Among the abundance indoor flowers special attention deserves dracaena. She has a sophisticated look and is not particularly demanding to care for. Despite this, difficulties often arise in the process of growing false palm trees. One of the common problems that gardeners face is that dracaena leaves turn yellow and begin to fall off. It is extremely important to immediately identify the cause of such changes in order to take appropriate measures to save the flower.
Care errors
Most often, dracaena leaves turn yellow and dry as a result of non-compliance with the rules of caring for the plant. We need to figure out what exactly led to such changes. Otherwise, there is a risk of death of the palm tree. There are a large number of factors leading to the deterioration of the plant’s condition.
Natural causes
Dracaena often loses its leaves lower leaves due to natural changes. The lifespan of each leaf plate is about two years. After this time, it begins to die off. As a rule, such changes are observed in the lower tier. At the top there are green leaves. The top of the head looks absolutely healthy.
The solution to the problem is simple. You just need to remove the parts that have lost their aesthetic appearance.
Watering errors
If the leaves of a flower droop and dry, such changes may indicate excess moisture in the soil. The substrate simply does not have time to dry due to excessive watering. Growing indoor dracaena at home this will not be successful. There is a risk of palm tree death.
If excess moisture leads to such problems, the trunk becomes soft. It is necessary to resort to drastic measures:
- Remove the plant from the pot.
- Look carefully at the root system.
- Remove rotting parts and dry healthy ones.
- Place the flower in a new substrate.
- Compact the soil to eliminate voids.
The leaves turn yellow and the trunk dries out in dracaena even with insufficient watering. It fails to obtain nutrients from the soil as a result of the soil drying out excessively. Therefore, it is extremely important to moisten the soil systematically, giving it the opportunity to dry out a little.
Failure to comply with temperature and humidity standards
A common reason why the ends of dracaena leaves dry out is the wrong location of the flowerpot. Although the plant comes from Africa, it is sensitive to dry air. It is strictly forbidden to place the container with it near heating devices. Due to this, dracaena sheds its leaves.
The air temperature should be between 18-25 degrees. Excessive cooling negatively affects the condition of the flower. Therefore, low temperatures and drafts must be avoided. You should also take care of the proper level of humidity in the room. It is recommended to spray and wipe the foliage with a damp sponge.
Water procedures have a beneficial effect on the condition of the palm tree, but you need to ensure that no liquid remains between the leaf plates. As a result of this, the dracaena also turns yellow. When giving the plant a warm shower, it is necessary to cover the soil with a film to avoid excessive moisture.
Sunburn
Yellow spots on a palm tree are burns. Their appearance is due to the fact that the plant is placed in direct sunlight. Take the flower pot out onto the loggia or balcony summer period It’s possible, but it definitely needs to be shaded. When exposed to excessively bright light, the tips of the dracaena leaves dry out and become pale in color.
Lack of nutrition
When there is a lack of nutrients, the foliage begins to curl or even fall off. In addition, the plant’s development stops. Therefore, it is so important to apply fertilizers in a timely manner.
Excess fertilizer also has a negative effect on the condition of the palm tree. Most often, such changes are observed with excessive amounts of minerals.
In this case, you should purchase a balanced substrate and update the soil in the flowerpot. It is unacceptable to use heavy, dense soil - it must be loosened regularly. Thus, the earth is saturated with oxygen and the condition of the palm tree improves.
In cases where dracaena grows in one flowerpot for a long period, it must be replanted. A large amount of salts accumulate in the substrate, which prevent the penetration useful substances to the flower.
Diseases and pests
Dracaena often dries out due to the development of diseases. One of the common problems is a bacterial infection. Such changes are observed when creating unfavorable conditions for a plant:
- excessive humidity in the room;
- abundant watering;
- deficiency of nutrients;
- placing the plant in an alkaline substrate.
First aid measures
Having found out the exact reason why the leaves of the palm tree have fallen, you need to take measures aimed at resuscitating the plant:
Yellowing of dracaena foliage is a fairly common problem, but in most cases it can be solved. The main thing is to immediately find out what led to such changes. Only after this can you begin to take decisive action. The main task is to eliminate the factor that aggravates the condition of the palm tree. Only in this way will it be possible to achieve a positive result and save the flower from death.
The reasons why dracaena withers, its leaves turn yellow, dry out and fall off can be very different. These are viral and fungal diseases. But most often dracaena dries out due to improper care. What to do in such cases? What treatment does the flower need? Professional flower growers share their experience. So, why do dracaena leaves turn yellow and fall off, what to do?
