You could start by cutting the dry, dead stuff off.

Maybe tell us what what kind of soil it has, light it gets. I see it's a pot in another pot. Is there water collecting down below? Has the soil ever been changed?

I think it's a Corn plant aka Dracena.

Thanks so much K and F , a bit of background Mistress Wilky and I are probably the worst gardeners the world has ever seen ,we wouldn't grow anything in the Amazon, we were dragged up in inner city Manchester UK and the only grass I saw as a kid was growing between the nicks in the flagstones and no ! We never touched and tbh never seen the other 'grass' So if ( when ) I ask something stupid please understand.

it is definitely not standing in water Mrs W insisted it didn't need watering so if anything it's too dry ,we go have a hole in the bittom of the pot.It stands near to a patio with great light sometimes sunny ( well we are in Manchester) and obviously the central heating is on most days at least until August !!.

Do we leave the leaves ?? Or cut the brown ones off ,it looks very sad ,thxs for identitfying it ,I am told my D in Law bought it from IKEA of all places ( she wants to be Swedish) so it probably had a similar upbringing to me ...neglected.

Any advice will gratefully received ,have a great day,

.

john.

The really annoying thing, John, is that you’ll see these things in the windows of Chinese take always looking disgustingly healthy. Maybe you could try pumping the fumes from a deep fat fryer at it.

Seriously, though, now you have an id there’s lots of info out there. If you have a garden or balcony it can stand outside for the summer.

I,ll put it in the kitchen !! Well done regarding the name DIL has been in Ikea ( again ) today and yes it's Dracula Fragrance as you said well done .

i have googled and one has said cut away the brown bits ,which I have done and it looks a lot healthier already ( wish that would happen to me) also we have given it a good watering but not standing in water and it advises to allow it to dry now.

We will take your tip and put it in the partial shade when it gets warmer ( usually about August 16 th) hopefully I will be able to post a picture later in the year of it looking top notch .

many thxs J

Dracula fragrance! Damned auto correct.

Ps the deep fat fryer tip was a joke.... I’m sure it’s fine in the lounge, but perhaps get it away from that radiator.

It's normally never near the radiator or the kitchen that was just whilst it was in transit ,cheers

Phew...

This is a plant that will reward you if you care for it, give it the right light, temperature and watering. It will stay with you for decades. Mine are 20 years old and I love them dearly. Move it to a brighter position, water it but do not soak it, it doesn't need to be constantly moist, but as all plants, it does need to be watered!

EnfantT

Maybe you could post a pic of your healthy, happy one so John can see what that looks like.