Maidin, I second your watering habits. I too allow Dracaena soil to dry. Especially in winter. Humidity is another thing, but soil dries. Mike you are absolutely correct about care, mainly sunlight, depending where one lives. But, no matter where one resides, a plant should be cared for similar to it's native lands. For instance, desert cactus grow in sandy regions, hot and direct sun, and little rainfall. So, naturally, let's use cactus as an example, to duplicate it's native lands..We'd set it in well-draining soil, the sunniest window, and water sparingly. If a cactus grew in a dark corner, in heavy soil, and watered daily, good bye cactus..lol.. So, I understand what you're saying about different locals, on the other hand, a person in Fl can possibly get by setting a plant that'd do best for us facing south, they place in a west. Do you understand what I'm saying? Moreso, when plants are set outdoors. BTW, how ya doing? Keltic, is the soil dry? If so, give it a drink...Did the trouble start during winter? Did you repot in a larger pot, or just change soil mediums? If possible, place your Corn Plant in the shower and spray away..If you use 'saved' water, aim shower head on foliage. If not, shower the entire plant. Afterwards, allow corn plant to sit in the tub, absorbing air moisture. In fact, keep the bathroom door shut. You can even leave it overnight..First thing in the morning, remove from shower and set in medium light, working your way up to bright light..Toni

Trog, your Dracaena is actually Cordyline. It's sold in garden centers as annuals for summer gardens, (cold climates) but the good news is, Cordylines are tender perrenials and can live on for years, if cared for properly. The, well, not really bad news is, although Cordylines are related to Dracaenas, somehow affiliated, they are more difficult keeping indoors then say, (Corn Plant) D. fragens or (Dragon Tree,) D. marginata. Fertilize in summer..This type of Cordyline is slow-growing, but will grow in summer, slow down or halt in winter. Stop fertilizing after September, restart some time in Apr or when you see new growth. Good luck, Toni They are sun lovers, though will do fine in very bright light. They will rot if overwatered. Drainage holes are mandatory. They should be summered outdoors. Although tap water will suffice, they dote on rain. But once again, drainage is important. I've seen huge versions of Cordyline, (one that comes to mind had purple leaves,) $600.00! When mature, they are beautiful, thick-stiff leaves. Height and width depends on the species. Some grow 18" while others reach 6-8' tall.

Heythere, Toni! I am so in love with the plant in your top pic. What beautiful coloring! Love the Dr. Seuss look about the big 2nd one, too. Nice, thanks for sharing them! I have 3 Dracs, the 2 from this discussion, and a corn plant that WM had on clearance this spring. I knew there was nothing wrong with it, it just wanted to get out of WM. It's grown a lot this summer, too. I think the big one making new tops out of the branches is about 35 years old. Nobody remembers when it joined the family. Is the Aglao/Dieff planted in the same soil as your marginata? Are you asking about the Philodendron? If so, yes, those 2 plants have been companions in the same pot for around 10 years. I cut pieces of it off all the time to keep the mass at a manageable level. It's really cool the way the philo has roots about 2 feet long that grow all the way down to the dirt. This summer the philo has started making leaves 3 times as big as they used to be. I've read how they go into adult phase upon reaching the top of a tree but didn't think this little tree would be enough of a climb for it. I don't allow it to get much higher than the point where all of the branches start breaking from the main trunk, and keep weaving it around the trunks and back down to the soil. Maybe a factor as important as height is security/bracing. It's got a good grip on the tree in several places. I feel like I'm in the tropics when I look at that pot. That philo came from my Uncle's funeral about 15 years ago, and has had a hard-knock life also. It came in a wicker basket planter with plastic liner from florist and although I knew better, I never did anything about making a drain hole or repotting it. About 5 years later, I had the basket hanging on a shady hook in the yard and the wicker broke (decomposed?) from filling up with rain water while I was away and I found the plant in a heap on the ground the next day. I discarded the roots and put several cuttings in water, gave a few away, and put one in the pot of the Drac tree hoping it would hide the soil. It started doing that right away and the cuttings in water did great and even got moved 800 miles but then got neglected and dried out. So you could say this tree saved the philo's life. At this point, I'm not sure which plant is supporting which. Like me, both of them seem to really like being transplanted to the south and drinking sweet tea.

mgates, the stalk that is sprouting near the base indicates that the upper part is dead. The lower part may still be alive. Here is how you may be able to tell. Starting near the top, nick the bark with a sharply pointed knife. If the tissue below is green the stalk is alive and may be able to produce new shoots. If the bark separates easily and the underlying tissue is brown,then the stalk is dead and will not produce any new growth, no matter what you do. Continue to nick the bark downwards until you see green. From that point down the stalk is alive. My suggestion would be to saw off the dead upper portion just above those new shoots. If you can stand the sight of them that low in the container, let them grow. If not, twist the whole stalk clockwise/counterclockwise repeatedly until you snap the (few) roots that anchor it. Remove the whole stalk and carefully slice it up (I use a sharp folding pruning saw...gently) to obtain a disc with one (or two) of those young shoots attached. Set them in a medium that will promote rooting and give them the conditions (moisture control!) to promote rooting. I have found perlite, just barely damp, and a bright shaded location (under an oak tree in the backyard) works very well. After rooting has taken place, lift the plant with as much perlite as possible and place all in a prepared hole in regular potting soil in a suitably sized container. Continue to manage the watering skillfully. My success rate is about 70%.