Hi Sav..Your plants need work..I didnt have time to read all the above advice, but I'm sure it was excellent, knowing some of the ppl who offered it. You mention a humidifer..It's a great idea..I not only use a humidifer, but an indoor fountain, (bought at Home Depot) and a smaller indoor fountain. I also mist/spray leaves on a daily basis. Some people don't agree on misting, but in my opinion, it helps, (somewhat) w/humidity, keeps leaves clean, and lessens changes of insects. I'm not sure, but it looks like your palm has mites..The first thing I'd do is inspect nearby plants to make sure they are insect free. Isolate. There are several insecticides...I don't use bug sprays for many reasons, the main, I have cockatiels, and they can't be around harmful fumes. Instead I mist plants with 2-4 drops of dish soap and water..Once a month, or if I suspect a plant has mites, I add ground garlic and ground citrus rind. Believe me it works, it's natural, and won't harm your plants, pets or you. If they were my plants, I'd first trim brown off each leaf/frond. Leave about 1/8" of brown on, this dissuades brown from continuing onto leaves. I dont know if you placed your plants in the spot they're in to take pics, but each need sun..Since you're in MN, I'd place each in the brightest window in winter, if possbible summer outdoors in some shade then medium light. You said you water whether or not the soil is dry..Big mistake..Water only when soil needs it. Stick your finger in soil..if your finger comes out wet, don't water..if dry, give a drink..It's difficult telling what size pots you're using, but some look rather large..Do you know how to measure pots? When you repot a plant, the size shouldn't exceed 1-2 sizes larger than previous pot..So if a plant was bought in a say 8", when it's 'time' to repot, only if it needs it, go up to 10". If you repot because you want a decorative container, when you remove the plant from its current pot check the rootball..If it's hard-packed roots, then it should be potted up a size, but if the new pot is more than 3-4" larger than the roots, I'd avoid it..especially if you tend to overwater.. As for your African Violet..It has a LOT of potential. What size pot is it in? Keep AV's potbound..They're also humidity hogs, so keep atop a larger tray w/pebbles and water. My AV's are kept in south windows all yr long, (they are not kept outside) Remove the outter leaves/crown. If given light, and/or leaves/flowers grow, even this time of year, you can add a little AV fertilizer..Very few plants flower yr round, but a healthy AV will do so if given proper care, (light, humidity, kept potbound) I can't ID the 5th plant..What is it? If stems are soft, discard..You'd be surprised the number of plants that survive after looking dead, during winter months. The 6th plant is Dracaena 'pineapple'. They grow into tall, pineapple-like-looking plants. They are closely related to Dracaena Janet Craig, but the JC grows much faster. Fertilize from May to Sept w/an all purpose plant food..The AV should be fed w/flowering plant food. Water only when soil is dry..Mist daily. Buy a humidifer. Place plants where they'll receive light, but away from a heating or cooling source. There's a product called Superthrive. I love it. It contains hormones and 50 vitamins. You can learn more at www.superthrive.com It is NOT a fertlizer, but to be used when you feed plants. 2 drops per gallon of water.. I believe with some work your plants can be show plants, Sav. BTW, this is a lot of work, but taking plants to sink/shower, once a wk if possible, will perk them up. This doesn't include the AV, though filling your sink w/warm water, (few inches) then setting AV inside sink about 20 mins will do wonders..Toni

Interesting thing about Dracaena names - no one ( I mean growers, botanists, collectors, researchers, etc.) agrees on what to call them. Mainly this is because the plants can change aspects (leaf coloration, size, growth pattern, etc.) more than once in the course of several years, based on the age of the plant as well as the cultural conditions. They also throw sports very easily. There are also many unnamed varieties in the wild, which can be introduced to the trade at any time. All of this is leading up to the observation that I don't think your plant is an 'Arturo' - those have yellow-green margins on the leaves, and it looks to me like yours has solid green leaves. Here's a link to the original patent information http://www.google.com/patents/USPP13814 and some color pics that show the margins more clearly, as well as loads of other dracaenas if you're interested. http://www.nieuwkoop-europe.com/downloads/Dracaena_brochure_spread.pdf Yours looks to be some form of Dracaena 'Janet Craig,' but as there are several varieties of that, you almost have to consult with the grower to identify specific cultivars. Even then, growers can have incorrect information, or at least information differing source to source. Until some energetic research facility undertakes a complicated genetic evaluation to determine which Dracaenas are related to which, the whole naming thing is a mish-mash.

