pepibom I believe those ARE scale. Mealy bugs are fuzzy and white even cottony if you will. I battle these constantly and unfortunately they are very difficult to get rid of.....completely any way. They also LOVE the flat leaves of a bird of paradise plant. I recently received three orange BOP and am hoping to keep these away. I have lost many white BOP to these stupid things. I believe they make honeydew which is a sticky substance and that can eventually cause more problems like fungus or disease. You mentioned it's not looking the best. If the plant is stressed out it is a calling card for pests. This also will make it more difficult to rid the pests. The location it's in sounds right to me for these plants. They like sun. I would definitely keep wiping the plant down with a solution of rubbing alcohol water and some mild dish detergent. Use a cloth and wipe the leaves on top and under, stems and all. I'm hopin someone else will chime in here because like I said I have these pests myself. I just wiped down a couple of cast iron plants myself-- talk about time consuming. If it's bad or becoming a bother you might consider finding a new plant- although two years is a long time to have a plant. These plants however I find are rather easily attainable. They are a lovely plant to add to a collection and really add a tropical feel. Good luck on the battle!!! Kyle

Not all crape myrtle pruning is 'murder'. Detail pruning, the kind that directs growth, opens up the tree to good sunlight and circulations, is great! I can make a so-so crape into a piece of sculpture in 30 minutes without doing any 'topping' whatsoever. Ornamental trees and shrubs often benefit from intelligent and reasonable pruning. Walt, I find nothing objectionable about the pruning I observed on your trees. Dan, here's a story I've told here before, but before you joined us: I was called as a consultant to try to find out why nearly all of the large trees planted on a new construction site were declining rapidly after several weeks. I knew without getting out of my vehicle that they were all planted too deeply. That was the sole reason for the problems. In the SC heat, the trees died within a matter of a couple of months. At this inspection were the landscape architects, the landscape contractors, and the property owners. After I removed the mulch and dug down several inches, we came across all of the ropes AND straps AND wads of burlap still in tact. When I asked why, here's what the landscape architect said: "Oh, I asked that they leave all of that there so the trees would be easier to remove if they died." A SAD, but true story, lol!

First of all, the snarky comment from Arunski about shoulda coulda was unnecessary --who says something like that? I love plants and I'm pretty good at growing them, but sometimes we plant lovers see a plant and buy it, not really knowing that much about it. I bought a white bird of paradise summer 2019 from Home Depot because I loved the look of it. It was about 2 feet tall. Planted on my covered porch in a beautiful pot and it grew unbelievably over the summer. I had to bring it inside for the winter and it has continued to grow in a corner that has a window, but it is extremely filtered light from plants outside. I purchased a cheap LED floor lamp from Amazon that I can bend to whatever position and the plant seems to love it, even though 2 feet of it are above the lamp. Watering has been limited due to spillage issues, and still it grows. It's about 6 feet tall now with new growth all the time. I had no idea it would get this big, but I have 4 more feet to go before I have to move it so we will see what happens. I could move it back on the porch, but it has grown too big to move I think and everyone who walks in the door has a fit over it. I think I will buy a nice self watering planter and see if that helps. I've only fertilized it twice. Who knows? Maybe it knows it's loved and likes the home it lives in. We have a good vibe.

May I say, your plants looks lovely. Plants normally go dormant in winter-a time to rest. Still needs basics though. Look into http://homeguides.sfgate.com/grow-bird-paradise-containers-48595.html for help and check out links too. Needs humidity-steam radiator makes air dry.