Dying Dracena, need help!

9 years ago

The big problem: yellowing leaves starting from the edges, Browning spots, spots that look "wet" but are spots that have loss pigment and sorta look like they have wilted.

Story: My sister was tired of this "tree" she had and thought it was getting to big. So i helped her saw it down and we were gonna root the pieces we chopped off.. her pieces rooted right away and in a couple months time she had them potted and she was growing new plants. My piece took over a year to root and grow leaves before I potted it (I kept calling it my moldy stick bc that's what it was for over a year was a stick in water). Finally it took off and was growing leaves. I live in Michigan and asked my sister (who lives in Georgia) how she gets her counterparts to grow so well. She says most of the year they are outside in the sun until it gets too cold and then they are inside by a window in direct sun. Once I moved and got a patio, I put my plant outside bc it is well into the 70s in Michigan. About a month since moving with the plant being outside it has really gone downhill. I thought maybe it was to much sun so I moved it to a shadier spot on the porch. Then I though root rot. Letting the soil dry out and have even dug my fingers around the edge of the pot to help turn up the soil and help it dry out. I don't know what todo! But I don't want it to die! My best guess on the plant species is a dracena but even that's a guess. Help!

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Comments (3)

Tiffany, purpleinopp Z8b Opp, AL
9 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Yes, it's a Dracaena. I was at the edge of my seat, thoroughly enjoying the exciting story of the comeback of this plant, and totally understanding that your sister's in GA would grow more quickly, having moved to AL from OH about 10 yrs ago, but then, right here: "Once I moved and got a patio..." a question developed. How much time has passed with the soil currently in the pot? If it has been a year or more, the roots could need some relief. In a nutshell, by trimming if a "pancake" of roots has developed at the bottom of the pot, and by replacing the old soil with new, something more chunky/porous/airy.

A much more detailed, informative article:

http://forums2.gardenweb.com/discussions/1490818/good-growing-practices-an-overview-for

and more:

http://forums2.gardenweb.com/discussions/1497307/ukeeping-u-them-looking-good
cdsimonis
Original Author
9 years ago
Thank you so much for the advice! Since the original potting it's been just under a year. Shortly after the original potting it had roots rot problems and I did a full repot with different soil and trimmed away a bunch of roots. That was over 9 months ago though and it was doing great. I agree I think I need some different type of soil. Do you have any advice on the type of water I use? I know my spider plant can't tolerate all the minerals in my tap water so I use store bought purified water and rain water to water my spider plant. Could my Dracaena also be having mineral build up in the soil from the tap water I have used for it?
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Tiffany, purpleinopp Z8b Opp, AL
9 years ago
Happy to share info that has helped me/my plants! And yes, absolutely. Dracaenas are known for being sensitive to fluoride in particular. Lime would raise the soil PH.
cdsimonis thanked Tiffany, purpleinopp Z8b Opp, AL