloves and git 'er done. I don't think you need to spray the roots with neem oil .... I've never done it, so can't share how the plant might or might not react. Any idea what the active ingredient was in the insecticide you were given to use on the soil's inhabitants? Keep us posted? More questions I might help with? Observations? Al

Hi CK, I also live in Singapore and have just rebooted my container gardening efforts using the knowledge and advice that is so generously offered by many on GardenWeb. I am using Orchiata Precision Grade (3mm - 6mm) as the pine bark component of Al's 5-1-1 mix. I have also been following the advice from Al's fertilising containerised plants threads and have been getting really positive results (I am growing peppers and tomatoes and a few herbs). A couple of things worth mentioning: Trawling back through the container soil posts I get the feeling I should have gone with one of Orchiata's larger grades (e.g. 6mm - 9mm). I think I might have gotten confused about the best size for 5-1-1 vs gritty. In any event the precision grade seems to be working well for me at the moment. I noticed that Orchiata treat their bark with dolomite. I had added dolomitic lime to my mix prior to realising this, however it doesn't seem to have negatively impacted my plants at all. Anyway, I hope you are have lots of fun and success! Please feel free to get in touch if you would like to compare notes about container gardening in Singapore! Kind Regards, Brad