Probably a virus, not a lot you can do about it, just cut the ugly leaves off. Kentias are pretty prone to viruses.

I heard back from the seller, who told me the strange spotting was harmless. I told her I found scale and asked if the plant had been treated. I'm waiting for her response. I'm so glad I also consulted everyone here, or I would've trusted her and left the plant alone! Jane, thanks for all the advice. I actually found an old post of yours about a soap, oil, and alcohol spray. I'll be trying that, or maybe a dip in the same solution, tonight. A dip sounds more effective to me than the spray, and my plants are small. I want to dip both the orchid and the Hoya cv. Mathilde that was shipped with it, then spray every 2 weeks, like you said, going forward. Does that sound like a good plan? There's a third plant that was next to these 2 for a day. (Not much plant space left in the room.) It's a Primulina tamiana, which has fuzzy leaves. On second thought, the hoya has hairy stems. How should I treat these plants? I've read oil and alcohol sprays aren't good for fuzzy leaves, but no one recommends an alternative. How easily/quickly does scale spread to other plants? Arthurm, I'm not sure what you mean by pristine wilderness stuff...? I thought the plant looked pretty good at first too, especially with the new growth and spikes. I usually convert my plants to semihydro, so don't have overwatering issues. Speaking of media, will repotting help with the pest situation? Or will the additional stress be too harmful? I actually have some hydroton ready to go. The other plants can wait. Cynthia

Thanks very much for your reply. Yes, these are the older fronds at the bottom which have the yellowing/black spots. Although, the larger and newer ones at the top also have small yellow and black spots; except they're very small. If they get any larger, should I assume its fungal disease? What action would I have to take next? I don't know 100% if they're California fan palms, although the guy I bought them from said he started growing them in December- then we hit a hot spell, and they started sprouting by late December. I just bought these around mid-May and they've been growing pretty fast. He said they were California fan palms. Very interesting about the humidity. Didn't know that, although it makes sense now since I know California isn't humid like it is here. Any way I can reduce the humidity? Maybe not mist the leaves as much or at all?

Hi! I am the opposite of an expert, we just got our Kentia (Manny) a few weeks ago. So I really hope some of the experts jump in! But I love Manny too and have been reading around trying to learn how to take care of him, so I figured I might as well get the conversation started. I've read that brown tips can be caused by dry air. Manny has those a little bit, and I've been misting him daily - not sure if that makes a big difference or not. I also read that yellow and brown spots can be due to overwatering, (though I'm sure other things can cause that too.) I don't know if what you're describing is overwatering, I think it's more than I've watered Manny (only watered him once), but we've had him for such a short amount of time I probably wouldn't know if I was under watering yet. http://www.ourhouseplants.com/plants/howea-palms http://plantcaretoday.com/caring-beautiful-kentia-palm-howea-forsteriana.html I hope some of the experts give feedback since they can give you answers based on experience and not just stuff they read!