Not sure, does the "fragrans' (corn plant Dracaena) have stripes. I know the "massageana" does, as well does the "warneckii" and the "marginata" also. As Karen pointed out, mostlikely cause is you are not giving the plant sufficient light. Dracaena can take less than good light. But a stronger light will make your plant grow stronger, with tougher leaves and better retention of moisture. AT this time that can be difficult because the sun is just coming back north but will take a couple months yet before it gives plants what they like. In this regard though, try to give the plant as much sun as you can by giving it exposures from the west, south....or if you have to, the east. A northern location just will not do the plant any good. Dracaena is one of the plants that reacts to fluorine in the water. So try to let the water, if its out of the tap, sit for 24 - 48 hours prior to watering. Fertilizer should ahve low ratio of phosphate. If superphosphate is part of any feeding program, withdraw that. Perlite too contains amounts of phoshurus and so should be not so much part of any potting soil you use for dracaena.

This is such an exciting time -- all the planning and anticipation! Good for you! Anticipating a harvest is so very difficult -- you never know what kind of year you're going to have. The trick is getting too much the first year and not being able to keep up with it. Start small then build. I raise pole beans - blue lakes, a great, reliable variety. This year I put out a couple of short rows of Derbys for a friend who doesn't care for the blue lake flavor. Thank goodness, because the friend petered out, the year was exceptionally dry, and the pole beans didn't bear significantly until the season was about over. The derbys kept us in beans all summer and outdid themselves in stress situations. See? Never know. Hmmm -- if you get a 2 1/2 gal (regular size) galvanized bucket full of green beans, that's about 4 quarts. Peas? Pick all day and shell all night and you'll have 2-3 pints. I picked 2 5-gal buckets once and got 9 pints. Of course, by the time I got them all finished, the nutritional value was zip. About the canning -- if you've never canned before, be sure that your instruction book was printed within the last 10 years. Stocking Up (a Rodale Book) is wonderful, but old. I think there's one or two sequels to it to bring methods up to date. Remember that vegetables aren't the same as they were 20-30 years ago. The chemistry has changed. University of Georgia has about the best guide I've found, all tested recipes, etc. It's available in book form (I got a copy at the library) and also on line (Soeasytopreserve.com) . Don't forget to use your Cooperative Extension office as a resource.

I have a new question. I figured out yesterday that my Safe Lawn by Mega Gro is corn gluten. I really completely forgot what I ordered. So my new question is can I apply the corn gluten now in high heat? Going to cool down to around 90 by Sunday. Also in theory can Dr. Earth lawn fertilizer be applied in the heat? I really need to feed the front yard and still have half a bag of this in the shed. Thanks. Kate

Honey, Salt and Milk are listed in the top 10 bad foods to feed to birds. I know it's a hard decision for you to make between giving the bird feeds to your pet since it was a present or throw it away to avoid anything bad to your birds. If I were you, I would not give the feeds to your pet since it's so dangerous. Anyway, it's still up to you what you are going to do. It's just my advice.