Question
I have a corn plant( I think) that I have had for about 6 years. It is in the same pot that it started in. It is in a 16 inch round pot that is 13 inches tall. There is one trunk about 3 inches in diameter with 4 smaller trunks( about 1 inch round)coming out of it at the top. It has been fine all of these years but now the top 4 trunks are wilted and bent over and the leaves are yellowing from the bottom up. I water it about every 3 or 4 weeks. I wait until they feel dry or start to wilt a little . That has worked in the past but now it will not perk up.I have not changed anything in my routine.It is in the same spot it has always been in since I got it. It is in the foyer. I do not know what to do to fix it. Any ideas would be helpful. Thank you

Answer
Kristee,

Are you sure that no one else is giving it any water between you watering it? It sounds like the plant is being overwatered. I suggest that you remove the plant from it's pot and examine the roots. If they look wiry and the pot is full of roots then that is not the problem. If they are black and mushy and there are very few roots then overwatering is the problem.

If you are only watering every 3-4 weeks but you are leaving the plant sit in a large drain tray full of water between waterings that is like setting it in a swamp and a corn plant is not a swamp plant. That will cause the roots to rot. You need to be watering the plant and an hour later you need to be emptying the drain tray so the plant is not sitting in that swamp.

Otherwise, it may be a combination that has just caught up with it. It is not good to let it wilt before watering. It is better it check the soil. You can insert a bamboo skewer into the soil and pull that out to tell if it is dry. Only water it when the skewer is dry down to the bottom 2 inches. It needs bright light, is it getting that in the foyer? I suspect the worst problem is either over or underwatering. 3 to 4 weeks is not often enough but you can't leane it sitting in water. If you have more questions write again. Good luck.

Darlene