Hi everyone, I have not been able to keep a house plant alive to this day. I just moved into a new home with N/S exposure and a girlfriend gave me a Drac Corn Plant as a housewarming gift. I love it and have all intention of taking good care of this plant. I have had it for two weeks now and I noticed that the leaves are turning yellow and some have brown tips. I do not have it in direct sunlight, why is this happening? I would love any advice and suggestions on how to keep this beautiful plant healthy. Thanks!!!
Hi MK, Sounds like a nice gift! Congratulations on your new home. Let's start with the colors of the leaves. Leaves generally turn yellow on a plant either because the plant is rootbound or the plant is shedding the leaf for another reason, possibly because it sheds lower leaves as it grows. My suspicion with your plant is that the lower leaves or a lower leaf is yellowing as that is the way the corn plant grows. Many recently purchased plants are rootbound and need to be repotted. It's best to wait about 2 weeks to do this with a newly purchased plant to give it time to adjust to it's new surroundings. Generally when the leaves turn brown, the plant is being watered too much or the yellowed leaf has finally given up. Sometimes the water you use can make the tips of the leaves brown as well. Check to see if the plant is rootbound. If you look at the drainage holes at the bottom of the pot and can see roots or roots are coming out of the hole, then it's time to repot. A pot that is 2" larger is the way to go. If you don't see roots, you might want to gently take the plant out of the pot to see if the roots are circling. If so, it's time to repot. Dracaenas are medium light plants so a bright room without direct sun will make it happy. Water when the top two inches of soil are dry. Stick you finger in to the second knuckle. Let the water run through and don't let it sit in water for more then an hour. How often you need to water will be determined by several factors. The more roots in the pot the more often you need to water. Clay pots that aren't glazed dry out more quickly. Plants in the sun dry out quicker. You should find these sites helpful. http://www.plant-care.com/brown-tips-on-house-plants.html http://www.ourgardengang.com/containerpotting.htm http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/interiorscape/Dracaena_fragrans.html http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/interiorscape/Dracaena_Janet_Craig.html http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/interiorscape/Dracaena_marginata.html Hope this helps, Newt
