Hello, I have recently moved and was given (part of) a house plant that has been growing in my parents home for over 20 years. I am struggling a little with the upkeep of it in my new home and the leaves keep wilting and falling off. I was wondering if you guys could help me ID the plant, so I can better address possible issues. (too much/little sunlight, too much water, ect). The chinese name roughly translates to "iron tree," but that didn't help me much. I can take more pictures or answer questions if you need to see or know anything else. Thanks a lot! I appreciate the help.
It looks like Dracaena fragrans, Corn Plant (not related to corn; it just got that name because it looks like corn). It's from tropical regions in Africa. If it were my plant, I would cut it off at the bottom leaves, pull off a few leaves, and push it into a pot with new soil, since it has been in that soil for 20 years. Then I would cut off the remaining stem, remember which way was up, cut it into maybe 6-inch segments, and plant them into the same pot or separate pots. Water the pots, then lift them to see how heavy they are. When they start to look dry on top, lift them and see if they're lighter then when you watered them. If not, wait until they are lighter, but not till they're very light, then water them.
Hi Wendy! Thanks for the info. To give you some more info - the plants have not been in these pots for 20 years. They both had been cut off the top of of one of the many offsprings and repotted with fresh soil about a month and a half ago in the middle of November. They both have lost most of their bottom leaves by now. Is this normal when re planting these plants? Also, would you know how much water is too much?
I'm not quite sure if you're saying this is a new cutting from November. If so, it should have been done with a much shorter stalk, just below the leaves. That's a lot of plant to support with no roots. I would try it again, with just enough bare stalk to go into the soil (four inches or so), and only a foot or two of plant on top. It needs to be out of the sun while it has no roots, and these plants don't need direct sun anyway. It needs to not dry out, but not be too wet either. They do lose bottom leaves, but they shouldn't lose them all right away. At least it's not the growing tip you're saying is having problems, so that's a good sign.
