Good morning all. I am new here, and have what I think is are 2 simple questions. 1: What is this plant? 2: Why is it suddenly starting to brown? Sorry if this is in the wrong section)
Looks like a Dracaena, perhaps 'Lemon-Lime'. Suspect that it may have moisture/root issues. When did you last repot? How much and how often is the plant watered? Tap water or filtered? What is the condition of the soil, and is it well-drained? You say this has happened 'suddenly': any recent change in location, humidity, temperature, or light levels? Have you checked the plant carefully for bugs? I'd get the plant out of the pot, both to have a look at its roots and see what state the soil is in. If the latter is soggy and smelly, it is past time to repot.
It was repotted about 2 months ago. It started to brown about 3 weeks ago. As far as drainage, there are rocks at the bottom of the pot, but there is no way for any additional water to escape from there. There has been a lighting change(season change via direction of sunlight-plant has not been moved) No bugs though! Sounds to me like it's probably the draining (or lack thereof?) thanks very much for the reply!
Seems a fair bet. The plant looks pretty vigorous otherwise. If you get the drainage situation fixed, it will probably be OK. Those bottom leaves are toast, but the plant looks strong enough to recover. Good luck to both of you, and welcome to the Forum!
Rocks should not be placed at the bottom of pots as they do not increase drainage. It has the unintended effect of raising the perched water table in the container which results in less area for the growth of the plant's root system.
I once worked looking after plants in office buildings and often had to explain why I was or was not watering/fertilizing, etc. Here's what I used to tell people. Fertilizer, water and sunlight are like a triangle; they're connected. If the light level goes down, everything else has to go down too or the triangle gets out of balance. That's why you don't fertilize in the fall or winter -- you have to wait until the light levels are on the increase to keep it balanced. Many people overwater at this time of year because they don't take into account that the light levels have changed and the plant is using less water than it did even a month ago. That's also why watering, say, every Tuesday doesn't work. The plant doesn't know what day it is -- it only knows that it wants only so much moisture all the time. The other advice you've received is great, but I'd add: let water stand overnight in an open container before using, so it's room temperature and the chlorine/fluoride has had a chance to dissipate. Dracaenas dislike chlorine and fluoride, and get tip burn from them. Don't water until the soil is dry down to a full forefinger depth for a gallon pot or larger, half a finger for a smaller pot. If that means not watering for three weeks, so be it. Hope that helps! keke
Agree with both j-k and Keke. I have learned through experience to not use rocks---have quit using packing peanuts as well. Rather, I have discovered the value of orchid bark mixed in with potting soil. It is great stuff. My coworkers think I'm nuts (what else is new?) when I tote my gallon jug of water in from home to water plants in the staff area. Water at work smells 'off' and periodically will turn a light amber color...we are told 'oh, it's safe to drink!' Yeah well, no thanks. And the plants I take care of are NOT going to drink that either! I fill my jug at home and let it sit for a couple of days before I bring it in. And, at long last, I have drilled into my coworkers to NOT WATER the plants in my absence. No, folks---you are NOT doing the plant a favor by tossing cupsful of water on it whenever the mood strikes. I know what you mean, Keke. Had to do a 'dog-in-the-manger' impression, bare my teeth, and growl 'STAY AWAY FROM THE PLANTS!!!'
Can you explain this more? If the pot has drainage holes, how can rocks raise the water table? In large pots, the less water-retentive material at the bottom of the pot will help the roots to not become water-logged. Is that wrong? Or is the issue that Mokules did not have the plant in a pot with drainage holes to begin with. There I can see rocks doing what you say. I don't even understand why pots are sold without drainage holes - not much can survive in those for long! (Except bog plants).
Kevin, Water is held in soil in pots by 2 forces: gravitational flow potential and capillarity. When the 2 forces equal each other the water stops draining and is 'perched'. Try a little experiment: take 2 pots, with one being twice the height of the other. Fill them with the same potting mix and you will find the perched water table is at the same height from the bottom, which leaves the taller pot with a much larger section of a soil where a proper air exchange can take place for root growth. Take the same pot and fill the bottom half with rocks or packing peanuts, and the top with the same soil mix again, and what will have happened is that all you have accomplished is you have moved the perched water table up in the pot and reduced the area for gas exchange and root growth, the roots end up in more or less constant water and will rot. The roots are sitting in water but the plant cannot use it because the roots are rotting. Rocks or packing peanuts do NOT improve drainage, they raise the perched water table, will lead to root rot and severely impact the growth potential of the plant.
