What is this and what do I need to do to help it?
I came across this yesterday at a garage sale for free. It was going to be thrown out, so I thought I’d bring it home and see if I can help it. I’m new to potted plants and would appreciate any help. From google searches, I’m leaning towards it being a bamboo palm? My first thought is it desperately needs repotting, but how much bigger a pot/pots should I go? What sort of mix? Should I cut anything off or split it in any way?
My guess is it’s been kept outside, I’m south of Perth, Western Australia and it’s getting colder now, so would it be better indoors? I have cats, and while they would hopefully leave it alone, is this a plant known to be toxic to pets? How much light do they like if indoors?
What sort of feeding and watering should I do? What pests should I be looking for and how to prevent them? I’ve noticed a white fluffy bit kind of between 2 leaves. I think it might be mealy bugs…😩 I’m going to deal with this as if it is- keeping the pot away from other plants and going in with cotton buds and iso. Any suggestions after that?
Sorry for the gazillion questions, but I really have no idea what I’m doing. I just couldn’t bear to see a living thing get sent to landfill if there was a chance I could save it. Thanks for reading this mess of a post!