Question

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-----Question-----
Darlene,

I have had a palm plant for 1.5 years and last winter the plant thrived in my apartment and seemed to grow bigger everyday. About three months ago I moved into a house and about a month ago I noticed my plant and starting to look pretty beat up. I water once a week with about 3/4 of a gallon of water. Last summer I put miracle grow shake and feed fertilizer on my plant with the recommended amount. My palm is planted in a plastic pot that is 35" at its base and 45" at the top and has a tray for drainage that it sits on. I am sending pictures to your e-mail address. a couple of the leaves are brown and dead, and I have noticed small cob webs and what look like white dots on my plant. I use to mist my plant with water, but heard that that might be futile in trying to humidify the plant. Please help me bring this plant back to life. If you need any additional info please let me know.

Thanks,

Brian
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Brian,

The white dots appear to be scale, an insect and the webs are spider mites.  When you moved does it get as much light as it did in your apartment? Did you repot it recently into this pot from a smaller one? Insects usually attack plants that are stressed. What changed from your apartment?

To start with cut off the dead fronds and get them out of the house so eggs on them do not hatch and further infect the plants. Then to get rid of the insects I would spray it with either rubbing alcohol full strength in a spray bottle or 1 tablespoon of dish soap to a quart of water in a spray bottle. If you have a hand held shower you can get it into you could spray it off first with that and that would get rid of the spider mites but not the scale. If not just spray it with the soap mix or alcohol daily for 2 weeks making sure you get the fronts and backs of all leaves.  Then spray it every other day for 3 weeks then twice a week till you are sure it is healthy and growing again. You have to be persistent to get any eggs that hatch out. You can take a box of q-tips and dip them in alcohol and flick off the scale. If there are too many just use the spray bottle. If you have more questions write again. Good luck.

Darlene

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Darlene,

Thanks you for your answer. After I read your answer I figured out what was different now. In the apartment my plant was getting less light, It was repotted from a smaller pot when I bought it about a year ago, and when I watered the plant I put it in my shower and allowed the water to rain down on my plant to water it which probably kept the bugs off of it, I used a spray bottle to mist it every day, and I also ran my humidifier at a really high setting in the winter time which allowed mold to grow along my window sill, but my plant must have liked it?! So I will spray with rubbing alcohol, give my plant showers for watering instead of by watering jug, and cut off the dead fronds. Your awesome!

Thanks You So Much!

-Brian

Answer
Brian,

You are welcome. You could also try partially closing drapes to reduce the light or move it to a shadier location. Or set a screen on one side of it. Running a humidifier close to it might help also. They love the high humidity in tropical areas. Maybe not so high that you get mold on the window sills but if you set the humidifier next to the plant it would concentrate the humidity in that area.  Do be careful not to overwater your palm.

You are welcome and thank you for your appreciative comments. Good luck.

Darlene