ptamom, florantha, fori, and trailrunner - thanks so muck for your feedback. Thanks holligator for the grout color feedback. I ended up trying to match the more beige tones in the tile to tone down the greens and yellows. I think it works. My one concern is that the sealer will make it darker. I don't think your grout looks lighter, just really great. muspic, I agree with you. I think once it is painted (later today) and the herbs are in place it will look fine. At least that is my hope. Thanks laurainlincoln. Staying strong here. It is a working kitchen, sayde. It's purpose is for serious cooking and not so serious enjoying of the cooking. It's about balance and I'm really trying to achieve that here. So here's the latest update....Finished tiling Sunday and grouting yesterday. Still have some touch ups and csulking to do today but he did it. When all was said and done he did say he was very pleased with the results. That's a very high accolade coming from him. Here's some pics! I love it! I love it so much I'm not even going to mind paint window trim today :) And I detest retailed trim painting because it's so time consuming. Thanks for all of your support. The end result was worth all of the angst. I'll post another pic when the herbs are in and it's what I hope it will be.

Gill & Crenda are right on. 8" pot sounds too large. It is not that they like smaller pots. The big pot is not necessary, and makes watering - in water retaining soil - more of the problem. Big pot = lots of soil = better chance of overwatering. For so much soil, the plant will sit in a 'muck' for too long, I suspect that's what happened to your plant. Forget the vermiculite (return it if you can - it is nor very good soil amendment). If you have to use C&S soil, please use a small amount of it (20, max 30%) and amend with grit & perlite. Many ppl mix it 50/50, but to make it better draining, decrease soil portion (especially if you have 'heavy hand' with watering can, as I used to too :)

I think it's disingenuous to suggest that a well-made 5:1:1 mix needs constant watering. It doesn't. Even the gritty mix, that holds even less water than the 5:1:1 mix doesn't need constant watering. Do you have to water more often than more water-retentive mixes? Yes. But there is a price to be paid in the form of lost potential for the convenience of soils that hold water for extended intervals. Denise: there is a monetary consideration that clearly delineates hobby growers from professional growers. Nursery/greenhouse ops wouldn't be willing to pay employees to water twice as often as a heavier mix because they've weighed the cost of limitations due to temporary periods of excess water retention against the cost of watering more frequently, and decided it's to the advantage of their bottom line to sacrifice some lost potential to save labor $. The hobby grower is in the hobby to scratch their nurturing gene. for the most part, They actually feel good about spending more time with their plants and offering them the best care they can afford, as opposed perhaps to the cheapest soil they can find. Think of it in terms of the difference in perspectives between a puppy mill and the owner of a new puppy - two completely different worlds. So, care given by a nursery and greenhouse of will always be in consideration of the bottom line, which means following their lead will not always be in the best interest of the plant. Your care and mine are far more likely to be about providing the best care we can. Holding up the practices of a greenhouse or nursery is a little like asking us to emulate a puppy mill. I know - tugging at your heart strings. I wasn't really trying to do that - just the first good comparison that popped into my mind. Chicken farmer/ pet chicken, beef grower/ pet cow is another. If a plant is properly handled during a repotting session, it would be extremely unusual to lose a plant. Look at the two following root reductions where well over 90% of the roots were removed:Here, I have just finished pruning the top. This is after the root work was completed: Here ^^^, about 1/2 of the roots have already been removed The plant with root work complete:Note the size of the roots I removed. Many were more than 1" in diameter. In subsequent repots, I have removed all the knobby roots from the bottom of the bole. This plant was grown in the gritty mix - note the remarkably (for a maple) fibrous root system. The entire soil mass, you can see, is densely packed with the fine roots that do the lion's share of the work. After the root work: If you look, you can see the wire that shows this tree was layered above a poorly formed (but not unhealthy) root system. Where each of the 7 main roots are now, those that emanate horizontally from the trunk, I bored 7 holes into the sapwood and treated each hole individually with IBA rooting gel. I ended up with 7 perfectly spaced roots that will look great when they are later exposed on top of the soil. One more series, just to illustrate how little trees care about having half or more of their root systems removed: Again - note how healthy the roots are. ^^^ I wouldn't suggest you approach root pruning this radically, but removing 1/3 to 1/2 of a young plant's roots (younger than say 25 years) should be no problem. Plants that grow extremely fibrous roots (boxwood, azalea .....) need a slightly different approach. Keep the roots always wet while you work. First remove all problem roots (crossing, encircling, girdling, j-hooked roots - roots that grow upward, straight down, and roots that grow back toward the center of the root mass. After the problems are corrected (makes future repots much easier - the first is always the hardest) concentrate on removing the largest roots with the fewest fine roots attached. We know that root congestion negatively impacts growth, vitality (health) and yields, and those limitation become increasingly severe as root congestion increases. Pruning a bit around the edges of the root/soil mass and potting up is a half measure that ensures limitations remain until someone physically gets into the root mass and corrects the congestion and problem roots. Even planting out (in the landscape) will not eliminate the effects of congestion in the soil mass that existed at plant-out time. Al

then you may have sunburned the leaves ... are they the tallest.. and perhaps the one that shaded those under???.. can you note some pattern ... ken