Lamora, waiting a few days before repotting was a good idea. Some authors suggest waiting six-months, but when roots pop out of drainage holes, it's time to repot. If the pot is too large there will be problems. The max is 2" larger than the rootball. Miracle Gro is good soil, but it should be amended with other mediums like Perlite. MG has some Perlite mixed in, but not enough. So, if you decide to reduce pot size, add Perlite with MG. After repotting, 'pot needs drainage holes,' water thoroughly. Place in a bright to sunny spot, and let be. Watering depends on pot size, air moisture, and heat/cool temps. Soil should dry between waterings. Three ways to test soil is, 1. insert your finger or a thin stick deep in soil..if it comes out moist/wet, bottom soil is still wet. Don't water. 2. Lift pot. If it's heavy, soil is damp to wet. Don't water. If light, give it a drink. 3. Water guages. Don't bother with the little cardboard types..they're trash. If you want a decent guage, buy one at a reputable shop. But, inserting a stake/finger is the best, and econical way. No need spending money. Lamora..you didn't fail your plant. Losing plants is part of gardening and a way of learning. All gardeners, in and out, lost plants at times. We learn by our mistakes. Correct what we did wrong with the first plant. So, please don't feel bad. There are two other methods I use and find very helpful. you might or might not be interested. One is misting plants daily. Sprayers are inexpensive. The second is a product called Superthive. Superthrive contains hormones and 50 Vitamins. It does wonders with sick plants, seedlings or healthy plants that need a boost. It is not a fertilizer. In fact, it can be used with fertilizer, but not to be confused as a fertilizer. Neither methods are needed, but as a long-time gardener, I've been using/doing both over 20 yrs. Actually longer, but I won't go there, lol. Hope your Spider does well...Toni

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

I have been trying to grow a desert rose for many years now. When I first got it the pot was too small so I repotted it, but I used regular soil and was very tricky to water it just enough to keep it between brown tipped leaves and yellow leaves. I finally read up and repotted it into cactus/succulent potting mix. When I had pulled it out of the old pot I was amazed it was still alive because it had only 2 or 3 small roots coming off the big ball, and it surely had root rot. There was not much at stake so I washed it in water and actually sprayed it very hard with the hose nozzle to clean off the black stuff. Back to the new pot and soil, it started to grow very fast but the leaves will not get dark green, they look pale. The soil was miracle grow and I'm wondering if it has the wrong fertilizer in it? Also even though it drain much better than before, I think I'd like to pot it again with a good amount of sand added to the succulant soil so it drains even better. Oh, I did pull it out of the new soil once to see how the root rot was doing and it had grown new roots like crazy! I couldn't believe how fast the new roots grew! So what do you think I should do? Add sand because I feel it is still holds too much water, and what about the pale green? It used to have dark green leaves. It has only bloomed once in many years, sometimes I just can't give up on a living plant no matter how bad it looks. Thanks, Tony

"I'm guessing the pot is so large that I've been overwatering the tree and also not flushing it when I water. Is this he reason the leaves are turning brown?" It sounds like the foliage that's in the process of being shed is part of the plant's drought response due to too much water in the soil. Too much water = not enough oxygen to drive the O2 dependent process of water uptake = not enough water getting to distal parts of the plant (leaves - particularly tips and margins) = shedding in response. The yellowing is a result of the lack of chlorophyll that is being salvaged (along with mobile nutrients and other bio compounds) by the plant from leaves being shed. "..... what should the dowel rod look like when it needs to be watered? Should it be completely dry at the bottom of the rod and not pick up any of the dirt?" When the dowel first comes out clean and dry, it's time to water. I'd work toward getting watering under control, then follow the instructions in the thread I left a link to above to turn the plant around. There are some things you can do to help avoid limitations associated with saturated media. You're sure to have other questions, so don't be shy about voicing them. We all want you to have the best growing experience you possibly can. Al