Help Me Save My Dracaena, Please!

[swisher59]

I'm a bachelor that knows nothing about plants. When the dracaena I received as a gift started drooping, I figured, "Hey, I'll just water it every day and set it out on the balcony." This was a HUGE mistake.
I discovered I was overwatering and overexposing after some research. Now 75% of the leaves have fallen off and the rest look sickly. I'm not sure what to do.
So far I've just been keeping it in indirect sunlight and watering it with filtered water only when the soil feels dry. Other than that, what can I do? Repot? Fertilize? Mist? Just wait?
I could use some help--the person who gave me the plant will be furious when they see what I have done! Help!

[url=https://img241.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dsc01664vx9.jpg][img]https://img241.imageshack.us/img241/5071/dsc01664vx9.th.jpg[/img][/url] [url=https://img88.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dsc01665au9.jpg][img]https://img88.imageshack.us/img88/6513/dsc01665au9.th.jpg[/img][/url] [url=https://img256.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dsc01666hl5.jpg][img]https://img256.imageshack.us/img256/4304/dsc01666hl5.th.jpg[/img][/url]

[Dom Nizza]

On a Balcony?... What are the temperatures in your area? Important it can't take the cold .... It's a tropical ...

Suggest that you and others indicate in their profiles where they are located Zone wise. It will help those to reply a little better.

[swisher59]

It stays indoors where it's about 70ish most of the time.

[Jess]

Hi

Firstly calm down. Your plant is a bit straggly but it is fine. They take a lot of abuse.
Pull all the dead stuff off of the branches. They shed continuously as they grow so you need to do this regularly. Just peel them down the stems.
As far as looking after it I would carry on as you are doing now. Sounds like you have started doing the right thing. Once you have decent sprouts at the top again it will be fully recovered. Thats when you need to start chopping the tops off! Not all of them, pick the tallest most spindley looking branches and cut them to the height you would like them to be. Within a month a nice new sprout or two will show up.
If you feel like it you can even plant the bits you have chopped off.....

[Dom Nizza]

Ditto... hang in there... I have one almost a duplicate of this one...

[img]https://www.indoor-plants.co.uk/Dracaena-Stedneri-Carosel.jpg[/img]
.. Mine has "six" stems now... I will put it out on the back patio with filtered light. Have fun...

[swisher59]

phew! good to hear. hopefully I can nurse it back to full health.
thanks for the advice!