Dracaena - leaves turn yellow and fall off. Causes, treatment
The first reason why dracaena loses its decorative effect, its leaves turn yellow is the natural process of aging of the flower. So, a plant may dry out and fall off 3-5 lower leaves per year. At the same time, the flower remains completely healthy. However, if the number of fallen and dried leaves exceeds permissible limit, you should worry about the health of the flower and take a closer look at the conditions for its cultivation.
The leaves turn yellow and dry if the dracaena is frostbitten. Even short-term exposure to low temperatures is harmful to a flower. It is unacceptable to transport a flower from a store to home in the cold without appropriate protection. An open window in winter, under which there is a flower, can also cause damage to the leaves. What to do if dracaena is frostbitten? Move it to a warm room, but do not place it close to heating devices. It is not recommended to feed the flower; watering should be significantly reduced, since the evaporation regime of the flower’s moisture is disrupted. You can place it under a greenhouse and spray it frequently. Add epin to the spray solution.
Dracaena was transplanted. Its leaves are turning yellow. What to do? If the leaves turn yellow and fall off, then the dracaena suffered stress during transplantation. It was broken root system. All palm trees must be replanted carefully by transferring them to a larger pot without disturbing the integrity earthen coma. Otherwise, the thin roots may be damaged. And they play a major role in nutrition and water absorption. In this case, watering the plant is reduced significantly, and frequent spraying is carried out. You can add Kornevin to water for irrigation. It is also recommended to place the plant under a greenhouse, but do not over-moisten the soil in the pot. Maintain humidity inside the greenhouse by frequent spraying.
The second case of incorrect transplantation - too chosen big pot, incommensurate with the size of the root system of the flower. In this case, the dracaena becomes sick, its leaves turn yellow and fall off. Why is this happening? There is an excess of soil in the pot, the volume of which the root system of the flower cannot occupy. As a result, excess moisture accumulates in the soil. Dracaena does not have time to drink it. In a humid environment, the roots begin to rot. This is reflected on the leaves. So, the dracaena is transplanted, the leaves dry out and fall off. In this case, proceed as follows: remove the plant from the pot and inspect the root system. If it is healthy (the roots are light brown or milky), the plant is transferred to a smaller pot. Sick horses must be removed. The cut areas are sprinkled with activated carbon. Next, the watering regime is normalized and the flower is sprayed frequently.
Why do dracaena leaves fall off? This may be a natural aging process. In other cases, the flower simply does not have enough light or is over-watered. You need to water the flower after the soil in the pot has completely dried.
Dracaena practically does not grow, and if it does sprout new leaves, they are light green in color, although the plant gets enough sunlight and receives additional lighting in winter. Reason: Dracaena has chlorosis, which means it lacks nutrients. The plant is starving and therefore its leaves become discolored. How to treat a flower? Chlorosis in dracaena occurs when the soil contains little nitrogen, magnesium, and iron. To eliminate the problem, it is necessary to regularly add liquid complex compounds to the soil. mineral fertilizers, plus microelements (potassium magnesium, iron chelate) are added separately. Fertilizing is carried out from March to October every week, the solution is applied in a small concentration, according to the recommendations on the fertilizer package. From October to March you need to feed once a month.
In the collections of many flower growers indoor flower Dracaena occupies a special place. This exotic plant with a luxurious crown can decorate any interior, it looks great in both homes and offices. At the same time, caring for dracaena is not difficult. The marginata palm quickly grows a green mass of thin, pointed leaves and increases in size. But sometimes gardeners notice that the leaves of dracaena turn yellow. This feature not only spoils the decorative qualities of the flower, but can also indicate a threat to the health of the plant.
- Spray the flower with settled water more often;
- give him a “shower” at least once a week;
- install the pot near an aquarium or indoor fountain;
- immerse the flowerpot with the plant in a tray with wet expanded clay or brick chips.
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Features of caring for dracaena
There are several types of dracaenas, which, despite their tropical origin, feel great at home. Among the most popular are such as Derem, fragrant, bordered. These plants are not too demanding on temperature and light, but all dracaenas need organization proper watering and frequent spraying. In the winter months, the room where the flower stands should not be colder than +15 degrees, and in the summer the air temperature should be +23 degrees.
Dracaena is an exotic plant native to the tropics of Africa. But direct sunlight can cause damage and burns to the leaves. It is better to choose a space next to western or northern windows. In summer, the flower can be taken out onto the balcony, veranda or into the yard, but drafts must be avoided, which are detrimental to this exotic plant.
It is very important to water the flower correctly. Before each new watering, the substrate must dry completely. If moisture is constantly kept in the soil, the roots begin to rot, the leaves turn yellow, wither and fall off. In the hot season, dracaena is watered every 1-2 days, and in winter - no more than 2 times a week. The water needs to settle, you can add a few drops lemon juice per ten-liter bucket.
