Hi Patrick,
That is a dracaena. It sounds like you were at least making an attempt to not over water it. The important thing though is not to try to water a houseplant on a schedule. With Dracaena you want to let at least the top couple of inches of soil to dry out before watering. They are (or are at least related to) succulents. With mine, I let them go almost completely dry before watering. You also want to make sure they are getting at least medium light. Stronger light is OK if they are not moved into it too quickly. Direct sun will burn the leaves. As a precaution, you may also want to check the leaves, top and bottom for webbing, critters or anything else unusual.

The bare canes will not regrow leaves, but the tips will continue to grow taller and produce more leaves. If you don't like the bare stems you can lop their heads off and stick them down in some fresh soil. They will continue to grow. And here's the cool part; though the headless stems will stop growing taller, they will soon sprout side shoots, at least 2-3 usually.

Whatever you do, I would first recommend un-potting the plant and inspecting the roots. Trim off any that seem dead or mushy. At this time, you'll probably want to refresh the potting mix as well. You can re-use the original pot, too. At this time I would not try going up a pot size.

Well, first things first: it's a Dracaena fragrans. I think.

The reason why it hasn't attempted to grow back any of the lost leaves is because it can't. All you can do when you're a Dracaena is get taller or branch, and branching would only be likely if it had grown mostly horizontally for a period of time, or if it had flowered. So it gets taller.

Is there a way to regrow? Well, kinda. You could cut the plant back, at which point it would be forced to sprout new growing tips. Or you could air-layer (.pdf file) and start over again with the tops of the plants.

The more interesting question to me is why you're losing so many leaves in the first place. Granted, keeping your plant alive for two years is an accomplishment in and of itself, but the leaf drop looks like a fairly extreme case of something or another, too. It would like more light, though that's not why it would be dropping leaves. Soil breakdown is a possibility, as is over- or under-watering, fertilizer buildup, and temperature. Pests are an outside possibility, but these aren't really known for having pest problems, and most pest problems would have progressed well beyond obvious by now.

So.

When you water, do you pour water in until it starts running back out, or do you only add a little bit at a time?
Does the plant ever have to stand in a saucer full of water?
Is the plant in a draft?
Is the plant in the path of an air conditioning or heating vent?
How long has it been since the plant got new soil?
Is the water in your area naturally high in fluoride?
How do you decide when it's time to water? (by schedule? by feeling the top couple inches of soil? by weight of the pot? whenever you remember?)
Are there roots coming out of the bottom of the pot?

I'm going to go ahead and bet $10 on soil compaction and/or rootbound: that's a lot of plant for the size of the pot it's in. Unlike saucer, I think I would go up a pot size unless you're planning to cut it back, and if it's as potbound as I suspect it is, I might move it up to the next largest size regardless. If it were my plant. Which it is not. Look at the roots first, like saucer said.

Mr. Sub you've asked great questions.
I can answer two by looking at Patrick's pictures.
There is NO light source anywhere near the Dracaena, "Janet Craig.'
If you notice in pic one, a large heating vent is adjacent the plant. These vents blow out how air, therefore the surrounding area is dry. Although Dracaneas don't need as much humidity as say, Calathea, it requires some. Plus air blown from this type of vent permeates, not only frontwards, but sideways, too. My BIL has the same type of heating vent. We visited him on Thanksgiving. Because I felt chilly, I stood beside the vent and felt heat blowing on me.
Like Saucer said, this Draceana will not produce new growth where old has died, but they sprout shoots from the soil line. MIne has grown a 7" shoot this past month.
I agree with Mr. Sub about watering.
W/o enough light, soil will remain moist, on the other hand, the heat from the vent dries soil fast.
IMO, dry air is also the problem. Patrick, you need to find a different spot, in front of a bright window, away from the vent.
You can also air-layer or cut trunk sections and root. Leave the bottom as is, and new growth will develop. After rooting the top, place rooted cuttings with mom. You'll then have multi-trunks. Or set cuttings in separate pots. Toni

Thank you Mr. Subjunctive, and everyone else..

To answer your questions:

>When you water, do you pour water in until it starts
>running back out, or do you only add a little bit at a
>time?

For the last year I think I probably watered it once a month (sometimes less often), and it was pretty much just about 1/2 a cup of water on each stalk.

>Does the plant ever have to stand in a saucer full of
>water?

No, definitely not..

>Is the plant in a draft?

No... It was originally in a pretty neutral place within the center of my living room. However, now it has been moved (as you can see by the 2nd/newer picture) so it is much closer to a window and still away from a draft.

>Is the plant in the path of an air conditioning or heating
>vent?

As one of the other posters noticed, it was previously by a heater though that was only on for 2-3 months of the year, and I actually think most of the leaves were falling off in the summer when the heat was off.

>How long has it been since the plant got new soil?

Eeek! Never.. (is that terrible??) How often should this be done? What kind of soil should be used?

>Is the water in your area naturally high in fluoride?

Well I think it's hard to get away from fluoridated water these days (unfortunately)... Should I be watering this plant with distilled water instead?

>How do you decide when it's time to water? (by schedule? by >feeling the top couple inches of soil? by weight of the >pot? whenever you remember?)

Yeah it's mostly been like a: "Wow it's been a while since I watered that plant.. better do it now" sort of thing.. The plant originally came in a cheap plastic pot, and a friend bought be one of those wooden plant pots that looked nice so I put it in there (with the original plastic pot) and covered the soil with rocks, so I can't really feel the soil.. (probably another bad thing?)

>Are there roots coming out of the bottom of the pot?

I can't tell this without removing the many layers of rocks-- which it sounds like I should do to replace the soil-- ?

thanks again for the help!!!

-patrick

Patrick, I have to ask. What's the pole with the orange cone? LOL
Soil evaporates after time? When it does, freshen with new soil. Add a little on top, or if your plant is rootbound, (roots growing atop soil and/or through drainage holes) repot into a container, 1-2 sizes larger than its current pot.
You have a wooden pot, an inner pot, and rocks on top!! Not good, Patrick. First, some woods tend to rot. Second, a pot inside a pot, (unless you add something like styrofoam/brick under the inner pot, on top of the outer pot) retains water. If water builds up, roots sit in water.
Third, the top dressing, in your case, rocks, have to go. (S)
When soil is hidden under rocks/moss, how do you know if it's wet or dry? Fungus Gnats thrive on constantly wet soil, moreso if air is dry. Not to mention root rot.
(About)1/2 cup of water, (for your size tree) isn't enough to wet roots. Instead of pouring 1/2 cup per trunk, soak soil thorougly, then let dry before adding more water.
2-3 months, standing before a heating vent is all it takes to dry foliage. If possible, find a brighter spot, away from vent.

Patrick, you do not need to buy special water. LOL. Tap water is fine. Although, hard water can cause problems. Do you have one plant? Save an old milk container, rinse, fill with water. Hide somewhere, under sink, etc. When your Dracaena needs water, use water from the container. This way, chlorine is gone, and water is room temperature.

Your D. 'Janet Craig' was gorgeous. You can either grow as is, or cut back. Air layering is another option. It depends how much work you want to spend. Your D. J/C was one of the fullest I'd ever seen. Did it have 2 trunks originally? There was a lot of plant if only two. Good luck, Toni

I think the lack of water is the main problem. The plant is trying to survive by dropping the lower leaves in order for there to be enough moisture to support new growth. The new growth looks fairly healthy though I can see some brown tips....one of the signs of underwaterering. I have an 8' plant that gets about a 1/2 GALLON of water about every 3 weeks or so. I would take it outside and give it a thorough soaking. Then let it go almost dry before the next soaking.