Unhealthy Dracaena Marginata needs help

15 years ago

Hi all

I have just joined and am hoping that someone will be able to help me save my plant. It was given to me about a month ago and it was absolutely beautiful. It's leaves were dark green and upright. I put in on my stairwell, which is well lit but not in direct sunlight. The temperature where we live has dropped by about 30 degrees in the last month (from 100 to 70) . It is now looking dreadfully droopy and pale. The leaves keep falling off. The soil is damp and i have only watered twice in the last month, last time was last weekend.

I have chopped off one of the stems as the base of the leaves has turned a nasty blackish colour!. I have seen a few posts relating to this topic but can't find the pictures that have been posted so i can't see whether mine is similar. I have pictures, but don't know how to upload them as my message keeps getting rejected. I hope someone can help.

Lizzybet

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Comments (2)

johnh_or
15 years ago
Sounds like root rot to me. Dracs need to go fairly dry before you water them. I'm sure someone else will chime in but what I would do is un-pot the plant, wash off all the sour soil, let the rootball dry and trim back the roots till you find healthy tissue and then re-pot in a fast draining mix.
jeannie7
15 years ago
Anytime you see black leaves, think too much water.

First, to try to save the plant, move it to sunlight..a western or southern exposure would be recommended.
If you believe you have indeed overwatered, then you have to unearth it to inspect the roots.

Plants need water only when they need it....not when you decide to water it.
Even when you faithfully don't water too much, maybe what you have given it is too much.

Once the plant is out of the pot, inspect the roots for signs of rotting. Put your nose to it. Does it smell gunky...do any of the roots come away easily.
If this is the case, wash all the soil off around the roots.
Re-pot using fresh potting soil (or a soiless mix) and be sure to put something between the drainage holes and the soil. Shards of clay, stones of size, are just two things...and there are many other things you can choose, to keep the soil away from plugging up the drainage holes.
Houseplants must drain after every watering, then allowed to dry down between.

On the stairwell. Lots of light...but not direct light.
That speaks for light from a fluorescent or incandescent light bulb up on the ceiling.
Not good enough. Light from a non-natural light source must be within 6 - 8 inches of the top of the plant to be effective.
Move the plant to natural light however what room it goes into.
Maybe you put it on the stairwell for decorative purposes.
Unfortunately, your plant does not have your house's decor in mind to live its life.
It needs light to survive.

Light and proper watering and food when it is growing.
Never feed a plant that is not growing or is sick.
If you feed the plant, water it first, then feed at reduced rates until mid February/March when light levels return.

If you just cant bring yourself to tkae the plant away from how it improves the look of the stairwell, think artificial.
There are any number of real plants that look exceptional --but are plastic.
Michaels and their ilk, have many plants that you will fall in love with and can do wonders for home decor.
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I'll just give you some of my opinions. First, I think it needs to be in a faster draining soil (not regular potting mix). If you've had it in the same soil for 5 years, it's time to change it. I would get regular potting soil and add perlite (2 parts potting soil to 1 part perlite). I don't think the heat vent/open window is good, but not too sure of the effects of that, so I'll leave that to someone else. If you can move it a little bit away so that it can still get some light, that might help. It needs MUCH more humidity. The pebble tray should always have water in it (but never so FULL so that it touches the bottom of the pot...you don't want the pot sitting in water). Misting 2-4X a month does absolutely nothing. MAYBE if you misted daily, 2-4X a day. But with that heater on, the water will dry off immediately. Also, is there a drainage hole in the pot? There MUST be one...if not, get a pot with a drainage hole. And make sure it isn't too rootbound. Are roots sticking out of the drainage hole? If you decide to repot, make sure you have about an inch between the root ball and the pot, so you might have to go up in size (but not too big). I live in cold NY and keep my dracaena marginata out of any direct light. I water it when it is completely dry. But twice a month seems like it might not be enough. You should probably be watering it when the soil is dry, and not so much on a schedule. If it turns out to be 2x a month, then ok...but make sure you don't let it stay dry for too long. And last, do not fertilize until late Spring. Hope that helps, and good luck with your plants :-) Gabi
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You should be able to put it relatively close to the east window, if not directly in front of it. It is a pretty adaptable plant and I've found that as long as it's close to a window it should be ok. The light through the glass is just fine. No sense in wasting electricity by having the A/C running while a window's open! This plant will indeed recover. It will take some time, and what is brown now won't be green again. But it will eventually be ok given enough light. As Toni said, fertilize it once a month, especially if you plant to give it strong light. And do keep an eye out especially for spider mites in that dry heat! Though they can also get nasty mealy infestations. I personally disagree with the misting suggestion since theres no benefit to be had. It will cool the plant for only a few minutes in that high heat, and the water that does evaporate will not stay by the plant to humidify it. If you plan to spray it once every 10 minutes, THEN you might see a benefit, otherwise its a wasted time. However, it won't hurt anything to spray once or twice a day, so if it makes you feel better, spray away!
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Where are you located? That info is significant. I would agree about the likelihood of sunburn. If it had been grown in shade, then it needs to be hardened off to stronger sun gradually. (Think of what would happen to a caucasian person who, after being indoors all winter, was suddenly transported to the Arizona desert for an outdoor hike with no sunscreen.) Does that pot sit flush to the ground? If so, for better drainage (I know you said the white pot has drainage holes) it might help for the pot to be sitting on little "feet" so there is a tiny bit of clearance between the holes on the bottom and the ground. As far as the media goes .... what exactly did you use? Straight potting soil? MiracleGro mix?......
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Unhealthy Dracaena Marginata needs help

Comments (2)

johnh_or

jeannie7

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