Hi Patty and welcome..Yep, you're in the right forum.
I couldn't open the sites, so don't know if it's my puter causing the problem.
If possible, I'd take your plant/s to the sink and hose foliage..Do this 2-3 times a wk..When you remove brown tips, leave about 1/8th" of the brown on leaves..

If you overwatered, most likely the leaves would yellow instead of brown..Is the plant rootbound? Maybe it is and instead of overwatering like you thought, you were actually doing the right thing. Can you see roots atop the soil or through the drainage holes?
What type and size pot is the plant in? Toni

Hi Toni,

Thanks so much for the welcome, and the quick response. :)

The Dracena is about 6 feet tall, so it's not something I can take to the sink. Every time I water my plants, I give them a good misting with a water bottle. Should I do this more often than once a week?

As far as the roots go, on one of my plants (another Dracena -- Corn Plant) I can see a lot of hair-like roots on top of the soil, and a lot of fat white roots coming out the bottom -- obviously time to repot that one, but since we're going into winter, I thought it best to wait until spring to do this. Am I correct?

On the Dracena in question, the plant, as I mentioned, is 6 feet tall, and the pot is about 8 inches tall. There are no roots on top of the soil. I don't see fat white roots sticking out of the bottom, but I see dark brown-reddish twig-like things near the holes in the bottom. Are these roots?

All my plants are in black pots -- must be some sort of plastic -- that came with the plants. When I eventually repot, should I continue using this type of pot? Also, what type of soil would these Dracenas grow best in -- something with some sort of aeration?

Thanks!
Patty

Hi Patty,
I got the pics to open..Guess I mistyped the first time. Sorry about that..Yep, both are dracaenas.
You asked if misting once a wk was sufficient..I try to mist at least once a day, especially if the house is dry. And w/the heat on the house is getting dry..I not only mist but use humidifers and 2 indoor foutains. I like for the humidity at least 50%. At the minimum.

Wow the plant is 6' tall and the pot only 8" tall? Do you know the diameter? (measure across on top/this tells diameter) The pot definatly sounds too small for this tall tree. Unless you find yourself watering every other day, there's no need to repot just yet..But as soon as daylight lenghtens, I'd definatly repot..Use your judgement on pot size.

The reddish twig-like things are roots..as long as you can see them emerging from the drainage holes, you know the roots are full.

Black pots are fine, unless you want a decorative pot..I use very few decorative pots..mostly plastic or clay depending on plant..Some of my dracaeans are in the black plastic pots. They're not beaty's, but work fine. And if you want something nicer, you can always buy a larger container and set something on the bottom of the pot like styrofoam sheets so plant won't sit in water. Don't get me wrong, Patty, I like pretty containers, but care more about the plants health.

BTW, of what I can see of your plants, they look really nice..Are those your plants or from a website?

I can see you can't hose these plants in the sink, but if you have the energy, you can always bring to the shower. Let water run over plants a while. This really helps perk plants up.

I mix my own soils, Patty..For dracaenas I use 1/3 black soil, 1/3 peat and 1/3 sand or Perlite. Been using this mix for many years.

Oh I wanted to mention, you said, you heard these plants can take very low light..I disagree..they take at least medium light. Too low light and they become spindly and lose color. Which directions are the windows? Toni

Wow! Fantastic information. Thanks, Toni. :)

The diameter of the pot appears to be right around 8" too. Actually, the diameter AND height are closer to 9".

The pics are from a website. ;o)

Our place is NOT large. The entire condo is around 900 square feet, so the living room/dining room is about 1/2 that. We have a large window off the living room and door that lets light in on one end of the condo. That's am AND pm light -- but AM is more direct in the winter and PM is more direct in the summer. Then we have a window on the other side of the condo in the dining room that is off our shady front porch -- no direct light EVER comes in there. The plant sits closer to the front window, but probably gets more light from the back window. In any case, I would probably call it low-medium light. The plant lady who delivered it said she felt it was enough light?

Patty, when you get a chance, (depending on how often it dries out) it'll be time to repot. 8" diameter for a 6' plant is way too small.
Who is the plant lady? If you don't mind me asking, did she sell the plants to you? Remember, salespeople will tell a customer anything to make a sale..lol. I distrust everyone lately..there are so many scam artists out there. So, one has to be careful these days. You know? Toni

Hi again, Toni!

The "plant lady" is from a local nursery, and when she delivered our plants, she said the spot we picked out for this particular plant was fine.

Hmmmmm....

Interesting...

I read somewhere in internet land (maybe here?) that you should stick your finger about 2" into the soil. If it's dry, it needs to be watered.

I've always just watered my plants once a week (they're all large and tree-like). The last time I watered was Tuesday. This is the first time I've ever done this finger test, and I have discovered that the two plants near the windows are totally dry...and it's only Saturday. But they are doing totally fine and look beautiful so I'm not going to mess with their schedule.

But the Dracena I'm having problems with is only the SLIGHTEST BIT moist. I imagine, but I'm not sure yet, that it will be dry by Tuesday. So I don't THINK I'm overwatering or underwatering it.

So I guess I'm back to my original question: any ideas why the leaves on this one are brown? Could it just be that it needs more light?

Thank you!!

sassypatty, I've had problems with my Dracaena leaves browning at the tips when I use fluoridated tap water to water the plants. After I switch to rain water, the tips on the new leaves don't brown. If it's only the leaves that have sprouted since you got the plant that are having this problem, it might be the case that the plant doesn't like the type of water that you are giving it.

Becky

Hi Becky, and thanks for your note.

It's not just the tips...it's the entire leaf that's turning brown, from the edges on in. I took a closer look today, and it looks like it's mostly the leaves on one particular thick stem (coming out of the soil -- sorry, don't know the technical words.) The 3-4 others stems seem to have not been as infected with this malady, although the tips of a couple here and there are.

Since I live in the high desert, I don't have the luxury of rainwater. I'll switch to watering my plants with filtered water...do you think this might help?

Sounds to me like the growing points have been affected. If that is the case, the discussion about fluoride is moot.

Perlite, by the way, should never be added to a potting mix intended for fluoride sensitive plants. Toni should know that by now. ;-)

"Sounds to me like the growing points have been affected."

Can you please tell me what this means?

Thanks. ;o)