Composted bark is nice except that in 2-3 yrs it will degrade. It may work well for vigorous plants that are repotted frequently- I don't know which varieties you have but some Agaves and Aloes might qualify, as would something like Adenium. But in general, composts should be used in low amounts for most succulents. It should work fine for Bromeliads and other epiphytes. Probably bad for most Stapeliads (Huernia) and Haworthias. Probably not good for Echeveria. Sedums are variable and pretty amenable for the most part. In nature, succulents often grow in poor soils with minimal organic/ humic content. Bark and peanut hulls are the opposite. They do have excellent qualities for things like propagating, and growing tropical plants. Perlite, pumice, aquarium gravel, dry stall, lava rocks, and other inert ingredients are great. I personally use garden soil and mix it with un-dyed aquarium gravel/ lava rocks. I have a corner in my garden that I "quarry" from, it's a patch of dirt that is untouched, no chemicals, nothing is allowed to grow except the occasional weed or grass. There is not much organic component, it is mainly clayey loam, which compresses together when wet. Not perfect but I have adapted my watering, and it's great when inert material is added. This created an almost 100% non-organic mix. The best part about it is that's it's recyclable since there is nothing to degrade, so when I repot or consolidate, I re-use the mix without any detriment. I personally avoid perlite because it floats when dry, which is annoying.

Addy, just for fun, I looked at "your page" to see where you are located. Just says 6/7. Hmmmm? Mountains of the Carolinas perhaps? Just trying to get a bead on where/what you're dealing with. When in doubt, get the invasives out I always say. That is, we-meaning any one of us-may not know exactly where we're trying to get a certain piece of land to get to, but we do at least know we don't want the whole shebang covered in invasive vining plants and shrubs, or what have you. And then again, for me, forest succession is really what it's all about. By looking at things through that paradigm, it helps get one away from the more typical "landscaping" frames of reference, even though those may still come into play. Then again, for my magnum opus, I chose wooded land in an area not particularly given over to invasive plant species (With the one exception being reed canary grass-and that only in pockets). so what I'm saying is, up in my woods, pretty much every plant species is welcome there. Sure, I am working to diminish a patch or two of sandbar willow, but that's kind of a separate thing. It's not as if this willow is invading into the shade......it could never do that. So I've got an area where I'd prefer meadow plants and very tiny volunteers of Thuja occidentalis, rather than the willow. But most of my property is great just the way it is. Then too, one of my primary goals is to increase the size of the woods I happen to own now. Therefore, it was essential that I buy land with some open area present, some farm acreage that I could convert back into forest. Hence, our planting of something like 8000 seedlings thusfar. You see-I'm not exactly fighting the same kind of battle you are. Then there's my job, wherein I do indeed get my share of battling invasive stuff. But that's a slightly different scenario. Some of the "invasives" that we fight are herbaceous, or grasses, or even aquatic. For example, up here at least, cattails will completely dominate a wetland if you let them. So even though some of the cattails we see are the native latifolia types, we do battle with them, just so that we can enjoy the benefits of a more diverse emergent-zone plant community, complete with bulrushes, irises, bur reeds, arrowheads, etc. So where ya at? I'll be spending a good chunk of Dec. down in the Fort Myers area of Florida again. So what do I tend to do down there? What else-visit nature preserves, botanical gardens, etc! In fact, some amount of volunteering is certainly in the offing. It's interesting to see somewhat similar issues in a part of the country which ostensibly would be very different from where one lives. In fact, I see a great many parallels between that state and my own-tons of water, tons of damaged wetlands and abuse of the landscape, yet still much to offer. I don't think I answered your question though! +oM

OK. I have more than a bit of a concern. I have reviewed the requirements to perform NACA home inspections. First and foremostÂÂ for an entity that seems so committed to making certain that the buyer is "protected", it appears as if the only qualifications to become a NACA HI is the ability to take digital photos, upload them, and to use a specific software (that can be downloaded at no cost) to use emailÂ...and upload all to the web. In other wordsÂÂnot much more than the ability to fog a mirror. In addition, their description of a "home inspection" appears to focus on the utilities and energy efficiency...both of which are beyond the scope of a home inspection...and, both of which few if any HI's are even remotely qualified to perform...even if they are excellent and fully experience HI's. A meaningful assessment of "utilities" and/or energy efficiency is a complex analysis...Â.requiring specialized education and trainingÂengineering capabilities in terms of load analysis, etcÂand as such generally cost around 500 to 700 dollars.... on top of the cost of a home inspection. It is not reasonable to assume that NACA HI's are getting paid $1000 a pop (give or take)....especially since they make a point of stating that the HI must have "competitive" rates, while dangling the "lots of business" carrot as the "incentive" for those "competitve" rates. As the expression goes...one invariably gets what one pays for... In addition, since the site seems geared toward those purchasing homes on the low end price range (e.g. they only give Newark NJ as a NJ location)Âit is usually a given that such homes are often the least energy efficient due to age and lack of upgrades and/or maintenanceÂ.and unless such buyers have tens of thousands to expend on serious energy upgrades (solar panels, high efficiency furnaces, etc), the very obvious need for new windows or caulking or weather stripping is hardly the result of an inspection for energy efficiencyÂitÂs merely citing visible defects. Last but not least, there seems to be zero requirements for the HI to be licensed if the state they practice in regulates the profession. That said, I am not at all optimistic that the unsuspecting buyer will have the option of obtaining a meaningful home inspectionÂand that is very troubling to say the leastÂ.in that it appears as if they may be led to believe otherwise. Which makes one wonderÂwhat else about NACA is not as it "appears" to be? I am having this researched further...I will post back with any additional info.

I would cut it back in the fall to about 3' high and put the glass back in the frame over it. In the spring after it got to growing and when the outside temps got high enough, I would pull the glass off and let it grow up thru the greenhouse frame. It got a lot bigger than a normal Better boy over the years. I guess the extra care it got? Or maybe I got my seeds mixed up and it was an indeterminate? Very possible because I'm bad about doing that! I got Red Robins mixed up last year....... I had 5' tall plants, not Red Robin! I built the greenhouse from plans I drew up by reading a lot of books, before the internet became what it is now. I built it in 1989. I think the greenhouse was the key for it to live so long. I faced it directly south as the sun goes, not magnetic south. The back wall and partial sides were made of heavily insulated steel roofing. 1/2 of the greenhouse, back side, was filled with water barrels to hold heat. And it was sealed tight. I got some triple pane glass from an old business that was being torn down, then built the frame to match the glass. I could heat it in cloudy, 20 degree weather with a small heater or a Coleman lantern! I had some mirror like reflectors on the back side to help with the light. It was my haven in winter! Even though my tomatoes weren't really producing during the winter, I could sit in there and smell spring! LOL I also grew lettuce and other stuff in there. Sorry, I'm starting to ramble!