Question
QUESTION: Help...I'm killing my plant.  My mother brought me this plant 6months ago and it adjusted to the new living space well. On south wall out of direct sunlight but gets plenty of light.  I water it once every 2 weeks with tap water/lukewarm. I give it a throrough soating and drain the bottom so it is not sitting in the water.  Last week I noticed it is not doing well, leaves are turning yellow & brown and than falling off. I noticed the very tips were brown (meaning overwatering) but now the leaves are turning yellow on the sides of the leaves before even getting to the tips....does this mean it is underwatered?  Last week I removed all dead leaves and trimmed back the bad leaves and gave it a good watering......6 days later I have an additional 5 leaves that are turning yellow & brown.  I do not know if i am Over or Under watering this plant at this point...I have read numerous articles which lead me to believe I am over watering.....Help what are your thoughts!!!

ANSWER: Justine,

I believe that you are overwatering. If you are watering it before it is bone dry you are overwatering it. It needs to be very dry and feel light weight when picked up or tilted. It needs to be dry for 2-3 days before it is watered so the roots can breath in carbon dioxide through the soil before the plant is watered again. If the roots are constantly moist they do not get that dry spell to breath in carbon dioxide through the soil so they begin to get root rot and you get the yellow leaves that you are getting.

The other problem you may also be having is you may be watering them with water that has chlorine and flouride in it and dracaenas hate chlorine and flouride. It cause brown spots on the leaves and will eventually turn the leaves yellow and kill them, which sounds like about like what you are describing.  If you have city water with chlorine and flouride you need to stop using it immediately and either use distilled water or allow your tap water to sit in an open bucket for 48 hours before using it to water your plant and the chlorine and flouride will dissipate into the air and not hurt the plant. So make sure you are not watering with chlorine and flouride  and cut way back on frequency and quantity of water so it drys out more between waterings. Good luck.

Darlene

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: The top soil(top3")is very dry, any suggestions to tell when the roots are bone dry? I will stop using chlorined water. Thanks

Answer
Justine,

You can buy a water meter at many garden centers for under $15 with a probe you can insert about 8 inches into the soil and it will tell you when it is dry. I bought one recently at Menards. I beleive Lowes, Home Depot or Walmart may carry them, call around. Or you can pick the plant up or just pick it up on one side and tilt it a bit, if it feels heavy it is not dry, if it feels light it is dry. Todays potting soil is light weight so most of the weight is the pot the plant and water, after you tilt it a few times you will get good at telling whether it is wet or dry. At this point I am certain it is going to be at least 2 weeks before it is even close to needing water, maybe even 3 weeks. It is very difficult to underwater this plant. Good luck.

Darlene