S.O.S. Part 2: Saving your Dracaena plant

Welcome back to Potted Pals’ newest article series, Potted Pals S.O.S! This is a series in which I’ll be covering common issues that may arise with your plants, and the ways in which you can solve them. Today, we’ll be going through various scenarios you may encounter with your Dracaena, a common indoor houseplant. Lets begin!


  • How do I know if I haven’t watered my Dracaena enough? 
  •       The main sign of an underwatered Dracaena are brown and limp leaves. Although the Dracaena is a durable, adaptable plant that can survive in or outside, extended periods without water will not help them thrive. Dracaenas typically do best when watered once a week, with drying time before the next watering. A light mist from a spray bottle two to three times a week is also ideal, as this can prevent the edges and the tips of its leaves from browning and drying out.  


  • My Dracaena has brown patches on its leaves. What does this mean? 
  •     Brown patches throughout the leaves typically means that your Dracaena is being exposed to too much direct light. These Potted Pals typically do best in medium light, that is not direct. 


  • A few of my Dracaena’s leaves have turned dark and fallen off, but they aren’t dry. What does that mean?
  •     This typically means that your plant has been overwatered. Overwatering can not only result in fallen leaves, but in rotten roots as well. Make sure that the pot in which your Dracaena resides has proper drainage, and that you are allowing drying time for the soil between each weekly watering. 


  • Help! My Dracaena has red spots with a yellow border around them, What do I do? 
  •     This means that your Dracaena has grown a fungus, most likely in the form of a fusarium leaf spot. To prevent this issue from happening again in the future, watering from above should be stopped, and watering at the soil should take place instead. To fix the existing areas of fungus, a fungicide should do the trick. 


  • My Dracaena has a really bad smell, almost as if it’s rotting. How do I fix this? 
  •     The causes of a rotting plant are a bacterial infection taking over the roots and leaves of the plant. Unlike a fusarium leaf spot, these types of infection do not have a cure, and the Dracaena must be tossed out. Just in case, get it checked by a specialist in your area.

     

    Thank you for reading our SOS part 2 article. For part 1 click here. To shop our plants click here.



    By Jalisa Redding

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