Flushing just means watering a LOT, to the point that water is freely draining out of the bottom of the pot. This flushes out salts, anaerobic/anoxic decomposition products, and returns new air to the root system. Most of us are used to watering a small amount at a time only because our soils collapse, drain slowly and have a perched water table... so we've been conditioned to only put in as much water as the plant can quickly use up. If you use a freely draining mix and thus don't have a perched water table, you essentially cannot overwater. This lets you "flush" the pot from time to time (or even at every watering). It also greatly decreases the amount of salts that are left behind by evaporating water.

Jess. your poor Dracaena! It's been through a lot. Tap water is fine. You don't need Spring or any other bottled water. Also, it's not sunburn. One thing you should have been doing the last 5-years is rotating your Dracaena 1/4 turn once a week. I think your Corn Plant has/d a 'Dehydration' problem. How long did it go without being watered? You didn't mention time spent away from home. You also stated the pot doesn't have drainage. Do you know the container size? Was it watered before you left? Let's say soil dried completely and was w/o water for a good amount of time. Then you returned and gave it heavy drink..Possibly too much?? Even though there are rocks on the bottom of pot, if you added too much water, the roots could have been sitting in water all this time. Do you check soil between waterings? Not only the top, but halfway or further down? Your container looks large, 'by the picture.' If the top soil dries, it doesnt' mean the bottom soil is dry too. It needs to be checked..A thin stake is sufficient. Insert the stake as deep as possible. If the stake comes out wet, the bottom soil is still wet. And visa versa. Lifting a pot is another way to check. Lift after watering. Wait a week, two, etc, and relift. If the pot is light, most likely the soil is either drying out or dry. Only you can determine its weight and use judgement whether or not it needs a drink. Why did you start watering twice a month instead of once? It's possible its roots aren't absorbing water, 'if it's beens sitting in muddy soil.' Short periods of drought won't cause much harm, but heavy periods can cause permanent damage, preventing the plant from breathing. This happens frequently. Soil dries too much, then the plant ends up over-watered. Especially if the pot is w/o drainage. If your plant was in a pot with drainage, the first thing that should have been done is, soaking in a bucket of water, until top of soil is moist. Soaking can take anywhere from 15-30 minutes. Possibly more depending on pot size and amount of soil. What type of soil was used when you last repotted? Have you repotted in the last 5-years? Do you fertilize? It's going to require some work, but you love your plant so it's well worth it. Unpot the plant. Toss out old soil. Add fresh, semi-well-draining soil. Although your pot is very pretty, instead of potting directly in the container, pot in a plastic pot w/drainage. Pot size should be determined by the root-ball. 1-3 sizes larger is fine. After your plant is potted, it can be placed in your pretty blue pot. BUT, it's important you place something inside the pot so when you water, roots don't sit in water. I use styrofoam sheets. Break a piece or two to fit inside ccontainer, 'depending on thickness,' in the blue pot, then set the plastic pot on top of the styrofoam. Water well...enough all parts of the rootball are moistened. Remove dead leaves, or trim brown edges of leaves. Is the air in your house dry? If so, start misting. Or, if your plant isn't too heavy, give it a shower. Rain water is the best medicine, but if it's cold or not raining, that's out. lol. Instead, spray each leaf. After your Dracanea settles in, renews growth, give it a half-dossage of an All Purpose Fertilizer. In the future, rotate, once a week, so the entire plant gets balanced light. an unobstructed, south window is usually harsh for Dracaneas, in summer, when sun is blazing, but since your Corn Plant has been in that window the last 5 yrs, it probably adapted. Sunburn would be obvious. I wish you luck..It's going to take some work, but you love your plant, so get to it. BTW, check its roots. Corn Plants are pretty forgiving. Toni

I'd be so happy to know its sunburn, Jane. Though if it is....what a weak sauce plant!! Lol Sure, it's brighter but not that much brighter. It was constantly open slats vs open shutters...sheesh. But that would make the most sense. I really don't think it was there the day before...and then the next day, this nonsense. Perhaps I should just leave it in the northern room. I moved it into the southern room about a month ago because my family room is quite dark, and it appeared to like it there. Lati, it sure sounds possible, though I haven't seen it since I don't spend all that much time in the living room. With the sun already so much lower, I suppose it could have streamed in about late afternoon. Weak sauce plant, man.

I wouldn’t try and propagate the top. I’d personally cut it below that point and get it into a pot just barely big enough for the roots with a fast draining mix with a drain hole. It wont need very much water at all. Place right in front of your sunniest window and wait. If the roots and lower stem are viable you may get it to back bud. Being that the top is as rotted as it is from over watering, it wouldn’t surprise me if most of the roots were also rotted.