If the tips of the leaves dry out and yellow, brown or even black spots appear on them, it is necessary to check the plant for the presence of harmful insects or diseases. If pathogenic microorganisms or pests are detected, treatment with insecticides is required.
What to do if the leaves turn yellow?
It will be possible to save the plant only if the cause of the drying leaves is objectively determined. Experienced flower growers They know that dracaena tends to gradually expose the trunk. She sheds old yellowed leaves.
On average, the lifespan of each leaf blade is 1.5-2 years. If the plant is simply getting rid of old shoots, you can carefully remove them with scissors. Spots and dryness of young leaves indicate that the reason is improper care.
Dry indoor air
Most often, flower growers encounter this problem during heating season when the heat from heating radiators dries the air. The plant needs to be installed away from batteries. If the indoor air is very dry, you can take the following measures:
Humidifiers help solve the problem well.
Drafts and low temperatures
Dracaena leaves are very sensitive to temperature changes, so they are not installed on window sills with open windows and in passages where there are drafts. If you freeze the leaves, they will begin to turn yellow and curl. Abundant “leaf fall” of dried and browned shoots indicates frostbite of the roots.
Treatment of frostbitten leaves is carried out by spraying them warm water. It is unlikely that it will be possible to save a plant with frozen roots, but you can make cuttings in a timely manner and plant young seedlings in new pot. It is important that the room temperature is above +16 degrees.
Overwatering
Yellowing of the leaves at the tips indicates that the wrong watering mode has been selected. If the soil does not have time to dry out, then the roots of the dracaena very quickly begin to rot, the trunk becomes soft, and the bark becomes wrinkled. After removing the flower from the pot and freeing the roots from the substrate, you need to carefully examine them. If there are signs of decay, you will have to take radical measures to save at least part of the plant.
The top of the dracaena is cut off with sharp scissors or garden pruners and rooted in water. The roots will appear no earlier than in 2 months and the flower can be transplanted into a pot, constantly monitoring the regular drying and moistening of the soil. You can try to revive the plant in another way. The roots are cleared of soil, cut off and rotten ones are removed, and the dracaena is planted in new soil. For the first 3-5 days after transplantation, it is not watered, but only sprayed.
Parasite attacks
Pests can get into a pot of dracaena with contaminated soil or move from other plants. The presence of a parasite attack is indicated by brown dry spots, thin cobwebs on inside leaves, larvae in the soil. Insects deprive the plant of juice, so the leaves turn yellow and fall off. The fight against them is long and painstaking, but with properly organized treatment it is almost always possible to save the flower.
Dracaena has gained its popularity as a indoor plant thanks to its decorativeness and simple care. However, this does not mean that there are no problems with it. Beginning flower growers are often interested in why dracaena leaves turn yellow. When purchasing this plant for an apartment or office, you also need to know why the tips of dracaena leaves dry out. However, the main reason lies in improper care.
Dracaena leaves are long, lanceolate, live on average about two years, then gradually dry out and fall off, with the lower leaves beginning this process. The result is a bare trunk with marks and a lush cap of young foliage at the top, which is why the plant is called a false palm. This is a natural process. Don't worry when the leaves start to dry out one by one. Usually they are trimmed so as not to spoil the appearance, and after half the leaf has dried out, it is cut off.
When the leaves of a healthy dracaena turn yellow and fall off at the top, young leaves wither, lose turgor, dry out and fall off - all this indicates errors in care, which can lead to the death of the plant. When the tips of the dracaena leaves dry out, the question “What to do?” somewhat premature. First you need to determine the cause of the trouble, and then take decisive action.
The dracaena gets sick, the leaves turn yellow and fall off if the pot is standing in wrong place. The watering or lighting regime may also be disrupted, or the temperature in the room may change sharply. Rare transplants or incorrectly selected soil can also cause dracaena leaves to turn yellow. Pests and diseases rarely appear with good care, but they can cause dracaena to wilt. Leaves turn yellow and dry, as a rule, at the very beginning of these troubles.
Wrong choice of location
Yellowed withered leaves on the top of the head may indicate a draft or air movement of another origin - for example, from an air conditioner. There should be no air movement in the place where the flower pot is located, especially with changes in temperature. It is better to remove the plant from the windowsill while airing, especially in the cold season. Dracaena will suffer less from temporary movement than from a stream of cool air.
