a friend of mine gave me a plant for my birthday and i've been trying to take care of it the best i can, but i fear it's in trouble. i'm not sure of the name, but it has a long, thin, cylidrical stem, similiar in texture to the trunk of a palm tree, and the leaves bloom out in a similiar fashion but without the perforation edges. anyhow, i've been watering once every three days or whenever the soil seems dry, and since i've taken over care of the plant, the color of the leaves has changed. they once were a darker, forrest green, tougher and more sturdy to the touch, not to mention shot out in straight, elongated, arrow head like projections. now, the leaves are a pail, sea foam green, softer to the touch, and have recently begun curling over like the pipe line of a breaking wave. the point at which the leaves begin to curl, small tears form...rips across the weakened leaves. what am i doing wrong? does it need more sun light? am i watering too much? please help me.

Gene, not easy to answer - probably too much water (give a thorough soaking making sure that all parts of the soil are moist, then wait until the top inch or so of the soil is dry before soaking again. Doing it by the calendar (every three days) doesn't work.Probably also, not enough light. BUT the problem is that the plant may have gone too far to sav. Can you buy a duplicate without telling the person who gave you the plant, and read up on how to water and so on to have a beter chance with this one. Don't worry about libations to the plant gods, do some reading. Good luck. derek