Mosinau, you many not even realize, but the entire opening post is about plants being killed by not drying quickly enough, and more water being added before they have dried. Roots need oxygen as well as moisture. Without both, they can rot and can't perform their job well, or at all once rot sets in. It may seem like a separate issue for each plant, but it sounds like one same issue to me. That is what the responses so far have been addressing. "varying watering habits(I view it as more of a chore now, while earlier I went by the website's instruction- every day)." That's way too often. When plants are dry, they need water. The amount of time it takes a particular pot to dry can vary, so a set schedule often does more harm than good. "Does having a nutrient source near the end accelerate the growth?" If this is all connected as one plant, nutrients obtained by one part will be shared with the whole plant. " My secondary question is about the micans only- its unusual leaves look like they catch a lot of dust. Is this bad and if so, how do I clean them off?" I put my plants outside in the rain when it's warm enough in the spring to clean off the winter dust. In general your focus seems to be making plants grow faster. To do that, the focus needs to start at the roots. No part of a plant can be healthy without healthy roots. In nature, there are many different types of soil and climate environments. In a house, there's usually one climate. As far as the soil part goes, the best thing we can do is offer something that provides moisture without rotting roots. "I'd like to eventually make up a pot that combines all my plants of this type." That sounds cool, I do that too. Plants with similar light and moisture requirements should do well together in the same pot. Eventually one might crowd the others out, at which time you could trim the bigger one, or redo the whole thing and kind of start over. "Schefflera(maybe Luseane). I know this can work in my house because my parents have one already and it is our most magnificent plant. I got one myself, unsure of how it propagates and not wanting to sacrifice any of the main one, but after a while of decent growth, it just sort of rotted away." The roots likely rotted. "Like with the Pileas, I had been following the watering instructions on the Exotic Angel Plants website, which called for watering every 2 or 3 days, I believe. I also had it in my room, which has somewhat lower light." They will tell you what they think you want to hear. Everyone wants some magic plant that can look great and even grow in some dark boring corner. Sure, there are a few of these out there, but the 'low light' designation on EA website shouldn't be given much weight, especially by someone like yourself who wants plants to grow at a visible pace as fast as they can. I put Scheff outside in the sun, all day (when plants aren't in the house hiding from winter.) While...

The Pilea Peperomioides (Chinese Money Plant) is the plant I've been wanting! I've looked everywhere (as you all know its really low inventory - most people start their own with a clipping from a friend's). Might anyone find it in their hearts to possibly cut off a little offshoot and mail it to me in NY state (USA)? I promise I would then grow it and pay it forward (or back) ! Please consider. I'm at xanda.martins@gmail.com

Holly - there is a 'care triangle' formed by soil choice, watering habits, and your nutritional supplementation (fertilizing) program that is easy to get right, but it's also easy to form a pattern that ends up with the plant not realizing a significant amount of the potential Mother Nature provided in your plants' genetic code. IOW, every plant (excepting a very few mutants) has the potential to be a beautiful specimen. Your part in making that happen centers on your ability to recognize and correct those things that limit your plant(s). For the greatest part, inappropriate light and poor root health are the most significant areas of limitations that bring folks here seeking remedial advice. Watering habits/soil choice are likely where you'll gain the most traction. Ideally, you'll take some time to learn how to put together a soil that allows you to water to a point well beyond complete soil saturation (so water is draining from the drain hole and carrying the excess of salts from tapwater and fertilizer solution with it), without the soil remaining wet so long that it impacts root function or health. Root metabolism and water uptake (which by default also includes nutrient uptake) is an energy driven process that MUST take place in the presence of oxygen. The oxygen is an absolute requirement if the plant is to 'burn' the food it makes during photosynthesis to drive these processes. Too much water in the root zone = not enough air = limited root function and often diseased roots = a sickly plant with limited eye appeal. A happy root system is a prerequisite to a happy plant. Fertilizing correctly is monkey easy if you can water correctly (as described), but there are a few considerations that go into choosing an appropriate fertilizer. I'll leave that for a later point in time, as in after I seeing whether or not you have interest in further exploring the things I touched on. Something meant to be helpful. (Click me and I'll take you there.) If you have an insect issue and need to use a soap, it's best to avoid all kinds of commercially prepared detergents. This topic comes up so frequently that I saved a reply to paste into my offerings ... Detergents Dishsoap/ detergent’s effect on plants varies with the mode of exposure. If the top of the plant is sprayed with even mild detergent solutions such that all surfaces, including leaves, are covered, the detergent can easily dissolve the protective coating of cuticular wax on the leaves of the plant. This causes abnormally high rates of water loss and possible necrosis of all or part of the leaf. Cuticular waxes prevent leaves from drying out, and help stop pathogens from attacking the leaf. Strong solutions will even dissolve cell membranes, causing death of the cells.+ If a detergent solution is used as a soil drench or makes its way into the soil as a consequence of overspray or run-off, the effect on roots is immediate. Because one of the main function of roots is to absorb water and nutrients dissolved in water, they lack the waxy protective coating that leaves employ. Detergent solution in contact with root cells can quickly dissolve the lipid membrane surrounding cells, killing the cells and inhibiting water/ nutrient uptake. Hair cells growing as appendages off larger roots do the lion’s share of assimilating water and nutrients, and these very delicate cells would be the first casualty of any detergent in the root zone. There are widely available insecticidal soaps, designed to be used topically and made from potassium fatty acids, that are specifically formulated to be safe for mammals & birds, death on most insects they contact, and safe for plants. If you need something soapy, it would be much better if you selected a product intended for use on plants than one intended for other purposes. Al

It looks sunburnt. Move it to an East facing window for the summer, and you can move it back to the first window for the other seasons. North will be too little and south will be even more sun.