Thanks! :) Your rooted cuttings make a lovely little tree but I'm not sure it's gonna be happy in that glass for long. My plantlets haven't grown much for a good while, only they filled their pots with roots. Not sure if the same's gonna happen to yours but if they grow, there won't be enough space. And to flush the medium you need holes at the bottom. All my semi-hydro plants are in normal pots with holes and saucer/cache pot underneath. The ones in non-draining glasses are bromeliads and they only get sprayed with water every now and then. I just wondered, how come your mother plant has plain green and variegated leaves at the same time?

>> These look like spider mites to me by the descriptions I've read. If so, should I spray soapy water all over the plant? Update for those who may be considering their spider mite options: spraying soapy water did nothing other than give me really sparkling clean spider mites. :-) Now they must be even more attractive to each other for their little dates and their nasty mating every three seconds. So, then I sprayed the plants with the flexible shower hose, trying to hit the underside of each leaf individually (trying not to think about little nasties flying all over my bathroom), and when the leaves dried, I do not see a single mite on any of the plants affected! I am relieved somewhat - not considering burning down my apartment anymore. Debating putting those plants back under the grow light next to other plants - but then giving them regular prophylactic underleaf showers and watching them like a hawk. Oh, and I used this excuse to throw away the croton. It was ugly-looking to begin with, and it's a mite magnet, so there it went. The roots were much more extensive and healthier in gritty mix than they were in peatier more water-retentive soil the last time I saw them (Al, thanks if you are still reading this). The amaryllis got a forceful shower right in-between the leaves. Other than washed out 1/3rd of the medium and slightly disturbed cottony stuff, that did very little. So rubbing alcohol treatment was next - q-tip in between the leaves to mechanically clean up the white cottony stuff. Then I dropped a drop of alcohol in-between each leaf for good measure. That one is definitely staying separate from other plants because mealybugs are so much worse than spider mites, I understand.

Hello everyone!! Just wanted to follow up on the Plumeria thoughts.. Plumeria do very well in fast draining mix and that is what i was looking for when i started changing my mix to the gritty Mix.. They like water just as much as any other tropical, but don't like wet feet, so with the draining of the mix and the great aeration of the roots provided with the mix comes happy roots. I don't worry about watering to much with this mix. i can water in the summer when i need to and not worry about root rot. They simply don't have any issues with perched water in this mix. They do like the wet/dry cycle, but can tolerate more water than if planted in the "standard" mix. This would be the problem. Wet..soil.. They do not like this at all.. My trees have turned around in the last few years and have been growing and blooming more than in the earlier years and i credit this growth and healthy trees to my change in Mix, fertilizer and overall knowledge in why everything starts with happy roots. (Better mix = happier trees) Many of my trees along with my huge collection of Plumeria C & S and other little trees are just loving the change.. Rina.. if i could send you a Plumeria in the spring, i would...not sure of the limitations on sending to Canada..but we shall see!! : ) Just wanted to chime in since Al mentioned my trees.. Thank you AL, you have helped me and my trees more than you will know. Mahalo!! SS... Nice pics..you have done a great job!! Welcome again!! Love the little sticks from AL.. LOL.. SOoo cute!! Plumeria for those that like them.. Kimi Moragne Take care.. Thanks Rina for letting me say a few things on your thread.. Hope you don't mind!! : ) Laura

@JMJ 4Life Really sorry to learn about your tree. I assume some part of the root mass is fused, so the soil/root mass remains intact like so: If the answer is yes, unpot the plant and set the root/soil mass on a stack of newspapers, rags, old towels, dry sponges - something that will PULL excess water from the soil. Allow it to rest on the wicking material for an hour or two before returning it to the pot it fits. Use a wooden "tell" to "tell" you when it's time to water, because with no water loss from foliage, the plant will require very little water. Using a 'tell' Over-watering saps vitality and is one of the most common plant assassins, so learning to avoid it is worth the small effort. Plants make and store their own energy source – photosynthate - (sugar/glucose). Functioning roots need energy to drive their metabolic processes, and in order to get it, they use oxygen to burn (oxidize) their food. From this, we can see that terrestrial plants need plenty of air (oxygen) in the soil to drive root function. Many off-the-shelf soils hold too much water and not enough air to support the kind of root health most growers would like to see; and, a healthy root system is a prerequisite to a healthy plant. Watering in small sips in order to avoid over-watering leads to a residual build-up of dissolved solids (salts) in the soil from tapwater and fertilizer solutions - which limits a plant's ability to absorb water – so watering in sips simply moves us to the other horn of a dilemma and creates another problem that requires resolution. Better, would be to simply adopt a soil that drains well enough to allow watering to beyond the saturation point, so we're flushing the soil of accumulating dissolved solids whenever we water; this, w/o the plant being forced to pay a tax in the form of reduced vitality, due to prolong periods of soil saturation. Sometimes, though, that's not a course we can immediately steer, which makes controlling how often we water a very important factor. In many cases, we can judge whether or not a planting needs watering by hefting the pot. This is especially true if the pot is made from light material, like plastic, but doesn't work (as) well when the pot is made from heavier material, like clay, or when the size/weight of the pot precludes grabbing it with one hand to judge its weight and gauge the need for water. Fingers stuck an inch or two into the soil work ok for shallow pots, but not for deep pots. Deep pots might have 3 or more inches of soil that feels totally dry, while the lower several inches of the soil is 100% saturated. Obviously, the lack of oxygen in the root zone situation can wreak havoc with root health and cause the loss of a very notable measure of your plant's potential. Inexpensive watering meters don't even measure moisture levels, they measure electrical conductivity. Clean the tip and insert it into a cup of distilled water and witness the fact it reads 'DRY'. One of the most reliable methods of checking a planting's need for water is using a 'tell' (more reliable than a 'moisture meter'. You can use a bamboo skewer in a pinch, but a wooden dowel rod of about 5/16” (75-85mm) works better. They usually come 48” (120cm) long and can usually be cut in half or in several pieces, depending on how deep your pots are. Sharpen both ends of each tell in a pencil sharpener and slightly blunt the tip so it's about the diameter of the head on a straight pin. Push the wooden tell deep into the soil. Don't worry, it won't harm the root system. If the plant is quite root-bound, you might need to try several places until you find one where you can push it all the way to the pot's bottom. Leave it a few seconds, then withdraw it and inspect the tip for moisture. For most plantings, withhold water until the tell's tip comes out nearly dry. If you see signs of wilting, adjust the interval between waterings so drought stress isn't a recurring issue. Al