It is very bad if the plant is exposed to direct sunlight - this causes the dracaena leaves to turn yellow and fall off, but first brownish spots appear on them. tropical plant need a lot of light, especially its variegated varieties, and it must be diffused. Due to lack of light, the leaves dry out, starting from the edges.
Watering mode
Dracaena loves moisture; if there is insufficient watering, the leaves dry out and fall off. However, troubles can also occur if too much moisture accumulates in the ground. Therefore, you need to check the condition of the soil before watering: in summer 2–3 cm of soil should dry out, and in winter you can check the depth with a wooden stick.
If water remains in the axils of the leaves after showering or spraying, this can lead to rotting. The first “bell” will be yellowing and lethargy.
Poor quality soil
A young palm tree is replanted annually because it does not have enough space in the old pot. Adult dracaena grows much more slowly, but it also needs to be replanted every 2-3 years or even more often. After prolonged use, the soil becomes depleted, loses its looseness, and begins to retain excess water. In addition, after watering, a lot of salts settle in the ground, which makes it difficult for the roots to absorb nutrients. For this reason, the soil needs to be changed more often, but this should be done very carefully, because the roots are fragile and can be easily damaged.
The plant must receive feeding on time - the tips of the leaves turn yellow often due to lack of nutrition. Dracaena turns yellow and loses color saturation even with a lack of nitrogen. You can’t overdo it either - excess nitrogen reduces resistance to fungal diseases.
If the soil was chosen incorrectly, this will also affect appearance palm trees - they shed their leaves if the soil is alkaline or too acidic. The soil should be loose enough to contain nutrients, there must be a high-quality drainage layer at the bottom of the pot.
Diseases
Dracaena also loses its leaves due to disease. Fungal diseases spread at low temperatures and high humidity. On the leaves they appear as brown or yellow spots, dryness along the long edge. Fungicides are used for control. It’s worse with bactericidal diseases - it’s almost impossible to cure them; it’s easier to save the unaffected part of the top by cutting it off and rooting it in new soil.
When the root system rots, the plant quickly withers, the leaves lose turgor and the trunk becomes soft. A sufficient amount of potassium-phosphorus fertilizers can protect the roots and make the plant stronger.
The green parts dry out when attacked by pests that suck the juice out of them.
How to save leaves
If you have found the reason why dracaena leaves dry out or turn yellow, you need to urgently correct the situation in order to save the plant.
The optimal temperature is +20–25 °C. The flower should stand on or near the windowsill to receive a large number of scattered sun rays. It is in such a place without drafts that you need to move the pot.
Frequent spraying with settled water and a warm shower, after which you need to dry the leaf axils with a napkin, will help to save you from lack of moisture. Urgent replanting will save you from waterlogging and rotting of the roots; the roots need to be cut to healthy parts and dusted with activated carbon.
Dracaena is native to the countries of Africa and South Asia. For successful cultivation plants at home, he needs to create conditions appropriate to the climate of the region. In unfavorable climates, dracaena withers. The leaves turn yellow and fall off. What to do? Causes of the disease and their treatment. Flower growers share their experiences.
Why do dracaena leaves turn yellow and dry?
Dracaena palm - leaves turn yellow, other plant diseases, causes and their treatment. Experienced flower growers share their experiences.
Why do the tips of dracaena leaves turn yellow? Reason: violation of the watering regime. Ways to eliminate it: you need to water the dracaena rarely, when the soil in the pot dries well. For irrigation, use warm, settled water in large quantities. The lump of soil should be thoroughly wet; water should be removed from the pan immediately. Dried leaf tips will not recover. They can be cut off. Dracaena will be healthy when its leaf tips do not turn yellow.
Dracaena's lower leaves turn yellow and fall off. This is a normal process for an adult plant. Gradually, the lower leaves of the dracaena turn yellow and fall off, exposing the trunk. There is no need to cut off artificially dried leaves. However, what better conditions care for a flower, the more vegetation there is on its trunk. It is necessary to improve the conditions for keeping dracaena.
The dracaena trunk is rotting. At the same time, the root system of the plant is healthy, there is no visible damage on the leaves. Cause of the disease: the dracaena trunk is too deep into the ground, the soil is systematically waterlogged. Control measures: remove the dracaena from the pot, carefully, without disturbing the integrity of the earthen ball around the roots, remove excess soil. Allow the earthen clod to dry for several days. Just put the dracaena on the paper without planting it in a pot. For a dracaena whose trunk has completely rotted, you need to cut off the top for subsequent rooting, since the flower will not come back to life. After drying the earthen coma, the dracaena is planted in fresh soil and the watering regime is normalized.
