Hey everyone, I have had Stanly, my dragon tree, for a year and a half. He really is part of my family. The past few days he has been loosing his leaves. I thought it was due to overwatering. Then this happened. An entire stalk tipped over! I have no idea what could be wrong. I sincerely hope that he can be saved. Any tips would be appreciated.
I can't see what tipped over. It looks like you have a single, individual stalk with 3 growing tips. If it tipped-over, it needs to be re-planted deep enough in soil substantial enough to hold it upright. If the roots are in-parallel to the stalk it won't have the anchoring ability that the same amount of roots would have if they were spread out like the spokes of a wheel, and deep enough so that the weight of the soil is sufficient to hold them down. As long as you're repotting, use new soil and avoid any with the little white balls of styrofoam. The pot should be deep enough such that there is about the same amount of soil beneath the roots as on top of the roots. Water when the soil is dry to the touch. Calculate the volume of the soil ball and apply 15 to 20% of that volume of water each time. Desert plants (and most others) like wet, dry, wet, dry, cycles so let it dry out in-between waterings. Feed with any commercial liquid only in the growing season when it has enough light and you see buds expanding. That would be ~March through August.
The left stalk (branch) in the first photo (the same as the right stalk in the other 2 photos) has bent over, probably from internal rot. The front stalk in the first photo (rear stalk in the other 2) also appears to be dying, showing no signs of new growth. The one remaining stalk appears to be healthy. I would cut off both of the unhealthy stalks and check for rot inside their stems. If the interior of the cut stalk is soft and wet, it is rotting; and it should be cut down further until solid material is reached, hopefully before you reach the main trunk. If the main trunk is rotting, you won't be able to save the root system but might be able to re-root the plant from the one good stalk. If the lower parts of the 2 cut-off stalks are OK, they will probably sprout new growth once the soil moisture has been corrected.
The stalk that's in relatively good shape may also be rotting; the light coloration in the third photo suggests this to be the case.
Your dragon plant (Dracena marginata) is considered to be a very easy, drought-tolerant houseplant. I do not question your parenting abilities but I think you are probably correct that, in your efforts to nurture this plant, you have overwatered it and now, rot has set in. As vitog suggests, you must cut it back to below where the rot is evident. Looking at your photos, I suspect that the portion of the stems that are darker in colour are probably okay but it's hard to tell if rot may also be affecting the roots, in which case the disease will progress. I would not recommend replanting the entire plant. People often root sections of dracaena stems, especially when they grow tall and gangly, so that may be something to consider if you think you are at risk of losing the plant. Here is one of many websites that give directions on how to grow Dragon Trees from cuttings: https://www.hunker.com/13428040/how-to-take-cuttings-from-a-dragon-plant Good luck and please post a follow up on how things go. We can all relate to how you feel about possibly losing a plant family member.
