Question
I have an fairly large indoor, broad-leafed plant that is doing well and today I noticed that the stems are resting on the side of the large pot. I also saw that there is a sticky substance on the stem with raised white spots. I'd like to know what this is and what I can do to remedy the problem.

Answer
Hi Diane,
    Your plant has mealybugs. If you have other houseplants then you will need to carefully check all of them for these insects, especially ones that are or were sitting near the infested plant.

Here is some information about mealy bugs and how to get rid of them.

~ Mealybugs are soft-bodied, oval shaped, scale like insects with many legs. Mealybugs are covered by a sticky, white, cottony looking substance.
Once an adult mealybug establishes a feeding site and covers itself with the protective coating, it does not move from that site. Adults, once covered with the white stuff, do not walk around or move (sort of like a tick once it is feeding, except mealybugs don't get full, fall off and wander away). Mealybugs in the immature crawler stage are the ones that move around and migrate to other parts of the plant or to a new plant host.

Mealybugs can be a problem to get rid of because the cottony substance often protects the insect from pesticides. If it is just a minor infestation of a few insects then you can get rid of them by picking them off with a cotton swab dipped in alcohol.
If there are more than just a few of them (or you want to make sure that you get all of them) then mix about 75% alcohol, 25% distilled water and a few drops of dishwashing liquid (I usually use Dawn dishwashing liquid) in a spray bottle. Spray all plant surfaces; leaves (don't forget the underside of the leaves), all stems and branches. Make sure that you spray the places where the leaves are growing on stems, where stems are growing out of other branches (and/or stems) and any other place where stems/branches meet. Those are some of the favorite places that mealybugs like to hang out.
Repeat the treatment about every 3 days until there is no longer any sign of mealybug presence.

After the first treatment, clean the plant thoroughly. Make sure that you clean all of the insect's white coating off the plant. As well as the white covering substance, mealybugs also produce something called 'Honeydew'. Honeydew is a sweet sticky liquid that is produced by a lot of insects (like mealybugs, scale and aphids) as waste. Honeydew can be mixed in with bits of a mealybug's  white protective covering or under it (after the insect is killed and removed).
A black fungus called sooty mold may grow on the honeydew which will cause more problems and stress for your plants.

Be sure to check all little crevices, folds and grooves on both the leaves and stems.
Also check the pot and the immediate area surrounding the pot (such as a window sill) as well as the plant for eggs. Mealybug eggs are usually found in a cottony-like sac. Most of the time the egg sac can be found beneath the female's body (and under her protective covering) but a lot of times egg sacs can be found in the places I just mentioned.  

I hope this helps. If you have any questions or need additional information please don't hesitate to ask.
     Thanks
       Tracy