Okay guys, this is my first post and from what I see you guys are GOOD! I have two plants to Identify one because its in my office and they keep buying new ones every couple months, the second was given to me when my daughter was born and would like to know.
I asked our Office Manager about the second one, SHe says in Texas it is known as a "Corn Plant". And they can't keep them alive because so many different people are caring for it.
Dracaena fragrans, not D. deremensis (though some treat the second name as a synonym of the first). It's usually fairly hard to kill except by overwatering, lack of drainage, or prolonged lack of light.
LOL, yea that's what the Manager told me. But they have replaced it 5 times in 3 yrs. Tony, they are in the front office with windows on three sides and florecent lights overhead, they are in a pot and I haven't checked the drainage, and how much water how often?
Can't say I am all that experienced at maintaining plants in airconditioned offices. But if the plant has been in that pot for a good while and seems to be declining, the first thing I would do would be to tip it out and throw away the potting soil (onto your garden, don't waste it); wash off all the soil and see if there are plent of live, healthy roots. You may find that the soil toward the bottom of the pot is all gluggy and a lot of the roots are dead and decayed, in which case cut off all the dead ones. Repot in the same container (it looks plenty big enough) with a good-quality mix, preferably one that incorporates a wetting agent. THEN ensure that it only gets watered when the soil has dried out to at least about 2 in below the surface, except maybe in summer (if the office temperature is allowed to rise) when you can water more frequently -- but remember that plants transpire less water in lower light levels and away from the breezes indoors. Also check that the dish the pot stands in is not always full of water.
I just got the okay to take the worst of the two "Corn" Plants home. Thanks for the info TonyR, I will post some more pics of the progress.
Question: If I start cutting the rotten roots should I cut back the leaves too? Or will there be enough good roots to support the growth that is there now?
Ignore that last post. I put the plant in the back of my truck this afternoon and removed the outer basket. I have an hour commute to work and by they time I got home the pot and plant was STILL water logged, the bed of my truck was full of muddy water and dirt rings. I asked our receptionist how often she had watered the plant and she said every ten days or so, with about half a gallon of water. There was NO rock or seep holes for water to escape and when I removed the pot you could smell the decay. I washed it like you said and repotted with two inches of river pebbles in the bottom of the pot and Mirical grow potting soil with 33% water assorbtion, I will be keeping it at home for a week or so. ( mostly to make sure I didn't kill it) It is the owner's favorite plant he has about four around the office.
The problem is these things are usually planted in 'potting' soil, aka peat moss, which never drains and everything rots, but if a lot of grit is added, drainage is much faster, and if the pot sits on stones in the tray, instead of the water (just keep it below the stones for humidity, which is probably awful in an office), it'll do a lot better.
