Worried about my dracaena

Question

A couple of leaves on my beloved dracaena (might be a marginal) have gone brown, and I can see a few more getting slightly yellow spots. I did overwater it about 4 months ago… would I just be seeing the symptoms now? Also, I’ve just started using a dehumidifier in the room. Maybe one of these might result in this kind of discoloring in the leaves? Thanks in advance!

Answer 1

The yellow spots, I THINK, might be due to fungal spores landing and starting their rather disheartening growth.

It’s possible that the wretched brown tip was a too-dry event rather than a too-wet one. Some would argue this but my Dra Limelight has never had a crunchy brown tip like that.

Do you check your soil moisture with a sharpened chop stick and finger…..it’s the only way to go. The tactile method!

I have some yellow spots too and it is disheartening. Fungus brats! Misting might even be a magnetic landing site for these spores. You should see my Crocodile fern. It is very attractive to a certain kind of fungal growth.

Humidity…..if you were ask all the plants at Longwood Gardens in the conservatory what they like best about their home, they would shout out in unison, THE HUMIDITY!!!

Last…..when you water your critter, do you drench and drain?

Answer 2

Thanks for that response! I’ve got a fancy moisture measure instrument to stick into the soil… I don’t think it’s too dry. I was misting to counteract against the dehumidifier, so I’ll stop that in case it is the fungal growth thing. Is there anything else I can do if it is a fungal growth? The pot it’s in didn’t have holes, so I have drilled some in so that I can drench and drain (it’s almost 3m high so a bit difficult, but I will try anything to save it!). Meanwhile, the yellow spots slowly turn to brown 🙁

Answer 3

Do a lot of Internet reading on the subject of fungal infections. There are effectual sprays that can be applied to stop fungus. I think application frequency might be once a week. Using a de-humidifier will be no help to plants and frankly it might very well lead to their demise. The vast majority of plants just don’t like dry air. It does adversely affect their foliage. Be careful you water your plants only according to how dry the soil feels……NOT BY CALENDAR. I have an electronic soil moisture meter. I stopped using it because I just preferred checking by feel. Visit greenhouses and greeneries and look carefully at how the plants are doing. Compare them to yours. No substitute for experience and knowledge when it comes to plant care.