posted
Looking for some help with a houseplant. The tips of the leaves of my dracaena sanderiana are browning rapidly. I have attempted to heal the poor baby but I am failing. Do I cut all the tips that are brown? Do I remove the entire leaf. The dracaenas have leaves difficult to remove completely without affecting the entire plant. I have placed it in an ideal growing environment but for some reason it seems to be struggling. Can anyone help save the poor thing? Plants: 2 | From: selkirk, manitoba | Registered: Nov 2003
| Seeded: 142.161.255.76
Jiffymouse
guest
posted
Crashfire, welcome to The Garden Helper! I don't have an answer for you. What I do with my dracaena's is trim the brown tips almost to the green to minimize the obviousness of it. Or I just ignore it.
Seeded: 12.77.200.42
Will Creed
guest
posted
If less than half the leaf has turned brown, then you can trim it off so as to maintain the original pointed shape. If more than half has discolored then remove the entire leaf.
To remove the sheath portion of the leaf that is attached to the stem, split the leaf in half lengthwise and pull the two sides apart until they strip off the stem cleanly and completely. It's easier to do than it sounds.
It is important to determine the cause of the tipping so you don't end up trimming off all the leaves. Am I correct in assuming that your Sanderiana is in potting soil? This is the species that is commonly sold as cuttings in water and mis-named Lucky Bamboo.
Some leading causes of leaf tipping are hard water, allowing soil to become too dry, inadequate light, and over fertilizing.
If the tips turn yellow, that is indicative of keeping the soil too moist, using too large a pot, or soil that is compacted (lacking in porous material).
Seeded: 24.239.134.109
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