Corn Stalk

Discussion in 'Indoor and Greenhouse Plants' started by RFD, Aug 8, 2021.

  1. RFD

    RFD New Member

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    I am relatively new to plants, and purchased the attached corn stalk plant about two years ago for my family room. (At least I think it's a corn stalk.) When I purchased the plant it had a lot more leaves, but over the last year the plant has started to look a little ragged. I was concerned that I was slowly killing the plant so I took the plant out of the planter and found that the bottom of the plant had been sitting in water. I discarded the water, but I'm still not sure if I'm taking proper care of the plant as I don't believe the plant has been sitting in water that long. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
    Thanks IMG_6124.jpg IMG_6123.jpg
     
  2. Margot

    Margot Renowned Contributor 10 Years

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    Hello RFD and welcome the Forums. I have not grown a corn stalk plant myself but have grown other Dracaenas such as Dracaena marginata. Your plant is called Dracaena fragrans. There are some good websites that go into detail about growing these - one very thorough site is: How to Grow Corn Plant (Dracaena)

    I notice a couple of things in your photos that cause the plant(s) to grow poorly. First, I wonder if the only light it is getting comes from the window beside it. There does seem to be light from above though so perhaps there is additional light. While dracaenas do not like direct sunlight, they do like bright light and it could be yours isn't getting enough. Something else that may be causing problems are the 2 vents near the ceiling and near the floor . . . dracaenas don't like draughts. I'd at least pull it further from the wall. It's time too to replant your dracaena into a larger pot - about 3 to 4 inches larger than the one its in now (see details on the website above for information on how to repot). Finally, it looks like you will need to top the plant as well; even though slow-growing, it's getting quite close to the ceiling.

    I hope these suggestions help.
     
    Last edited: Aug 9, 2021

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