Depending on pot size, sometimes it's difficult testing soil..If the container is larger than 12", sticking finger in soil doesn't work as well as it does testing smaller pots..That's why guages are used, but economically speaking, lifting pot works fine..if plant is light weight when lifted, you can bet soil is dry..if heavy, even if top soil looks crumbly, mid to lower soil is moist. IMO, Marginatas prefer dry well-draing soil, but need a hearty drink when dry..they also enjoy humidity..I mist its leaves daily, and set in shower every week or two. Bright light works fine, but depending on the species, (variegated) needs more sun than green w/red edge..otherwise the pink/green and/or red leaf loses color. There's a pic in the Plant Expert Plant book of a red leaf marginata..beautiful plant..But to keep leaves red, sun is mandatory..I think they'd adapt to full sun, even direct summer light, but placing in driect sun would have to be done gradually, especially if wintered indoors. I rotatee marginatas, but keep pink and reds closer to light in south windows..Drooping occurs when soil is over or underwatered..it takes experimenting. Also, marges prefer cooler temps than other Dracaenas..Hot, stuffy rooms invite mites and mealy..Toni

Mosinau, you many not even realize, but the entire opening post is about plants being killed by not drying quickly enough, and more water being added before they have dried. Roots need oxygen as well as moisture. Without both, they can rot and can't perform their job well, or at all once rot sets in. It may seem like a separate issue for each plant, but it sounds like one same issue to me. That is what the responses so far have been addressing. "varying watering habits(I view it as more of a chore now, while earlier I went by the website's instruction- every day)." That's way too often. When plants are dry, they need water. The amount of time it takes a particular pot to dry can vary, so a set schedule often does more harm than good. "Does having a nutrient source near the end accelerate the growth?" If this is all connected as one plant, nutrients obtained by one part will be shared with the whole plant. " My secondary question is about the micans only- its unusual leaves look like they catch a lot of dust. Is this bad and if so, how do I clean them off?" I put my plants outside in the rain when it's warm enough in the spring to clean off the winter dust. In general your focus seems to be making plants grow faster. To do that, the focus needs to start at the roots. No part of a plant can be healthy without healthy roots. In nature, there are many different types of soil and climate environments. In a house, there's usually one climate. As far as the soil part goes, the best thing we can do is offer something that provides moisture without rotting roots. "I'd like to eventually make up a pot that combines all my plants of this type." That sounds cool, I do that too. Plants with similar light and moisture requirements should do well together in the same pot. Eventually one might crowd the others out, at which time you could trim the bigger one, or redo the whole thing and kind of start over. "Schefflera(maybe Luseane). I know this can work in my house because my parents have one already and it is our most magnificent plant. I got one myself, unsure of how it propagates and not wanting to sacrifice any of the main one, but after a while of decent growth, it just sort of rotted away." The roots likely rotted. "Like with the Pileas, I had been following the watering instructions on the Exotic Angel Plants website, which called for watering every 2 or 3 days, I believe. I also had it in my room, which has somewhat lower light." They will tell you what they think you want to hear. Everyone wants some magic plant that can look great and even grow in some dark boring corner. Sure, there are a few of these out there, but the 'low light' designation on EA website shouldn't be given much weight, especially by someone like yourself who wants plants to grow at a visible pace as fast as they can. I put Scheff outside in the sun, all day (when plants aren't in the house hiding from winter.) While...