Question
I have an Orange Star plant which I received for Easter.  The instructions say to look out for scale on this plant.  I do not know what scale looks like.  Just want to know .

Answer
Dear Eileen, I looked up the picture of this plant and it is really beautiful.  Now as to scale: scale is an unmoving insect which lives under a hard protective shell.  They suck the juices out of the plant, cause poor growth and can kill plants.  They can be white, brown, or black and they will look like small bumps on the plant, usually concentrated on growing tips, where the leaves join the stem, or on the underside of leaves.  Mealybugs which are soft white cottony looking bugs are a form of scale which do move.  Now if you do get scale, regular pesticides don't often work because the insects are protected by the shell.  To kill them, spray with a lightweight horticultural oil or biorganic oil (NOT cooking oil).  This smothers them and you will know they are dead when a blast of water knocks them loose off the plant.  I hope your plant doesn't get scale, but I hope this information helps.   Feel free to write me any time.  Melissa