I am having trouble with my massangeana. I purchased it about two months ago. Some of the leaves have started to turn brown and I recently noticed that one of the stalks has a dark green colored coating around the top of it. This is also the stalk that has been losing most of its leaves. Please help!
Because of the leaves, I water mine once a week, even through the winter. The soil dries quickly because of the small clay pot it's in (4") and it stands over two feet tall. If I were to water it less, I'm sure it would lose it's leaves or they would dry out. I'm not sure what the green coating is your talking about, but you might want to check for tiny spidermites, or any other small pest just in case. You'll also want to give it a lot of light.
I was finally able to get some pictures. Maybe this will help identify what the problem is. As you can see from the pics, one of the canes is doing much better than the other. How do I check for spidermites? What do they look like?
Your Dracaena might be getting too much water. Make sure you let the soil dry out between waterings and then wait an additional couple more days or so dry before watering, otherwise the roots can't breath. The leaves could also be reacting to hard water. You can use distilled water, or allow your tap water to sit in an open bucket or container for 48 hours before watering. Over-fertilizing can cause leaves to burn too, so if your feeding it, stop and flush the soil at watering time and wait until spring to start up again, only use less than half strength, none in late fall and winter.
Plantsrfun, I see the dark green coating your talking about, but I don't have a clue is to why it's there, or even if it's a problem. If the plants leaves and green color on the trunk continue to get worse, you can always cut the stem. Cut it back far enough into the more healthier looking bark with no green in it at all, new leaves will grow later on near where you made the cut.
I notice sometimes growers over hear put a black tar substance on the area that they cut to stop infection....maybe it is that but just green??? Or is it growing?? Ed
I think it is something that is growing because I do not remember seeing it when I first purchased the plant.