rubber plant leave loss and yellow mold

QuestionHi Will, I bought 2 healthy rubber plants 6 month ago (approx. 14in tall, 12 inches high 14 inch round pot) In the last 2 months I notice one was shedding leaves along with yellow mold growing on the top of

Star Jasmine Plant

QuestionHello Darlene I have a Star Jasmine for the first time this year. It is in a 12 inch pot, and about 3 feet tall, growing on a trellis. Its a lovely plant, I had it outside in morning sun, shady

Pony Tail Palm

QuestionI have a 9 ft. pony tail palm that is touching the ceiling in my garage. Can I top it to say 4 ft.? Its base has filled the pot its in - about 2 ft. in diameter. Should I repot the bulb? &n

Mass Cane Floor Plant (a.k.a corn stalk)

QuestionWe have a corn stalk plant and we sat it outside and the wind messed it up pretty badly and broke some of the leaves and now they are limp. I was wondering if we could cut those leaves and another one would

Massangeana - flowering??

QuestionHi, I had a plant that resembles Massangeana and, to my surprise, it flowered after about 10 years. The flower cluster smelled heavenly and it only opened at night. However, the plant died after

decorative pepper plant

QuestionThe plant has a barky skinny stem with lots of leafs. The leaves are dark green and purple colour. The peppers are small like miniature jalopenos about 1 inch in length. The Peppers are very red and I curren

Help to identify a house plant

QuestionI bought a plant from the grocery store without an information tag with the name and how to take care of it. I was wondering if you might know what kind it is? It is a small plant ,it has purple flower

sickly rubber plant

QuestionI received a healthy-looking rubber plant 3 months ago. It has 8 stalks, the tallest of which is about 16 inches tall. The plant is in a 10-inch pot. I keep it inside in front of a south-

cyperus alternifolius

QuestionHello Will, Many thnks for yr quick and detailed reply. 1st i will try to change water and most probably i will switch to distilled water, since even new leafs have this problems. another question is sho

Mealybugs???

QuestionI have numerous plants in my sunporch, which faces south. I live in the Phila, Pa area. The porch is enclosed but not heated or air conditioned so the days are fairly warm & the nights are fairly cool. I wat

Persian Shield

QuestionI live in Omaha, NE. This past spring, I planted several Strobilanthes (Persian Shields) in my backyard. They are in a fairly sheltered area that gets quite good sun during the winter, and when snow falls, i

Old Ficus Tree with bugs

QuestionI have had my ficus tree for 20 plus years. She is up to the celling. You realize after all this time being her owner, I feel very bad she is sick! But recently, I noticed she did not look good. Usally she

my jade house plant HELP!

Question- Thanks for your response!...Do you think that if I cut off the bad parts, that it will stop this rotting of the plant? because it seems that it is spreading through the stems...maybe to cut off the b

yucca house plants

Questionwe have had our yucca for around 6 months and we have two trunks of differing sizes in a pot measuring approx. 9 inches high by around 7 inches across with the taller plant being around 4 feet tall and the o

Dracena Mas

Question------------------------- Followup To Question - ------------------------- Followup To Question - I have recently bought a dracena massengus I was told by the nursery not to water it too much once ever

Schefflera and Jade

QuestionHi - I have what I think are the two plants above. I cant find a good picture to identify them however - would you have one and would you be able to tell me how to prune these plants? Thanks. Answer

Fern problem

QuestionHi Will A year ago I got this Fern. I wanted it to put in a Victorian Living Room. it was a large one,about 2 ft. wide,but fit nice in the front window, I put it in a new pot when I got it home for more room

imidacloprid concentration for house plants

QuestionDear Doctor Creed, I am fighting mealy bugs. They are on my succulents and chicken gizard aralias (small ones). I have the Bayer tree and shrub insect control, 1.47% imidacloprid, which we Canadians a

Fertilizer for palms

QuestionI have a selection of palms grown from seed just under two years old. What mix of fertilizer do palms prefer for maximum growth. Our winters are fairly cold (40 degrees south),so the growing season is short

white fungus

Question I have some cactus that have what I believe is the white fungus . Question is how do I get rid of it my cactus are over 6 feet tall each and I have had them for years and would hate to lose them