Question
Hello Nick,

I have a palm plant which is placed indoors since Dec 2010. It does not get direct sunlight but faces the east window. My plant was fine till 3 months back. The leaves have started to brown out and there is a cotton like fur appearing beneath the leaves. I have sprayed fungal medicine on it but no result. Please do help.

Answer
Hi Nita, the bane of indoor plants (palms included..) is the spider mite, they are tiny spider like insects that weave a web like substance as they feed on the plants juices, causing the plant to wilt and decline; they thrive in a dry , warm environment, and that substance you describe is probably an accumulation of their web. The only other explanation for "cotton like" fur would be mealy bugs or scale, also tiny destructive insects. Take the palm outside and spray it down with a spray bottle filled with regular household isopropyl alcohol, this will kill the insects, the next morning rinse the palm down well, eliminating all the dead insects and then move it back inside; keep it misted from that point on, for they don't like a humid atmosphere, and this will deter the problem from occurring again. The new emerging fronds should be fine, but the older ones will probably need to be pruned off , after the new ones emerge. Nick