Question

Dying Plant   QUESTION: I have a plant that my dad gave me and I have no clue what it is. When he had it, it was green and pretty. He gave me directions on care and obviously im doing something wrong. Can you please help me so I can research the care of this plant?

ANSWER: Hi Monica, I need a little more info in order to help you here, is it in a container? how big a container? how much water are you giving it? how long has it been in this container (if it is in one), it looks like may be getting too much water and too much sun, but the picture is somewhat limited. Let me know as much history about your "Massangeana Cane" (common name "Corn plant or Mass Cane) as possible...thanks Nick

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Another picture   QUESTION: The plant itself is about 6.5 feet tall. I am giving it about 1/2 a gallon of water a week. The pot my dad has it in is about 17" all the way round and 17" deep. I have it sitting in front of the window. The pot feels like plastic. I also have this sticks that stick into the soil with tubes coming out and the tubes are sitting in a bowl of water. My dad told me to do that.

Answer
Hi Monica, that second picture shows me a pretty normal, healthy looking Corn plant, which kind of puzzles me; they drooping leaves are a normal pattern for it and if some of them have brown on the edging, that would probably be for lack of humidity, which really isn't a serious problem. I would however suggest putting it into a larger container, that 17 inch container its in is probably beginning to cramp the roots, which could lead to damage not to far down the road; when you re pot it, make sure you line the bottom with some gravel, (about 2 inches), so the excess water will collect there and not lay on the roots. Massangeanas are pretty easy plants to maintain, I would say a difficulty level of about 2 on a scale of 1-10, so don't be too concerned about actually killing it; low light, moderate water (I really don't know what the tubes in the water are for, sounds like an innovative watering system) and mist the leaves daily or whenever you think of it. The tubes should probably be eliminated if you are physically watering yourself. Nick