You're so kind.

I should have realized that "Chopstick technique" was not very clear.
When I answer "Bonsai Doctor" posts, I have a sentence I always add:
"Don't water on a set schedule; water when the potting mix an inch down
is barely moist". That's the basic message, whether you use the
"Persiano pick" method of pushing a rod of wood into the soil to see if
it is moist when you withdraw it, or whether you use the Sandy
"knuckles" Vrooman method of sticking a finger in.

Admittedly, I do neither. I have too many plants. But I know my soil
mix and I know my plants, so it's only the newcomers I have to pay
close attention to. I pay attention to the soil moisture, to the leaf
turgor, and I LEARN WHAT HEALTHY ROOTS LOOK LIKE. I can't stress this
enough to beginners. If my brand new plant has tan highly-branching
roots, then I know, 6 months down the line when the roots are black and
sparse, that I have a problem. Azaleas have dark densely matted fine
roots. Junipers have flexible brown roots with tan tips.
Chamaecyparis roots have a green inner bark that is hard to see; if you
don't know that, you might think the root is dead. And so on.

Nina. Someone gave me a lucky bamboo for christmas. Let's see how
lucky it really is.