I have read that the most common cause of dragontrees dying off appears to be overwatering. We've had ours for a few months and it's started going yellow/brown on the ends of the leaves and the leaves drooping. It's been in partial sunlight and only watered a bit when the soil looks dry. No idea how to save it I've attached a couple of photos and if anyone has any ideas then I'd would be very grateful. Thank you
1. The air in the room could be too dry (room heating causes low humidity). 2. I have no idea where you are living, but in the northern areas it is the darkest time of the year. Could be shortage of light.
Welcome to the forums, pemblekyle. I think these plants look like that. Keep in mind that old leaves will continually die off, and new ones will grow from the top. That bare trunk used to be covered with leaves. You just don't want more leaves dying than are being replaced. I'm not sure that giving it just a bit of water is the best approach. You want to make sure that all the roots get water. Lift it to see how heavy it is before you are sure it needs water, maybe let the leaves droop a bit before you are sure of that. Then give it a good soaking where the extra water can run out the bottom. There is drainage at the bottom, right? When it is fully watered and no more water is coming out the bottom, feel how heavy it is. If it doesn't feel heavier, maybe the soil was so dry that the water ran right through, in which case, give it some more water. When it is heavy and no more water is running out, feel how heavy it is. Don't water it again until it feels lighter and the leaves just start to droop. Try to learn how heavy that feels. If water cannot run out the bottom of the pot, you need a different pot. There is lots written here and there about these plants doing better with water that does not have chlorine. My neighbour fills her watering containers right after watering so that the chlorine will evaporate before her next watering. Some people buy filtered water.
Are all houseplants equally susceptible to harm from the small amount of chlorine usually found in city tap water? I had heard that unless you can actually detect the smell, it shouldn't be a problem. Perhaps it's better to be on the safe side since it takes only about 24 hours or so for chlorine to evaporate.
The necrotic regions may be due to fluoride toxicity: Fluoride toxicity in plants irrigated with city water.
I agree with wcutler that the problem may be too little water. To me, the pot being used appears too small for the amount of leaf growth on the plant. It has a lot of crown growth, which needs water the most. I have a Dracaena, probably the same type as yours, that has a single terminal crown; and it has done very well in a 9" diameter pot that gets a significant watering whenever the surface soil appears dry.
With time on my hands after hosting a dinner party tonight :-), I thought I'd find out whether Kent (presumably Kent, England) or areas in BC treat their water with fluoride. Here's what I found: "I can confirm that Southern Water does not currently add fluoride to any of our water supplies. There are no plans to fluoridate the water supplied to Kent." Fluoridation of Kent water sources. - a Freedom of Information request to Southern Water Services Limited "Fort St. John, Prince Rupert, Cranbrook and Terrace are the only communities in British Columbia that still add fluoride to tap water." Flouride: Which B.C. communities add fluoride to water? So, I think it would be unlikely that the problems with pemblekyle's dragon plant are due to fluoride in city water although fluoride toxicity can apparently also be caused by high phosphate fertilizers and low soil pH. Dragon plants (Dracaena) are particularly susceptible. Fluorine Toxicity in Plants Implementing suggestions in this thread by Sulev, wcutler and vitog should eventually promote healthier plant growth. I'd also avoid high phosphate fertilizers.
Thanks - I didn't know this. As mentioned earlier in the thread, chlorine may also be a problem. According to the following article: Growing Indoor Plants with Success | UGA Cooperative Extension
Hello everybody. Thank you so much for your replies . I've only been using distilled water so hopefully that would eliminate the water addition problems. I will definitely take all the advice on board with gratitude and see how things go
