Forum home Problem solving
This Forum will close on Wednesday 27 March, 2024. Please refer to the announcement on the Discussions page for further detail.

Dracaena marginata ~ Soggy stem and drooping

image

 No I am the worlds worst with plants I am afraid to say but one houseplant thta has me stumped is  Dracaena marginata. It is meant to be an easy plant to grow. We keep it in the lounge but atm it has a soggy stem near the top of the highest part of the plant and also is drooping. It feels very dry in the pot but often fall into the trap of watering it when it is maybe wet at the roots. There are some droopy yelow leaves on it and some of the ends look brown. In one sense it it telling me to water it, on the other it is saying it is too dry. Please help.

«1

Posts

  • Perhaps yo u should pull it out of the tub and see if the root is waterlogged, it might be rotting.  

  • emma louemma lou Posts: 170

    I will have a look at the roots if I can pull it out of the pot. It is around 7ft from a french door and next to a round window that we cannot open so do you think I should move it into a darker area of the room? The soil around the pot is bone dry.

  • I keep mine in a conservatory and water it every day with about a tablespoon of water.  I don't water if the soil on top isn't dry, although it always is.  It does pretty well there.

    When did you last re-pot it?  Might be a good opportunity when checking the root.

  • emma louemma lou Posts: 170

    Well we only bought it about 3 months ago and repotted it then into a much bigger pot.

  • BookertooBookertoo Posts: 1,306

    Ahh, have you given it a very much bigger pot than that in which it came?  Most plants do not respond well to over potting, best to go up a small stage at a time.  To my eye it looks thoroughly overwatered.

  • emma louemma lou Posts: 170

    Ahh well yes it is actually. I bet that is the problem as we have done the same before with the same plant and it didn't do well either. I have just been out and bought some fresh soil for it. I have had a prod around and it doesn't feel soggy so will see when I repot it this afternoon. Thanks for the help.

  • emma louemma lou Posts: 170

    I have just repotted it into a smaller pot and the roots feel not too bad and are not damp. The soil wasn't great. I am not sure how I can rescue the top stem. The bottom one looks quite healthy as you can see. Because it is going into slightly moist mew soil anyway I am not tempted tp water it atm.

  • BookertooBookertoo Posts: 1,306

    I'd be inclined to remove the top stem, the smaller one will catch up in time, I think it doubtful the top part will recover, and it may keep the smaller piece back.  Whatever you do, good luck

  • emma louemma lou Posts: 170

    Thank you. At the top of the tall stem there are some off shoots and one is dead. Do I cut the whole of the long stem (right down to the soil) or just the shorter off shoots at the top of the taller stem? Much appreciated.

  • emma louemma lou Posts: 170

    Ok cool thanks. I don't want to drain the energy from the plant by leaving the top one if there is very little chance of it recovering. I will maybe try and snip away at what looks dodgy. I will probably end up cutting doing as you suggested as past experience with these plants has taught me that they don't recover.

Sign In or Register to comment.