Madagascar dragon tree arrived damaged, can I save it??

7 years ago

Hello! Got this plant as a gift (Dracaena family) and it arrived upside down in the box with the top smooshed and dirt in between all the leaves. We got a refund but they didn’t want me to send it back, so I’m going to salvage the best I can?

Do you think it’s salvageable?

If so, what’s the best course of action?

Should I cut off the brown leaves? Or just cut off the brown parts? Will more leaves grow? Wait and see what happens?

Any tips would be great! (I plan on it being an INDOOR plant. Just had it outside to water and take pic)

Featured Answer

floral_uk z.8/9 SW UK

7 years ago

OP states she got a refund.

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Comments (9)

User
7 years ago
That's more than just being delivered upside down. Where are you and where did the plant come from? Are we sure it's not FROST/COLD damage?
Lindsey Wright
Original Author
7 years ago
I’m in San Francisco but it came from Bloomscape. But I just checked and looks like they’re located in MI, might be the problem with frost? Regardless, it’s either the trash can or trying to milk some life out of it. Working on the latter if possible! Looking for tips or miracles!
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floral_uk z.8/9 SW UK
7 years ago
No need to trash it. It's a bit bashed up but very much alive. I'd leave it alone for a few weeks to settle down before doing anything. By then it should be clear which parts are really dead.
ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
7 years ago
agree .... its stressed from shipping and potting ... just water it properly for a month or 3 ... and let it settle down ....

and then start picking off dead leaves.. and cutting back damaged ones ...

i highly doubt it will fail ... unless you kill it with too much love ...

since its stressed.. food is not a proper response.. no fert

being in MI .. i highly doubt it was ever grown outdoors ... maybe there was a cold event during shipping ... who knows .. being upside down obviously didnt help ...

ive bought or pulled out of the trash.. much worse looking plants of this type ... you can barely kill them ...

ken
Lindsey Wright
Original Author
7 years ago
Thank you all!! You’ve given me hope! I’ll let it settle and see what happens! Hopefully a positive update in a month or two!
Treegeek Z6a (Boston)
7 years ago
Have you contacted the company you purchased it from with these photos?
Treegeek Z6a (Boston)
7 years ago
Missed that, must have been looking at the damaged pic :)
ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
7 years ago
can she lop off the tallest part on the left ... will it rebud ... and can she also propagate the trunk cut off ... ???

if so ... you might improve the look of the plant a lot ... by getting rid of the ugliest part ...

search using the latin name .. and include the word : propagation after such ...

ken