Dracaena Revival

[mrclark3]

Hi all,

I've looked through a couple other house plant threads and didn't find quite what I was looking for, but I am hoping to get some advice on how to best revive or better grow my first house plant...a dracaena (of some variety). I am a relative gardening amateur. I kick butt at growing tomatoes out on my deck, but I'm a total novice in all other aspects.



In this picture, there is a sliding door off to the right. The door faces west and I am on a hill, so a lot of sun comes in. However, the plant never has sun directly beaming onto it. The vent behind the plant is a duct which does not have heat or cool coming directly from it; however, there is a vent on the ceiling above the plant.

Ive had the plant probably about nine months. For two or three it was perfectly healthy, but then it started to lose leaves in the middle of the plant. They would turn completely black/dark brown, and either drop off or beg me to cut them off. Since then, I haven't changed my care of the plant at all (or its location), but it has gotten no better or worse. While I am certainly happy it has not gotten worse, I'd like to know what I can do to help it improve.

Currently, I water it when it gets dry with filtered water. I have 'fed it' a couple times with house plant fertaizer, but do not do so regularly.

Is it possible for leaves to grow back and the plant to fill in again? Is there anything I should be pruning (from leaves or stems)? And what can I do to prevent the dead/burned areas on the current leaves from spreading? Would those be occurring because of fluoride in my water?

Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated! I'd like to get a couple more house plants, as well, so this initial foray is kind of an experience builder. Any knowledge I can soak-up would be great.

[atnini]

You're picture is not showing so I'm not sure what condition your plants in. I like it when a draceana gets leggy, but again, you're picture isn't there so I'm not sure what it looks like. Maybe you could try uploading your pic again.

As for your comments on watering, try using tap, instead of filtered. The filtering might be taking out elements the plant could use.

Good luck!

[mrclark3]

Thanks for mentioning that you could not see the pic - it showed up for me, but it might have been hosting permissions. I played around with a few settings - does this one display?

[imafan26]

The top of the dracena will keep growing and making more leaves. the leaves on the stem, once lost do not regrow.

The bottom leaves are dark green and the top are pale green with what looks like brown tips. It is probably from the light. The top of the plant is probably getting more light than the bottom and possibly some magnified light from proximity to the window.

If I put a plant in the back seat of my car driving home from the garden center in the afternoon, even a short 4 mile trip up the road will burn the plant just from the heat and light coming from the windows. That is why I transport most of my plants early in the day, cover them with a towel and or put them in the trunk.

Dracena are pretty forgiving about light. They can handle shade where the leaves will be greener and high light once they have become accustomed to it.

The pot looks a little small for the plant, I would pot it up into a little larger pot with good soil and give it some slow release plant food like osmocote. The houseplant fertilizer is a watered down version of miracle grow, which would be fine for a fern but a dracena can use a bit more.

When any plant is close to a window you can get the magnifying glass effect. A sheer curtain in front of the window allows most of the light in and keeps plants from burning. Plants should be turned to keep them growing evenly and it is best to keep them at least 18 inches from a south or west facing window so you don't end up with reflected heat or cold.

[GardeningCook]

I'm not sure exactly which variety your particular Dracaena is, but keep in mind that for MANY members of that plant family it's perfectly normal for all or most of the lower leaves to drop, leaving a striking tall bare stem (sometimes curving & snake-like) with a fountain of leaves just at the top.

[catgrass]

It needs repotting, the pot is too small for it to grow bigger. The lost bottom leaves will not grow back, but -and this is drastic-you can cut the tops off the large stems, dust with root hormone and make you another plant. The existing one will then "sprout" one or two new branches and your plant will be bushier. Keep in mind, this will take time.

[mrclark3]

Thank you everyone for the feedback! I think I will plan to transplant it to a bigger pot, and also possibly move it to the other side of the room where it is further away from the window. I have a nice spot it could be in that is about 10 feet away from its current spot.

Thanks again.