Question
I've taken cuttings of my pothos or philodendron a couple of times and rooted them in water. This method worked fine, but this time my new cutting stems are covered in hard, brown, wart-like bumps. The roots are growing, but I'm worried that this is a disease that would spread to the rest of the plant when I add it back to the pot. I haven't been able to find this type of plant disorder on the internet. Is there something I can do?

Answer
Dear Julie, You definitely have scale on your pothos, a condition which is not uncommon in houseplants.  Scale are unmoving insects that live under a hard cover or "scale".  This makes them somewhat harder to kill as most insecticides can't penetrate the hard covering.  The way to kill them is to spray the plant with a lightweight horticultural oil which smothers the insect and kills it.  You will need to spray several times about three or four days apart.  If you can, after you spray put the plant in a bright light (not direct sun) for a while to help the oil work more effectively, but it will work either way.  You will know the bugs are dead when the bumps start to fall off the plant.  DO NOT use oils besides horticultural oil for this because they don't work the same way and can gum up your plant.  If you want you can scrub off most of the scale before spraying.  You will still need to spray even if you think you have scrubbed them all off, but you may need fewer sprays to completely get rid of them. Oh and to get the most out of your pothos, after spraying the plant several times, and potting the plant up, be sure to give it a good feeding with a balanced fertilizer (the three numbers will be the same or nearly the same), and if you have any long straggly stems with no leaves on them CUT THEM OFF!!  Sorry that is a pet peeve of mine, but these long stems won't regrow their leaves and they sap energy from the rest of the plant, so cut them off and watch your pothos grow beautifully.  Good luck, and write back if you have more questions.  Melissa