To add to what Leo said, it is a personal preference and I believe in most cases Steve's aesthetic topping is only skin-deep. Years ago I stopped adding any topper to mature plants for one simple reason: I could not see the surface of the mix to better gauge its dryness and need for watering. It looks great but doesn't help most growers (Steve is not most growers). Dylan Hannon Los Angeles CA On 1 February 2012 16:41, Leo A. Martin <leo@possi.org> wrote: > Alan wrote about Steven Hammer's bulbs with spiky leaves: > > > I notice in these photos and previous ones... > > there is a fine gravel or grit - is this just a topping on > > the growing media or does the entire media consist of this? > > I have not seen the plants in question in person, but Steven Hammer > usually top-dresses his plants with this gravel. Most succulent growers do > something similar. > > Leo Martin > Phoenix, Arizona, United States of America > I certify there are no abbreviations in this message > > _______________________________________________ > pbs mailing list > pbs@lists.ibiblio.org > http://pacificbulbsociety.org/list.php > http://pacificbulbsociety.org/pbswiki/ > -- Where there is much desire to learn, there of necessity will be much arguing, much writing, many opinions; for opinion in good men is but knowledge in the making. — John Milton, *Areopagitica: A speech for the liberty of unlicensed printing to the Parliament of England*, 1644