Indoor Plant Care - How to Houseplant Care

Rhapis Palm with Insect Problem Indoor Potted Palm Problem A recent email from Ernestine about a plant problem that needs a solution...  My Rhapis Palm has mealy bugs as there are white masses on leaves and stems.  I have sprayed with Confidor two or three times, but, the palm still has white areas on leaves and stems.  Could you suggest a better solution for me to attack this pesty little beast!!! Thank you for reading my notation. Ernstine, It sure looks like mealy bug but could possibly be some kind of scale. I personally would just wipe this off with a sponge or rag with some water/alcohol mixture or water/soap mixture. Another option is a hard spray from a hose to just rinse them off. This is best done outside, of course and must be repeated. Mealybugs are hard to get rid of and the only other things I might use would be Safers Insecticidal Soap or 1600 X-clude. Don’t know if they are available where you live but if you do use them, make sur...

I recently received this comment/question from a  PlantAndFlowerInfo.com  reader. I have an email form for questions and comments, but often there is no return email address so I will post them here with my best answer and others may have additional information to add. Thanks Florida reader, I hope this helps! Palm Rhapis excelsa Question:  Four months ago, I relocated within  Central Florida . I uprooted some of my 10'-12' tall Rhapis excelsa palms to take with me & potted them in 24" wide pots, using Miracle Gro's Moisture Control Potting Soil. I planted 12 plants, at a rate of 4 per pot. Unfortunately, they didn't do well during the move & only 4(in 1 pot) seem to have survived. The others wilted & seem to be rotting from the top down, though 5'-7' of each trunk from the ground up are still green. I cut off the dead fronds and there's been no new growth from the tips, which are now rotted. What can I do to try to save them? Please...