Weird. So, would it be better to mix the rocks or coarse material in with the potting mix? Would that increase drainage?
It would be best to have a consistent mix throughout but there are better ingredients than rocks for increasing aeration. As togata57 mentioned, bark is a good alternative. You may want to also consider using perlite, lava rock, or turface.
Excess water cannot drain easily with rocks in the bottom of a pot and normally cause saprophytic growth that results in root death and leaves to turn blackish. This is an African rain forest species that is often required to stand for months in standing water but in nature the soil is far from what most growers typically use. Saprophytes are microorganisms such as fungi and bacteria that commonly grow in very wet soil that has no exchange of oxygen. Your plants breathe through their roots and if we prevent oxygen from being available the plant will normally die, often leaving behind a very bad odor in the soil. Advice given on many internet sites regarding rocks in the bottoms of pots is very bad advice since it slows free drainage and promotes saprophytes.. The rain forest soil is infertile because it averages eons in development and requires constantly being both replenished while those nutrients are quickly used again by the large trees. The soil is rarely rich and drains quite rapidly. The combination of hard sides to a pot, poor drainage holes and rock at the bottom keep the soil from draining and as a result it becomes a perfect place to grow saprophytes. Although we grow our plants in air-conditioned living rooms where there is little humidity, in the forest the heat and humidity encourage the further decomposition of the rain forest leaf litter, it happens constantly in the forest. The shallow roots of very large trees then rapidly absorb almost all of this organic matter. As a result, most of the nutrients are contained in the trees rather than in the soil. The topsoil layers may be only one to two inches deep but provides only a limited amount of nutrition to the plants. The plant life is lush since the plants store the nutrients inside their own cells as well as produce them via photosynthesis rather than gathering them from the soil. Plants in the forest have adapted to utilize the nutrients from their fallen “brethren” in order to flourish and survive but we take it out and throw it in the trash. It isn't excess water that kills plants like this in homes. The cause of their demise is almost always soil that is kept soggy, poor light conditions, near constant neglect, lack of nutrients. Tropical plants love damp soil, they often just do not do well in a pot with excess water. Fermentation and saprophytes often occur in muddy soil that will not not allow the roots to breathe but they don't necessarily occur in water which is why we can cause a plant that is about to die to grow new roots in a glass of clean water. Cuttings of this plant can live in a glass of water. As a result, it is necessary to use soil mixes that allow the roots to breathe and will not remain soggy. As a result the top layer of a potted plant's soil should not be allowed to completely dry since that dry soil prevents the intake of fresh air! Remember, unlike jungle soil your pot is solid and no oxygen can enter though the walls as it would with only a tiny amount of water flow in the forest. Once the soil in a pot dries it creates a "blanket effect" to hold in the stale moisture and keep out fresh oxygen. Once the top layer dries the moist layer below cannot easily breathe in order to re-oxygenate the soil so it is possible to soon become anoxic (the lack of oxygen). Anoxia encourages saprophytic growth and leads to root rot, If you could visit a rain forest you would quickly learn the soil is composed of leaf litter, decaying wood, compost, animal droppings and the charcoal left behind when a part of the forest burns. If we'll just listen to Mother Nature we can all make our plants grow as they do in nature. That is precisely what I attempt to explain when I recommend mixing soil, not just buying a bag at the store. Over time we've arrived at a soil mixture for most of our species which duplicates the rain forest. We use the mixture below on the advice of the Missouri Botanical Garden in St. Louis. The goal of this mix is to allow the roots to freely breathe, find places to extend and grow without constantly finding wet places where they will rot. The mix will remain damp but drain quickly. As a result the top layer of a potted plant's soil should not be allowed to completely dry since that dry soil prevents the intake of fresh air! Remember, unlike jungle soil your pot is solid and no oxygen can enter though the walls as it would with only a tiny amount of water flow in the forest. Once the soil in a pot dries it creates a "blanket effect" to hold in the stale moisture and keep out fresh