Hi Toni!!!! I'm noodling around here, waiting for my bread to cool on the racks :) Everytime I see a thread about a cat chewing plants, I remember when I posted the same thing as well a few years ago. Boy, the kinds of plants I can have is limited to "would Bud chew this". So I currently have peace lillies, shcefflera's, both the Hawaiaan and the umbrella (my favourite style). I couldn't resist buying a 10" pot that was on sale for $4. It's a large spiky thing, (a dracaena?) but alas, Bud thought the tips looked tempting. So I have it in the spare room on top of a pail of kitty litter on the table in front of the window! Hopefully out of Bud's reach. I thought the plant was immune to his taste buds, but he was crunching on it the same day I bought it when it was on the livingroom floor, which is where I had imagined it being. Upon looking at the peace lily I see that he's found it! Note the chewed tips. A friend gave me some spider plant babies, so I had them rooting on the kitchen sill. Bud doesn't go up there, so they were safe. They were, until I planted them in some small pots, and one was upside down in the sink. I now have them hanging in the window, and 2 are i the bathroom on top of the over the toilet cabinet. Smudge was rubbing his face on the pineapple top that I have growing. Silly boy! I was afraid he'd poke his eye on the spikes! If I see him doing it again (I admonished him) the pineapple will go out in the trash.

Sounds like spider mite. These plants are extremely susceptible to them. Look at the leaves near the stem and hold them up to a window to back light the leaves. See very tiny spider webs between the leave where they sprout from the frond stem? I have around 8 of these plants. Some came with the house and are now seven years old... Since they came to my care. I love them. Our home is plantation style... But up north! These palms add to the plantation feel in the summer outdoors. They do fine all summer. Then I need to bring them indoors for the Michigan hard winter. It is a real trick to keep one alive for 6mo indoors. Especially if bringing in from outdoors. I have nearly lost everyone of them and I don't typically spray until I see signs and then the damage is clear.... Still my treatment has saved them all so far. To solve the problem... Spider mite and or scale. Majesty palms are very susceptible to both. Bring it outside or to the garge if you can. Take a ounce of malathion and add to a quart of water. Mix and add to a sprayer. Now bathe, soak... tops and bottoms of the plant fronds. If indoors, you should do this at least lightly every two months. I soak them good in the fall with the mixture. Then I mist them while in the house every 2 months or so. I still will get mites and yellow leaves because I often don't treat until I see yellowing, it's hard to over or underwater them. They're hardy to both, though they prefer moist... Not soggy soill. So water lightly more often than a soaking every three days. They also like a mulchy soil. Add shredded back or even saw dust! The bugs love them! Keep the malathion handy if you own this plant. They originate from river banks in Madagascar, so they are use to damp, but not soaked soil. These are the only plants that I bring indoors over the winter, because up here big ones run 80... To 150.00 each. I've been forced to become a bit of an expert on this one plant type.

Crazy Greenlarry. I never get a problem with bugs on my plants in the greenhouse. I think it's because it stays moist in there and I keeps the fans going 24/7. As for Mealy? That is always a possiblity no matter what we do. Purple....Yes. I threw them away because one year, years ago, I dealt with a Mealy and Spider Mite problem in which stemmed from my palms. I have heard they are HUGE Spider Mites magnets. My Fish Tail one at work got hit hard last year with mitesm, but probably because I had just bought in last fall and never cleaned the leaves off then. Now, if I were to grow some, they would have to share the same room with all my other 100 plants or so, and I am so afraid to have another outbreak. I avoid all plants with lots of hiding room now. As for the one you posted above, I would give that one a try, not only because it's beautiful, but also for the reason stated earlier. I have never had any issues with bugs on my Kentia though. Thanks. P.s. What's up with the ads popping at us and not allowing us to post anything until it disappears? Mike:-)

Dear Purple, I do appreciate your experience, your love for plants, and you concern for helping others nurture their own passion. My feelings are quite the same as yours, but my experience is different. What I've learned is that the critical factor in having healthy, beautiful plants is soil moisture/aeration cycles. Perhaps if anyone has found their plants doing better as soon as they ended the "wet saucer" practice, it was not so much that in itself, but other factors that were allowing the plant(s) to reach more favorable aeration levels between waterings. There are always many variables in operation. What I do know is that by ascertaining the soil moisture throughout the medium in which the plant is growing (meaning all the way to the bottom of the pot), and by allowing the moisture/aeration ration to reach the optimum level for that particular variety of plant, you are taking the first, largest, and most important step in assuring a long and beautiful life for your plants. This is not "arcane anecdotes," but practice established over 50 years, by 1000's of people, and millions of plants. I'm not saying what you, or anyone else, are doing is wrong. On the contrary, if your plants are thriving, if they make you happy and beautify your life, it is totally right. But don't you think people who are seeking advice should be able to consider several possible approaches? What about very busy people; even if they feel they can spare no more than a few minutes a week on plants, shouldn't they be able to have plants if they are willing to spend those few minutes? These are the people I'd like to encourage. Maybe some of them will get "bit by the bug," and end up with a thousand plants in their home ( the 1000 plant thing, as related in the 'first plant' thread, just blows my mind), using all sorts of culture methods - hydroponics, gritty mixes, tree bark, self-mixed soil recipes, exotics in environmentally-controlled cases the size of half a room. Who knows? So, to address a few of the matters you bring up, from my point of view -- 1) yes, newly potted-up plants are susceptible to rotted roots - all the more reason to get in there and make sure the soil has aerated thoroughly. (Also not-too-large pots, more porous medium, etc.) 2) it's not the roots growing through the drainage holes that "suck up" water in liners; the water actually moves back into the soil/root mass from the liner through those drainage holes, and spreads evenly throughout the pot volume, if the medium has a good particle/space ratio, where it is then available to the roots. 3) distinction between corporate and personal plants - (hoping I can shed some light on the interior landscape business here). First of all, it's a business, meaning it has to make a profit or it's out of business. Replacements are costly - therefore the technician must keep the plants looking beautiful (not just "clinging to life") as long as possible, or they cut into an already slim profit margin. Secondly, people are paying to have beautiful plants, and that is how they must be kept, or the customer find a new service. Thirdly, people get very attached to "their" plants - the people whose offices have plants, people who have plants near their desks, and the tech taking care of the plants. Fourth, corporate plants are not generally put into "adverse conditions" "at the limits of their endurance" "clinging to life" - no profit in it; contracts require that plants be placed in adequate light and protected conditions. So it might not be like having some of grandma's plants, but folks still love the plants that help make the corporate world a little less cold. I could go on and on. I'm sure everyone thinks I've already gone on way too long as it is. So you disagree with me? Cool! I love to examine differing viewpoints from varied angles, to try and pick out the threads of insight that knit together seemingly opposing positions. Oh yea, those nasty plastic disks in the bottom of some plants. I honestly don't know why they're so bad, they have holes and all and should just let water through, but they don't. I just know if you find them, you should take them out and throw them away.