Dracaena appeared on the leaves yellow spots . Cause: sunburn or waterlogging of the soil. Measures: direct sunlight is harmful to dracaena leaves. The plant needs sunlight, but with obligatory shading. Dracaena should be watered rarely, but abundantly.
Black spots on dracaena leaves. Reason: waterlogging of the soil, low air temperature in the room. Measures: moderate watering of the plant. Watering should be plentiful, but only after the soil in the pot has completely dried. Dracaena is native to warm countries, and therefore low temperatures are not suitable for the flower.
Dracaena leaves dry out for different reasons. If the leaves simply dry out without losing color intensity, the plant is in a pot that is larger than the root system. In this case, you need to reduce the volume of the pot. Soil depletion can also be the reason why dracaena leaves dry out. It is necessary to regularly fertilize the flower. Insufficient lighting is also the reason why dracaena leaves dry out. The flower needs a good level of lighting, but not direct sunlight.
Why do dracaena leaves turn black from the base. Cause: Fusarium rot, which is caused by a fungus Fusarium. Additional signs of damage to dracaena by Fusarium rot: the appearance of red-brown spots on the leaves, over time they turn brown and become wet to the touch. The spots spread from the base to the tip of the leaf. In most cases, the top of the plant rots and turns black. Measures to combat the disease: isolate the plant, normalize watering and the proper level of illumination; the dracaena should not be exposed to cold air flows. The affected parts of the plant must be removed. Spray with a solution of Fundazol, Vectra. The soil is also watered with the same solution. The frequency of plant treatment is 2-3 times every 4-5 days. The higher the temperature of the flower, the more often the soil is sprayed and watered.
Dracaena has yellow spots in the form of streaks on its leaves, back side There are black dots on the leaf. When a plant is severely damaged, its leaves become discolored. Cause of the disease: thrips. They infect the plant at high air humidity and high temperature. Control measures: mandatory isolation of the flower from the collection, treatment of dracaena with insecticides. These are the drugs Aktara, Actellik, and their analogues. Watering and spraying are carried out, the procedure is repeated after 5-7 days 4 times. The place where the plant was previously located must be treated with alcohol, since thrips continue to live even on the surface of windows.
Why do dracaena leaves lose their variegated color? What to do to restore variegation to the plant? Dracaena loses its variegated leaf color in low light levels. The plant is native to Africa and South Asia, where there is a lot of sun and warmth. At home, these are the conditions that the flower needs to create. The ideal location of the flower is a south-facing window with shading from direct midday sunlight. For shading, it is enough to use a transparent curtain. Windows on the east or west side of the apartment are also suitable. If dracaena grew in partial shade, then a large number She needs to be accustomed to sunlight gradually. If a flower is suddenly brought out of the partial shade to bright sun, sunburn in the form of yellow spots will appear on its leaves.
How to accustom dracaena to bright sunlight? The plant is brought out into the light in the morning and evening hours. At noon it is removed from the light. If the flower pot is located in the back of the room, you can simply move it to the window every day.
Dracaena's young leaves dry at the top. The leaves become covered with concentric, black circles and fall off green. What kind of disease is this? Dracaena disease: stem rot. Pathogen: mushroom Didymella lycopersici. Its spores are transmitted from plant to plant along with splashes of water and for a long time stored in the ground. First of all, they infect the plant stem in its root part. The stem begins to rot. Brown, sunken spots appear on it, wet to the touch. Over time they increase in volume. How to treat? Fungal and stem rot is very difficult to treat. To avoid infecting other flowers, the dracaena must be thrown away. To prevent the disease, it is necessary to increase the percentage of nitrogen in the soil through root feeding and be sure to adjust the watering regime for other flowers.
In dracaena, the stem often rots due to waterlogging of the soil. Signs of dracaena overwatering: the leaves turn yellow and fall off en masse, in some cases the leaves begin to turn black. The plant stem becomes soft. When pressed, the bark moves away from the stem. The roots of dracaena begin to rot due to waterlogging. Rotten roots are brown, while healthy roots are white or light yellow. How to save a rotting dracaena? It will not be possible to save the plant completely, but you can re-root the cuttings, thereby rejuvenating the plant.
So, cuttings are cut off above the place of rotting if the trunk is damaged. If the stems of the dracaena rot, then the rotten places are completely thrown away. The result can be either apical cuttings that root vertically, or regular cuttings (their length can be 5-10 cm). They are rooted both vertically and horizontally (slightly pressing into wet sand). Important condition- there should be no hint of rot on the cuttings. Otherwise they will continue to rot. Dracaena very rarely takes root in ordinary water. For successful rooting, it is necessary to maintain the temperature within +22...+25 degrees with moderate soil moisture and high humidity air.