Nice test but at best your results will be inconclusive. Your sample size is far to small to be able to make any sort of accurate statistical conclusion. You need at least 9 plants (3 of each) for your results to be statistically meaningful. With a sample that small you cannot rule out the possibility of random chance. It will be interesting to see which does better, but all you can conclude is that you need to test further. Now if you can find more people to join you in this test then you will be in business! I think it is wonderful to experiment with gardening concepts. However, I don't want you to think can stick it to Al based on the results of the test as you have it laid out now. I know of Al but I have not read his work. I can promise you that no amount of holes will speed the draining process of the pot. The reason is because of the capillary action of the soil that holds water in. Water will only drain from a pot where there is enough water for the gravitational force to overpower capillary action. Once you reach that equilibrium point the soil will stop draining. What the wick does is uses capillary action to your favor and pulls more water than gravity alone can out of the pot. I am sure Al knows this and he has great science backing his claims. But again it is always important to question scientific claims, because science wouldn't be science if the results weren't reproducible.

Joanne - use Linda method - plus spray the wilted plant with tepid water. But it happens to all of us. What should be mediated is - plant do not die from root rot in 2 hours. It takes days while you could reroot the crown, later - take the leaves and put them down - and before it is totally wilted - sometimes you can restart it with the wedges of leaves- if this is the only thing that is still healthy. Usually all the disasters happen when I do not have time to look at my plants...They do so much better if you look at them often with a loving approving eye! What are the plants that are NOT replaceable? Plants are mostly replaceable - you Joanne - are not. Do not get sad! Wrinkles are not necessary! I.

I have seen this type of damage a lot over the years being in the homeowners insurance business and here is my take on it. Based upon the drywall damage as seen in the photos it needs to be pulled and replaced. While it's possible some of it may be dried with fans the cost to do that versus cutting it out and replacing just isn't worth it. Plus you really need to get the framing behind it dry as quickly as possible. The entire continuous ceiling should then be painted to match. The floors may be a bit more difficult as you already have some cupping of the wood. Usually the cupping and warping will get worse before it gets better so don't be suprised over the next day or two if it looks and feels worse. The GC probably wants to wait and see if thats the case or not. If the cupping is very slight it may go back down but it usually takes a few weeks for wood floors to dry out completely after being wet enought to show cupping. Worst case scenario is the entire floor will have to be resanded and finished, the problem with that is they can't sand flooring with too high of a moisture content or it will buckle again so the damaged area should be pulled and replaced as you are not in a situation to wait a month or longer for it to dry out. You also don't want to put off the floors until after you have moved in because you then have a whole lot of furniture and contents to worry about moving etc.. Plus refinishing floors is dusty and smelly work requiring you to be out of the house for several days once it's done. Unfortunately you can't sand and refinish just the area and get it to look right. If this was a pantry or small bathroom you may get away with it but not in the middle of the kitchen. It's too bad because if you have to resand it you have just lost some of the useful life of your floor as you can only sand it so many times before it has to be replaced. Hopefully it turns out not to be too bad and it can easily be repaired but if not hang in there and work through it. The idea of getting a water mitigation company out to take a look is also not a bad idea just for a second opinion. They can use moisture meters to tell you how bad the floors are and if they can dry them or not. Good luck.

Thanks for the pictures, Vell. All my 40 plants have been on wick systems from the beginning & I observed leaves on some of mine under artificial light 10 hours a day curling under & stunted looking. I too thought 1st of mites from what I'd read. I started rotating them in 4 different locations in my house that all receive different light: east morning bright light, north all day even light, southwest afternoon filtered sunlight & under my Sunblaster light 10 hours a day. The new leaves responded positively just like yours & it even stimulated plants to bud & bloom. The moral is as growers to try changing things when they don't look happy. Sometimes they just need a change of scenery just like we do. Hope this helps someone.