Hi, I have had a healthy dracena plant for a few years now. It's about 5'8'' tall and we repotted it due to its size about a year ago. It has moved locations (we moved houses) but gets the same amount of sunlight and heat/moisture in the air should be comparable as well. I noticed a few months ago that the leaves were browning on the edges quite considerably, and so checked the pot and realised there were no holes for drainage on the bottom of our pot. So, we opted to drill holes since the pot is plastic. Upon carefully tilting the pot to get to the bottom for drilling, we noticed there was a great deal of water still in the pot (the surface of the soil would feel dry before watering, but apparently the bottom of the pot was still saturated). After drilling, lots and lots of stinking water came rushing out of the drainage holes. We discarded the pan underneath as soon as it filled and then set out to let the soil dry. When browning continued we opted to change the potting soil since we were afraid it was "contaminated" from the stagnant water. I trim all the brown leaves as they come, and the tips as well. It still seems to be having troubles and we have waited a month or so after changing the potting mix. Is there any hope? Should I trim all the way to the base? Thanks in advance for your help, it's much appreciated!
You've probably killed the roots, or nearly so. The problem now will be saving what you can of the top. All those leaves are vying for sustenance from a severely damaged root system. Dracaena like water, just not to swim in it. You were right to drain all that yucky stuff off, and to repot, but it may not be enough. Pull it out of the pot and potting soil again, look at the lower cane, and the roots. The roots should feel firm, not hollow or squirty or limp. Shouldn't stink, either. Cut off what dead roots you find. Check the cane near the soil surface especially, but also within the root zone. Any wet or gushy or soft spots? Even if the cane still is silvery brown, it may harbor rot under that skin of bark. You'll be able to feel the difference as you would a soft pear from a hard one, or even gushier. If your roots are nonexistent and your cane is rotting, you have to be brutal and amputate, tossing the soil as well because it will harbor disease. If the roots are gone, but the cane is still firm, you may be able to save the entire cane, although you'll probably lose the leafy parts. I'm also expecting that you'll need to trim all of the leaves off. You could try cutting each leaf back by half or two thirds and hope the roots will regenerate and the leaves recover, but that swimming in the murky water bit is a bad omen. Whether you cut off the upper cane to regrow, or try to regrow the cane as it is, the leaves really should be sacrificed to save the plant. What I am expecting is that your green leaves will be curling in at the long edges, and eventually drooping if they aren't already. They'll be dull instead of shiny, and have no bounce to them. They are dead, just need to turn brown to convince you. Okay, let's say you have good firm cane, and have cut all the leaves as much as you are going to. Dust the end of the cane, and any little roots with rooting hormone with a fungicide in it, or dust with ground cinnamon. Willow water or chamomile tea are two other possibilities for treating the cane's bottom. Prop the cane in good clean potting soil, water lightly, and wait for it to start growing again.
Thanks so much for your detailed response! It was extremely helpful. Upon investigation of the roots and cane base- most of the roots are fine and the cane is definitely firm throughout. We trimmed away some of the roots that felt soft and squishy and made sure the root system was loosened up. I also sprinkled cinnamon on the roots and cane base. Now there are 2 tall stalks growing off one of the canes with no leaves (there were 2 left at the top and as we were moving it, they came off surprisingly easily). Should we trim these leafless stalks down the cane base, or will sprouting/regrowth occur on the tip of broken stalk? I hope that makes sense... Thanks again for your help, I am feeling very optimistic about saving our plant!!
It depends on how badly the plant was damaged by the standing water. Since the roots are fairly intact, I'd imagine that those young cane sprouts you mention are still fairly robust. The very tip of them would likely be dead if you've lost much of the leaves, though. Anyhow, if they are still firm, you might leave them alone for a while to see if they will sprout from there. If you notice them sagging a bit more, or getting soft, cut them off at some later point.
