steve-o,

I would encourage you to give it a try. The results are worth it. It's almost impossible for about a week (at about an hour a day practice), but suddenly it will click. A half-year into the change and now the floating is the thing that feels natural.

One more benefit is the way it translates to mandolin as well.

Murray,

I had noticed that I don't plant anything when fingerpicking either. Funny, but I used to plant when I was a kid and learning. I don't even remember when I stopped doing it. It was obviously just a natural progression.