Looks like I found the right thread! Yesterday I rescued a Dracaena Tricolor from my girlfriend's work that I'd like to try nursing back to health. Apparently it wasn't really being watered very much. It has one cane with three stems that have completely flopped over about halfway up, but they still have alot of reasonably healthy foliage on them. With care, will the stems eventually right themselves? Should I stake them up? This is one of my first Dracaena so any advice would be greatly appreciated! I've treated it with a little miracle grow, super thrive, proteckt and physan-20 and am keeping it in my indoor flourescent light garden for now, which is pretty warm and humid. I also got another tricolor from my girlfriend's work that she says is at least 8 years old. It's healthy but only about 18" high and has never been repotted to my knowledge. I am guessing that it's probably pot bound? It makes for sort of a nice "bonsai," but would it be better to repot it soon. And one more thing, I also picked up another Dracaena recently at a plant sale. I'm not sure which species it is but it has thin white stripes on the edges of the leaves. Does anyone happen to know what this is off-hand? Thanks again Gardenwebbers!

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

That's pretty! Please don't be confused with how this plant (or any Dracaena I've tried so far) can grow in water (as lucky bamboo if D. sanderiana.) That doesn't mean it can tolerate a pot of constantly soggy peat. Dracaenas and parlor palms are sensitive to tap water chemicals. Distilled or caught rain water is good for those if possible. The pot in the upper right corner looks like it's sat in water in a drip tray repeatedly to get those hard water stains. That's not something appreciated by most potted plants, especially during the shorter, cooler days of winter, coming soon...

So i got this plant from an online group a week ago and im not sure whats going on with it. Leaves are brown and crunchy from the tips, down the outer sides and moving inward of the leaves. Although some of the leaves at the base are brown and soft and pull off easily. The trunk is not green and vibrant, rather dark brown in some areas dry, some reddish color. It appears that the trunk was cut off at some point in multiple spots. The underside of leaves seem to have brown/black stuff that comes off easily when i wipe them. Most of the tips were cut prior to me getting it, there is some healthy new growth on top and a little one on the bottom. I know these plants are sensitive to fluoride, so im not sure if that is the issue? Id love to save this beauty, but am not sure what direction to go in since i dont really know the history of care from the previous owner. The plant is near a window so its getting plenty of light but not direct sun. I watered it last weekend when i got it, but have not watered again since the soil seems moist. My house is kept between 74 and 76 degrees, we live in hawaii so temps do not get extremely cold or hot. Any feedback on what could be happening? I have pictures but am not seeing how to upload them on here!