Question

Parlor Palm   QUESTION: I have what I think is a Parlor Palm house plant that I received as a gift.  I had it in my front window where it was getting a lot of sun.  I noticed that it was starting to get brown and dry looking so I moved it out of the sun.  It is in the right sized pot with good drainage.  I water it every 7 to 10 or so.  I did put those time-release fertilizer spikes in all my house plants and I am starting to have problems with a lot of them now - I wonder if I should go and dig them all out or if they aren't the source of the problem.  I am sending along a picture of the palm situation.

ANSWER: Hi Ann, That is an indication of sun scald, you did the right thing moving it out of the direct sun; what most people don't realize is that the Suns heat is much more severe through a glass then outside. The fertilizer spikes are not the best choice for feeding any plant, for it only gets taken up by the adjacent roots around it; a granular spread evenly is much more effective or even a Soluble, like Miracle Grow or Peters. Your Palm really should have a specific "Palm fertilizer", for it contains the necessary Micro nutrients needed by it. Your other plants (the ones you said are having problems) need to be listed, for me to determine where they should be placed in the house and how much irrigation and misting they should be getting; the Palm should be misted frequently to give it a simulated humidified environment. Follow up if you need any more info on the other  plants..Nick

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Anthurium Leaf   QUESTION: The other plants that are struggling right now are an Anthurium and a Dracaena.  They are both in bright sunlight - next to an east facing window.

Another "expert" took a look at a pic of the Anthurium and said she thought it was probably from the fertilizer spikes.  So I dug them out today and watered it thoroughly to try to flush out the fertilizer.

I will attach that pic for you to see as well.

The Dracaena is mostly just losing foliage - leaves drying up and falling off.

Answer
...I agree, that is definitely fertilizer burn and as I stated, they really are not a good concept; the Dracaena is much more resilient, and the loss of leaves will not effect it too much, but you are doing the right thing by removing the spikes. Nick