Well, I was about to ask almost an identical question, so in addition to what was said by argentcorvid my stems (same height - about 18") are wrinkled on the woody part, and the leaves have dropped all the way up except for the very tops, which have opened up some newer growth. Can I cut the tops off to root? Do I root them in water or in soil?

argentcorvid and kristgray,

Apparently there are several ways to do this, and with so much material, you could try them all! : )

It would probably be a good idea, first, to cut off a little at the bottom of what you have, and get it into water, so that it won't continue to dry out.

Type "Dracaena Propagation" (without quotation) into the Search Box near the bottom of the main House Plant Forum page. Also see the link from the University of Florida, below.

Oh! And let us know how they turn out.

Sc

Here is a link that might be useful: Dracaena Propagation

What you need to realize is that they always drop lower leaves as they grow up - I bet the orig. plant was fine to begin with, only you thought it was sick. They usually end up looking like lollipops!

I am aware that they drop leaves as they grow. However, mine is now completely bare bar the new leaves growing directly out of the top of the cane. Also, the canes are not firm, have become very wrinkled and do not stand without being tied to a support. This was a rescued plant, and I know that it was severely overwatered before I got it. One of the canes, when I got the plant, was completely soft and bent in half. Now I'm afraid the two others may be approaching the same fate if I don't do something about them.

Sounds like root-rot. It will spread up the cane to the grean leafy part. It would probably be best to cut the canes back to healthy tissue, and then try to root them. The mushy canes are goners!

I took another look at the end of the woody part of the plant, and it was completely dry. That means I need to go with the green 'stem' right?
I'd like you to tell me that the wood will still carry water up to the live part, but I'm pretty sure that's not going to work.

I did take the pictures today, but forgot to upload. maybe tomorrow.

Argent, I'm still waiting for your pics..LOL..
Krist, I agree, it does sound like root rot, especially if the leaves are wrinkled.
If it was my plant, I'd look for salvagable parts and try rooting it.
Scrape the bark on woody areas...if it's soft, I really doubt the dracaena will make it. But, if you're unsure, scrape the bark to see if there's any remaining green..if it's woody, in and out, it's probably a goner.
I wish you both luck..Toni

I rescued a Marginata Tricolor from my girlfriend's old office that had this very same problem. This plant was nearly 3' and had 3 stems that had flopped completely over. However, it was more the victim of under watering than over watering, but the end result was the same. With diligent care, the creases in the stems popped out where it flopped over and the root system bounced back with a vengence, but the stems never really regained much turgor. They're still rather thin and weak, and won't stand up straight without support.

I concur with everyone else, re-rooting is definitely the way to go at this stage. Try to cut the stem high up enough so that you get a cutting with little or no damaged tissue, thus minimizing your chances of passing any fungus on to the new plant.

Hi Saucer..How are you going to root your marginata?? Soil or water?
Did you start rooting already?? I bet it was one gorgeous plant when healthy..It's difficult locating Tricolor here in IL, let alone a 3'er.
I found pink baby dracaenas at HD, and a the red leaf at Petsmart..then potted w/my green w/red edged.
Did it literally bend over from say the center of the cane or fall right above the roots? Toni

Hi Toni, all I did actually was just start watering it! I had all the stems staked and was hoping that would do the trick. They were flopped over on the branching stems, a bit below the leaf masses. I never bothered re-rooting it, but I did repot it since it was getting top-heavy. The stems are so crooked anyway that I just didn't bother. It looks funny (kind of like a palm tree) but it's an otherwise very healthy plant!

I haven't seen many tricolors out here myself. Both of mine came from my girlfriend's old work. The smaller one came from a floral arrangement she got when she started there. She just jammed it in a pot of dirt without knowing much else about plants. It rooted and has been in this pot for 8 years or so. It's kinda small for it's age and probably root-bound (so I'll definitely be repotting it come Spring)but otherwise doing great. Aren't these marvelous plants?

Does anyone have experience in rooting them? Should it be done in water or soil?

My recommendation for this (and any Dracaena but Sanderiana) would be to root it in soil.

OK, sorry this took so long...
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here is a picture of the green stem, which the leaves are growing out of.

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What the leaves looked like when I got it.

And here is how the stem looks now. these pictures are of the same wrinkled-up stem shown above. this is just the 'elbow' that was growing out of the 'trunk'. pictures of the growing top are forthcoming. so far, they've only been in tap water, but are responding well.

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those were growing out of it when I cut it off.
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the end attached to the trunk was completely dry, so I'm thinking it looks like a case of under-watering