@Readilly I think for some of us propagating plants from pieces is something that borders on 'essential' to satisfying our need to nurture. Often after pruning a tree or herbaceous plant I find myself with a handful of cuttings that I've already prepared for sticking, even though I have no desire to take on the additional work of caring for them. I'm often forced to ask myself what I'm going to do with them after they root, which results in my tossing them with the remaining clippings. It's a very hard habit to break, and I'm guessing it's even harder when there's the emotional attachment you describe.
But having a strong source of light for 12 hours isn't natural (if they were in a south facing window), so it's interesting how the leaves are showing a lack of light. I'm not sure what you mean by the text in bold. I'm pretty sure I'll be able to comment if I know what your getting at.
All the pots have drainage holes except for one. I am careful not to overwater. The 2 primary issues with pots having no drain holes are 1) It makes it very difficult to maintain an appropriate ratio of air:water in the grow medium. Too much water and too little air limits root function and can set the plant up for root diseases. 2) It makes it nearly impossible to flush the soil. Flushing the soil is beneficial in that it A) limits accumulations of dissolved solids (salts) from tapwater and fertilizer solutions. A high level of dissolved solids limits water and nutrient uptake and takes a heavy toll on eye appeal. B) It prevents a badly skewed ratio of nutrients, each to the others. Skewed nutrient ratios cause antagonistic deficiencies, which occur when an excess of one nutrient limits uptake of one or more other nutrients. Example: an excess (toxicity) of phosphorous can limit uptake of calcium, potassium, copper, zinc, and iron. It can also act as a synergist, causing excessive uptake of magnesium by way of it's suppressive effect on calcium.
Using Foliage-Pro 9-3-6 fertilizer regularly in combination with flushing the soil you water will allow you to keep the level of dissolved solids as low as possible w/o deficiencies, and it is a COMPLETE nutritional supplementation program from a single source/container. I highly recommend it. If I haven't already mentioned it, fertilizing/ nutritional supplementation is a key element of a well considered care regimen.
Al
