I have had this plant for a few years now and just in the past week it started to lose it's leaves and then it started drooping really bad and now it looks almost dead. I looked in the soil yesterday and saw that it had little silver looking bugs in it about the size of a sesame seed. They look like flies but they don't fly around. They seem to be in just the top inch of soil. I had them in another plant about a month ago and it died. I checked all of my plants and they didn't have them but now this one does. I removed them from the soil and cleaned off all of the soil yesterday. I am going to replant it today and see how it makes out. Oh ya,, I had two of the same kind of plant in the same pot and the other one is fine right now. I should add that I don't have a green thumb!!!!
what you have there is a dracaena. it should be potted in a well-draining soil. cactus soil would be a good choice or regular potting soil that has perlite mixed in. or even a mix of regular soil and cactus soil. use a container that has drain holes in it and an unglazed clay pot would be the best. they like to dry out a bit before being waterd again. as for the bugs, please bag it up and get it out of the house. i'd also re-check all your other plants to make sure their soil is not infested - if you find any more bugs, repot those plants as well. without a pic, i can't say for sure what the bug is. it could be soil mealy bugs. regardless, taking your dracaena's out of the bad soil was the best thing you could do! repot them and let them sit in the new soil for about 10 days BEFORE watering. letting the plants sit in the fresh dry soil will give them time to get re-situated. they're a succulent, so a couple of weeks without water won't harm them. oh, they like bright lighting. not full-on sun, just a bright area.
Is that dirt in the kitty liter pale ??... if it is then i would get it out of the pale and into a pot with drainage .. those type of plants like to be on the dry side and it looks like there is no drainage .. If im thinking of the same bugs they are harmless .. just annoying.. they are easy to get rid of and they come in the dirt .. but put that plant in a regular pot with drainage and let it dry out some .. Marion
The kitty litter pail it is in has water in it and I just put it in there yesterday because of the bugs. It is normaly in a pot that has really good draining. Thank you for the tips I will definately try all of that. I didn't know that the plant likes to dry out before being watered again. Thank you!
Your welcome .. glad to hear it was just water .. wich is allright if you are rooting it .. but it is allready rooted ... I just know they like to be dried somewhat as my mother in law had one in her bathroom and she always forgot to water it and it still lived .. lol.. how i dont know .. but it did .. just get it in some good dirt and dont water it for a lil bit .. mayb a week .. usually fresh dirt from a bag aint to moist so it wont take to long to dry out .. good luck .. Marion
The bugs you had were possibly "Springtails" If you have, or had them, the soil is staying too wet. They won't survive soil that dries out between watering.They are pretty harmless though.They eat the decaying material in the soil and won't hurt the plant. When the plant is watered, you might see them running in and out of the soil real fast and jumping into the air, hence, "Springtails" Now, who wants to see that???
