Pest battle with Panda Plant — and how I won

I had a serious problem with mealybug infestations in leaf crevices on my Panda Plant earlier this year. Caught it late and had to work hard to bring the plant back. The experience was frustrating but educational.

Now that it's healthy again I can fully appreciate extremely low maintenance between waterings, which is remarkable. I've repositioned it in a shallow dish garden arrangement and improved my attention to providing at least six hours of bright indirect light. surprising flower spikes in late spring was the proof that the plant had fully recovered — genuinely beautiful. Moral of the story: inspect regularly and catch problems early.