oxygen. Once the top layer dries the moist layer below cannot easily breathe in order to re-oxygenate the soil so it is possible to soon become anoxic (the lack of oxygen). Anoxia encourages saprophytic growth and leads to root rot, The dry upper layer surrounded by very solid pot walls actually prevents the capillary effect of the wet surface evaporation when damp soil is exposed to air. When you pour water in the air inside the soil is displaced so the oxygenated air inside has left the pot. If the upper soil layer completely dries the "lungs" of the pot cannot work and can no longer continue to draw in another breath of fresh air including needed oxygen. The entirety of the soil needs to remain evenly damp so the roots of the plant can continue to draw in fresh oxygen. Otherwise, root rot is likely to begin. Since most people don't want to bother with ever watering their plants, many people go into a garden store and purchase a very rich potting soil that stays soggy all the time. Despite the belief they are giving the plant a "rich" soil to make it thrive they may be dooming their specimen to death in anoxic mud. Plant species can literally drown in mucky soil with no air or water motion due to Anyone that has asthma knows the difficulty of getting air out and then drawing fresh oxygen back in. Even though plants release oxygen into the air through their leaves they draw fresh oxygen into the plant through their roots. A potted plant is much like your lungs and if you can't bring in fresh oxygen you will soon cease to live. Mud blocks the flow of oxygen. As a result the top layer of a potted plant's soil should not be allowed to completely dry since that dry soil prevents the intake of fresh air! Remember, unlike jungle soil your pot is solid and no oxygen can enter though the walls as it would with only a tiny amount of water flow in the forest. Once the soil in a pot dries it creates a "blanket effect" to hold in the stale moisture and keep out fresh oxygen. Once the top layer dries the moist layer below cannot easily breathe in order to re-oxygenate the soil so it is possible to soon become anoxic (the lack of oxygen). Anoxia encourages saprophytic growth and leads to root rot, The dry upper layer surrounded by very solid pot walls actually prevents the capillary effect of the wet surface evaporation when damp soil is exposed to air. When you pour water in the air inside the soil is displaced so the oxygenated air inside has left the pot. If the upper soil layer completely dries the "lungs" of the pot cannot work and can no longer continue to draw in another breath of fresh air including needed oxygen. The entirety of the soil needs to remain evenly damp so the roots of the plant can continue to draw in fresh oxygen. Otherwise, root rot is likely to begin. Since most people don't want to bother with ever watering their plants, many people go into a garden store and purchase a very rich potting soil that stays soggy all the time. Despite the belief they are giving the plant a "rich" soil to make it thrive they may be dooming their specimen to death in anoxic mud. Plant species can literally drown in mucky soil with no air or water motion due to the lack of oxygen. You should consider making up a special mixture. Start by making a mixture which will be approximately 30 to 40% good soil, the balance of the mixture should contain about 30% peat moss, roughly 20% Penlite, and the balance orchid potting mix which contains cedar wood chips, charcoal and gravel. To that add any good compost, a few cups of finely cut pieces of sphagnum moss and some cypress mulch. If you have some Vermiculite throw that in as well. This formula isn't critical, just keep it loose. The mixture above will be added to an equal portion of moisture control soil mix such as Miracle Grow Moisture Control. Mix all of this thoroughly and keep it constantly damp once you pot your plant. Enough ingredients to pot a large plant shouldn't cost more than $15 and the chances are high you'll have enough mix left over to plant one or two more plants. We grow hundreds of tropical species in this type of mixture, both in pots and in the ground in NW Arkansas. The hot and humid conditions of the forest cause tropical rain forests to be an ideal environment for bacteria and other microorganisms and since they remain active throughout the year they quickly decompose matter on the forest floor. But we cannot achieve this in our homes. We have had excellent success using Mother Natures techniques in our artificial rain forest despite the fact we water almost daily in the summer but only three days a week in the winter. We rarely allow soil to completely dry with the exception of species that require a dry period in their life cycle. Gravel and small rocks can be added to the soil but their mineral content can affect pH. I prefer slightly acidic soil as is found in the forest. Steve
