I have a 2 foot Dracaena that was doing great until about 6 weeks ago. First the end of the leaves started to brown. Now, there are small dark brown dots on the leaves that seem to be causing them to yellow and weaken. As a novice I have no idea what to do but would hate to lose this lovely plant! I've attached a photo (sorry it's fuzzy). Any help/suggestions would be appreciated!
I'm a newbie, but according to my "House Plant Expert" book - lol - this looks a lot like "leaf spot." It says you should remove and burn the leaves, spray the plant with systemic fungicide, then for several weeks keep it on the dry side and don't mist. HTH, Jude
Hey Kaniger, I can't see the brown spots very well in the photo. Are the spots part of the leaf or on top of the leaf? Looks kind of like scale.
Dracaena marginata like to live on the dry side. Signs of overwatering are tip browning initially; then discolouring of the leaves in blotches and spots. The roots actually get soft and rot. This problem occurs especially when the plant is in a shady place, as the function of the plant slows down, and it uses less water. If it is not too badly affected, I would stop watering and let it almost completely dry out before you water again. If the soil smells like bog, you could try lifting the plant out of the pot, and repot in a not large pot, with sandier or fast draining soil mix. In a moderate light, you probably need to water a healthy Dracaena plant in a 8"-10" pot maybe a cup every 2 or three weeks.
It sounds like perhaps I've overwatered. =( I'll cut back on that immediately. As for the spots, they stick up from the leaf...they are not part of the leaf. (does that make sense?) Thanks all for your help!
Scrape one of the spots off. Does it have a hard shell? If so you may also have to treat the plant for scale.
