Question
After a week of purchase I watered the tree straight from the faucet.  A few
days later a few of the leaves started to yellow and fall off, while the others
remained green but the leaves situated on the lowest bark have some tears
due to browning spots.  Still it looks like it's trying to survive as it's 3 weeks
already since I purchased it and may be gaining back it's health.

How do I prune the leaves?  Can I simply partially cut the leaves only on the
part where there is yellowing on the tips?  The leaves grow from one single
point so I don't know how to do this to only one leaf without affecting the
others.

Thank you.

Answer
Hi Raymond,

It is quite common for Dracaena marginatas to lose some of their lower (older) leaves as they add new leaves on top. When a Marginata is relocated, it tends to lose more than usual, but it sounds like yours has started to stabilize.

Once a leaf has become more yellow than green, then remove the entire at the point where it attaches to the stem. This will have no affect on the rest of the plant.

If just the tips of some leaves are discolored, then they can be trimmed off with sharp scissors. Make the cut at an angle so that it leaves a pointed end rather than a blunt end. This trimming will not affect any of the other leaves.

Make sure your Marginata is close to a sunny window and always allow the top quarter of the soil to dry out in between through waterings. If your tap water is hard, use filtered, distilled or rainwater instead.

Please let me know if any of this is unclear or if you have any additional questions. If you would like to e-mail me some photos, I may be able to provide some additional insights.

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Regards,
Will Creed, Interior Landscaper
Horticultural Help, NYC

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