vermiculite caused my leaves and stems to rot. It keeps in too much moisture, the air cannot circulate. When there are no roots, the vermiculite does not work for me. The advice of Karin below is great. There have been previous discussions of this topic on this forum. To find accurate and complete info, you might want to do a search for your topic. That way, you can refer to the advice of many people, including some long-time growers who are no longer active on the forum. Responses vary and results vary. You are on the right track with what you want to try. If you try the moss, do let us know if it works well and where you get it. I heard of so many different combos, I finally asked Lyon's once when placing an order. The lady I spoke with recommended using rooting compound I bought from them. I dust lightly then use a combo like Karin's but more 60:40 p:v and dome them. It takes 8 weeks to 8 months to get new leaves, but I no longer worry about the length of time. Sure, the rooting compound slows the growth of new leaves, because the plant is setting roots. However, it makes for a stronger plant in the long run. More leaves survive when using the rooting powder. I also found using water with a trace of vitamin C and fertilizer seems to encourage growth. Others would disagree. As I recall, former posters and experts like Diana, Irina, Fred Hill and Whitelacey, and others had lots of different
methods. When I need info, I try to search the topic with their names. I also found articles on the Internet. Donna of Fancy Bloomers has a video on her website that might help. Maybe you are getting ready to put down a large number of leaves. 'Tis the season! Joanne

This post was edited by fortyseven on Fri, Jan 30, 15 at 18:20

I only do a few leaves at a time so I add a bit more perlite to my regular potting mix. I don't use very much perlite and no vermiculite. Mostly regular potting soil.

The leaves set in the same amount of time. A Buckeye Extravaganza set mouse ears in 8 weeks and is thriving.

The part I like best is that I root leaves in small pots where the plants can grow for a very long time. I thinned a group of mouse ears the other day. I left one strong one to grow in the original pot/potting mix and planted the thinnings into small pots. Less disturbance of at least one plant which can grow on in that original pot for quite a while.

My usual mix, 2/3 perlite, 1/3 av or seedling mix.
Moistened, but in a baggie, mouse ears in about 8 weeks too.

Karin