Question
I've read your post about this issue. I have a dracena marginata (?) (purple/green leaves)It's about 7 or 8 feet tall at it's tallest point. It's in a large, light weight pot, about 18" diameter. It's in front of a north west uncovered sliding glass door where it gets bright light all day then a little sun in the PM. During the warm months we put it outside, watering infrequently, relying on the rain, but still do water. During the cooler weather and winter, I don't water it frequently. Sometimes I'll give it a little water around the roots, but just water thoroughly now and then, rarely. The reason is that I misjudge and water spills out and gets all over the wood floor, just like it did yesterday.  I, too, would like to figure out why I'm always pulling off yellowing leaves, or they're yellowing and falling off on their own.  The only conclusion that I can come up with is not enough water?  Is it ok to water it in smaller doses more frequently to avoid it pouring out over the drainage saucer?? I just fed it for the first time this spring. It sits VERY tightly in a tall basket and it's tough to get out at this time. :(  
thanks!

Answer
Hi Sue,

Even the healthiest of Dracaena marginatas will lose lower leaves as they grow taller and add leaves on top. While it is true that improper watering and inadequate light can cause more leaves than normal to drop off, you should always expect some lower leaf drop. As long as you are not losing substantially more than you are gaining, there really is not a problem.

Moving your plant outside in summer is also aggravating the problem. That is because outdoor light is much more intense and the indoor (shade) grown leaves are not adapted to the outdoor sun. Likewise, when you move it back inside in the fall, some of the sun-grown leaves will drop as a result of the reduced light. You have very good indoor light so there is no good reason to move it outside in summer. In addition, relying on rainfall is not a good idea. A couple of weeks of unusually damp weather can easily cause root rot. Why chance it?

Healthy Marginatas eventually outgrow their spaces and that requires pruning. I don't know how many stems your Marginata has, but one or all of them can be pruned back at any time. Cut a stem back to a height where you would like to see new growth emerge. You should see new growth emerge just below the pruning cut within a few weeks after you prune. If you have multiple stems at varying heights, you can prune back the tallest one first and then wait several months before pruning back the next tallest, and so on.

Propagating the top cuttings cannot usually be done by rooting in water or soil. Air layering is the only effective way to propagate marginatas from cuttings. Air layering is a bit too complicated to explain here. If you are interested, send a request to me at [email protected] and I will email you some instructions.

Rather than altering your watering routine to accommodate the pot/saucer/basket setup, I suggest doing the reverse. I assume that the tight basket keeps you from seeing when the water starts to run through the drainage holes. If so, the answer is to get a larger basket so you can see water runoff better. Another option is to use a wood dowel to stick down in to help you determine when water has run through. A larger saucer will give you greater leeway.

Please let me know if any of this is unclear or if you have any additional questions.

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Regards,
Will Creed, Interior Landscaper
Horticultural Help, NYC

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