Hi Dan, First time I've really had the chance to sit down at the computer for a couple of weeks, so I'll give it a go. I'm sure others will add to it, and if they disagree, then I get to learn too! 1. I'm not really sure if overwatering can be a problem by itself, but two things might happen depending on other factors: First is nutrients. If you continually flush all the nutrients away with tap water, then the plant will be starved. Then again, if you keep adding new nutrients with frequent foliar feeding or occasional slow release, then this should not be a problem. Second is drainage of the growing medium. If the drainage is too slow for the amount of watering and the plant ends up sitting in a stagnant soggy mess, then you can be pretty certain it will rot, especially if the air circulation is poor. If the growing medium drains very quickly and does not get soggy, I would be surprised if any amount of periodic watering would cause a problem - although it would be interesting if people have found otherwise. 2. Main cause of limp leaves is not enough light. Some Neos won't develop their brightest colours if they get too much fertiliser and their foliage might be more elongate than if starved, but if the light is strong enough for that variety, then the leaves generally should not be limp. I have an Aech. nudicaulis v. aequalis that gets its cup flushed with fresh 1/2 strength liquid fertiliser every 2 weeks or so and little other watering in its cup, but growing in full sun all morning it is compact and brightly coloured. This assumes that the fertiliser or growing medium (or gunge collecting in the cup) has a reasonable balance of nutrients. If the plant is short of potassium and calcium then you can expect limp foliage, and this will be exaggerated if nitrogen is high. I've found phostrogen brand "all purpose" to be good for soluble (N:P:K=14:4:22 plus traces except Ca), but I don't know much about slow releases - mainly because I haven't been able to get my hands on one yet that has a nutrient balance that I like - all the ones I see have high N. 3. If it is just the very bottom leaves going tubular every so often as each one reaches the end of its normal life, then that would be normal ..... um, did I really type that? Anyway, I hope you know what I mean. 4. Like just about everything else alive, broms need to get some copper. The fertiliser I use has Cu at .0055%w/v and seems to work well. 5. Re the orchid fertliser, there are some around with very high nitrogen. If it is one of those I would not use it, otherwise as for 2. 6. I can always find a few scale around out in the garden if I look hard enough, but I would only worry about it if it became obvious enough to disfigure the plants. A major infestation could certainly cause a lot of damage but this is not something that I've ever had to deal with in broms (orchids? now that's a different matter). If it did happen, I would suspect that there is something about the growing environment that is putting the plants under stress and weakening their resistance. If the picture involves limp foliage as in point 2, then insufficient potassium and/or calcium (or maybe other nutrients?) could certainly be suspected. Anyway, hope this helps. Best of luck with the brom growing. Cheers, Paul

Hi I grew up in Hutchinson but never tried to grow palms . Won't say it can't be done but it's going to be tough My daughter moved back there from Arizona last year carefully planned a trip in May to avoid cold . Was snowing on the day we arrived lol You best bet would be to find someone local who is growing them?? Good luck!!! gary

Throw them into one of your garden beds and forget them. You'll be happy when they start to germinate.

I wouldn't worry about it being that hard to do a coup de grace. Beaucarnea are not like Yucca's elephantipes. You might get little sprouts from the Beaucarnea...but I'm sure you can keep up with it. I wish I was giving you advice about re routing pipes or even carving a hole in the tree's largest roots for the pipes. Shame to hear what sounds like an old plant cut down.