Looking at the third pic I can tell you right away that the stem in the middle is a goner. The one on the right looks healthiest and the one on the left....negligible. The first thing you'll want to do is take the plant out of the pot and knock as much dirt off of the root ball as possible. Toss out that black cane and examine the roots of the other two. Healthy dracaena roots are usually yellow or orange-ish. If any are dead or mushy, trim them off. Hopefully there should be a decent amount of rootage left. Judging from the pic, it looks like the plant might be in a pot that is a bit too large. I would them re-pot the remaining plant in fresh soil in a pot at least one size smaller. Dracaena like to be a bit pot-bound. This also helps discourage an anaerobic zone which leads to root rot. If you're using store bought potting soil I would also amend it with some perlite and/or horticultural charcoal. Next, place the plant in an area that will receive at least medium light. Nothing too bright, at least until it recovers and never direct sun. When watering, wait until at least the top two inches or so of soil are dry. Also check deeper down to make sure it's not sopping wet around the root ball (shouldn't be if you're using a well-draining mix). Let us know how it goes and if you have any further questions.

I DID use a weed killer a few yards away -- I thought it was such a calm day there would be no drift. (insert bad words here) We have several oaks and those little acorns sprout like crazy. I have baby oaks like most people have grass. Is there anything I can do, or are the plants bound for death? The other area where I sprayed is long dead now. Thanks so much for advice -- and I've definitely learned a lesson here. Terri

It does not look too bad in the picture so I would not panic; you should have seen my mopheads this am. In the day, I would expect some wilting on new LLs and with 99-100 temps. The blooms are getting old and when they do, they turn other shades of green with pink/etc. Wilting 24/7 indicates that either the soil is dry or it is getting too much water so make sure you do not keep the soil always wet as this makes it easy to get root rot. A little wet now and then is ok (> week of wet and I would worry). Check the condition of the leaves in the morning and not at night since they sometimes take a while to recover. My mopheads this AM looked wilted so I had to water them by hand. It is just plum too hot here in Texas so the leaves during the summer will wilt in the day, especially recently planted shrubs. Next year, it should behave better. Investigate why the soil is wet so much... to confirm your overwatering suspicion. An ck why the soil may not be draining well. I drip water 1.5 gallons on my LL per watering. Twice a week. Sometimes every other Sundays, I will also water by hand as drip does not do a good job on roots that are in the top 4".

"....... spent the time to dab all the spots ....... with a diluted dish soap and warm water blend." Detergents Dishsoap/ detergent’s effect on plants varies with the mode of exposure. Dawn, Palmolive, Joy, ...... dishsoap, as an example, are each and all a mishmash of chemicals, at least eleven of which are phytotoxic. If the top of the plant is sprayed thoroughly with even mild detergent solutions such that all surfaces including leaves are covered, the detergent can easily dissolve the protective coating of cuticular wax on the leaves of the plant, causing abnormally high rates of water loss and possible necrosis of all or part of the leaf. Cuticular waxes prevent leaves from drying out, and help stop pathogens from attacking the leaf. Strong solutions will even dissolve cell membranes, causing death of the cells. If a detergent solution is used as a soil drench or makes its way into the soil as a consequence of over-spray or run-off, the effect on roots is immediate. Because one of the main function of roots is to absorb water and nutrients dissolved in water, they lack the waxy protective coating that leaves employ. Detergent solution in contact with root cells can quickly dissolve the lipid membrane surrounding cells, killing the cells and inhibiting water/ nutrient uptake. Hair cells growing as appendages off larger roots do the lion’s share of assimilating water and nutrients, and these very delicate cells would be the first casualty of any detergent in the root zone. There are widely available insecticidal soaps, designed to be used topically and made mixing potassium with only long chain fatty acids, carefully selected and specifically formulated to be safe for mammals & birds, death on most insects they contact, and most important, safe for plants. If you need something "soapy", it would be much better if you selected a product intended for use on plants than one intended for other purposes. Al