Hank...WOWEE!!!!...Your Aglaos, and other plants are gorgeous and doing terrific! Your A. Cochin is the reddest I've ever seen. You were able to transport Aglaos from Thailand?? Bet that was a lot of red tape. BTW, your variegated Monstera is beautiful, the same with your variegated Spath..The only problem is your Spath isn't a Domino. lol..Domino's variegation looks like patches--blended together. But your Spath is so much nicer than Domino anyway. Did all your plants come from Thailand? I'm going back to Flickr and expand each pic..lol..They're too nice to pass up. Love your Philos, too.. When you were in Bangkok, did you come across a Dracaena Goldiana? They don't look like any ordinary Dracaenas here in the states..colors are unbelievable. I bet you saw amazing plants, lots of color and unusual flowers. Did you get to see the plant they called Parrot Plant? I read this plant is endangered. The area one grows is guarded..if someone were to take a cutting or pick a flower, they'd go to jail. lol. Sorry, can't recall its botanical name. One more thing. You asked if Aglao's will ever look pretty after gray winters..Yes, they will. Especially reds and pinks. One reason, even though they're considered low-light plants, mine are in north and west windows, with additional light. And each are misted daily. Is Thailand humid?? Elkay. DON'T give up. How often do you water? Do you let soil dry between waterings? This is most important during winter months, otherwise they rot. I made that mistake with two green Aglaonemas, 'Aleyas,' in 4" pots. Talk about upset!!! I know what you mean about losing plants, but it happens. You said your Aglaos have a few leaves. Where are they located? Top, middle, bottom? I've never cut back an Aglao trunk, 'w/reds' so don't know if it'd work. However, someone gave me a green, 'don't know species,' Aglao, that grew 4'+, fell and broke in half. I rooted the top half in the same pot w/mom, and it rooted. No side shoots grew, so it doesn't look lopsided. Are you planning on ordering from Aleya again? I want to, but have to wait for warmer days..lol..Toni

I'd wait until spring when things start to grow again. You can just stake it if it's falling over, then in the warmer months, you can cut the stems back to about an inch or two from the soil line, new growth will eventually sprout near where you made the cuts (can be slow) The stems of the tops with leaves can be cut back to around 6"-7" or less and can be planted either in a small pot of their own, or plant them back in with the smaller stems left in the pot for a more fuller look. If you just want them separated at any point, just cut the root-ball in sections. I had to do something with mine this year, like yours, the plants were top heavy, more stem than leaves, so I cut the stems back to about an inch, then planted the upper leafy sections (cut down) between the rooted cut ones left in the pot. Now instead of two plants, I'll have four. Billy Rae

it would be nice if nancy answered - she's very experienced with ag's. but she does hydro. but she would know anyway... i only just started last yr with thai ag. so i would say: add 40-50% perlite to MG soil mix. pot up a well growing plant in just slightly larger pot (2" wider in diameter) without disturbing the roots. put some soil 1-2" on the bottom, then put your old pot in and fill carefully soil into the sides, firm it a bit with fingers or spoon handle to compact just lightly. then rock the pot a bit to firm up 'imprint', lift. take plant out of the old pot and drop it in the new soil pocket. this way the plant will not even flinch! when you have same size empty pot for imprint - it's easier to work. now the mushy stem: you need to cut off the stem above the mushy part - you might be able to root in moistened perlite (bagged). also the rhizome below might be rotting. so you need to pull the soil-ball out, knock off some soil - so you can see what's happening inside. if rhizome is rotting too - you'll need to cut off the mushy part until it's white and clean. let it air-dry for 1-2 hours and dust the cut with cinnamon. then you can repot. if you have a lot of roots exposed - try to bag the root-ball to prevent moisture loss. you can down-size the pot or put it in the same one - depending on what's happening to the roots: rotting or healthy. put both in good bright light (no sun), keep warm - above 68F, 70F is better. tent the sick one with a large clear plastic bag with hole on top for ventilation. just for a few weeks until you see growth starting. oh, when you pre-mix your soil, do it like this: put perlite in large container, add water until it's a slurry, let it get absorbed (like cement), then fluff it up and add to soil. mix well. after you pot - do not water more , there will be enough moisture in the mix. ag's should never totally dry-out (in summer may be top 1/3 , in winter top 1/2 - do like cake test with chopstick). but do not over soak them ever , don't let water stand in saucers. the roots rot easily. here's a very good write-up from the aroid society Here is a link that might be useful: ag-success

I can't tell what it is, if it's clear then it's not mealies. But the stuff on the plant looks white, so maybe a better pic would help. I don't think mealies are that bad, actually. While I don't like chemicals, there are systemics that will clear them up fairly quickly. I don't see them very often and I stay on top of that kind of thing. I'll sometimes unpot a plant and spray the whole thing, roots and all, with a fine, hard spray from the garden hose. Have to be sure to get down in the space where the petiole attaches to the stem. But that usually does the trick.