He is very much alive!! And still very active here and continuing to generously dispense invaluable advice and information to all container gardeners. No doubt be will be around when he sees this post :-)

Just go ahead and post your questions now....and then he can start responding as soon as he reads them. There are a lot of other very experienced container gardening folk around as well, if Al is slow to get back to you.

Thank you sooooo much for your reply! I'm so happy he's alive and well and contributing! There's hope for my Dracenas (Thing One and Thing Two) yet! Many thanks

What’s your question Rose?

LOL!! Mike, Rose has already connected with Al. And considering your newness to this hobby and rather glaring lack of experience and plant care knowledge, if I were you I would not be putting myself forward as being able to answer many questions. Nor would I put much faith in any answers you might provide.

As an aside, you could gain much from reading anything that Al writes as it pertains to houseplants and container gardening over all. He is a respected and recognized authority on these matters. And you still have a great deal to learn.....give it another 10-20 years :-)

Hi Rose - I'm still pushing out CO2. What can we do to help you? Thanks for the kind words, BTW - you too, Pam. I always enjoy reading your well-considered commentary.

Al

Hi Everyone! And thank you all for being available and alive. Much joy in my day today, and you all are part of it!

Thank you for your link to the Agg potting mixes, Al! MUCH more reasonably priced ingredients than repotme, though I am impressed, still, by the quality of stuff at repotme.

I am guiding my essential purchase of potting mix by choosing one that yields aeration (large size without small piece congestion), durability of structure, and uniformity of partical size . The Agg site gives me more control of uniformity than repotme does . I am back to the drawing board!

Also, thanks for the info about when to repot houseplants. I was set to start this month but will wait until the week before the summer solstice when my Dracenas spring into serious growth!

They are so happy, and grew some during winter. It would kill me to have them take a dive after repotting. I am seriously considering a mix from Agg so I can control particulate size and uniformity. But the quality at repotme is breathtaking. I want what's best for Thing One and Thing Two even if I have to shell out some serious money to do so.

I thank you for your time and interest!🌱☀🌈😊

PS. I am going to reread everything you wrote, Al, and this time I am taking NOTES. I will resubmit my next potting mix formula when I arrive at it. I don't like that 5:1:1:1:1 mix I originally had anymore. Too much little stuff in it. That's the frightened New Plant Mom in me. I want to shove every good thing I can in a mix to absolutely ensure the success and health of my little guys. I think the book learning will be easier to do than bending my will against fear and old ideas in order to be the best plant mom I can be. But I'm on it, Al, I'm fighting the Good Fight.

😳😲😬

Trying to incorporate into your care regimen everything you see/hear that sounds like a good idea will just create obstacles that can easily be avoided by the KISS approach. I can think of several people here at GW/Houzz who eventually got it right after a short period of being their own worst enemy. It really is very easy to become very proficient at growing by getting only a few cultural issues right - media choice being one.

Al

Hey Al, I sent you a PM...thanks!

Deanna

D- I'm still behind in answering mail from GW, but I did provide my email so you can send images.

Wow, so glad to see youre here Al thanks so much for all your knowledge!!! i moved back to my parents to the pandemic and have been getting really serious about my container gardening!