Dracaena is an evergreen shrub or tree belonging to the Dracene family (Agave). Sometimes this plant is called a palm or false palm.
Now science knows more than a hundred species of dracaena. Most of them grow in the tropical and subtropical regions of Africa, as well as on the islands of Southeast Asia. About forty species of dracaena are successfully grown in greenhouses, and about ten - at home. This plant has a decorative value - it adorns the interior of any home with its bright saturated green leaves. And besides, it is very unpretentious in leaving.
Exterior features of this beautiful tropical plant.
Especially popular in indoor breeding are the varieties of dracaena dera (Dracaena deremensis). You can recognize the plant by a lignified non-branching trunk, usually densely leafy. Dark green leaves of this species reach 50 cm in length. Once a decade, Derema dracaena blooms with dark red on the outside and white inside flowers, and then forms berry-shaped orange fruits. In this article, we will tell you all about the features of home grown dracaena. And most importantly, let's talk about diseases and pests that affect this beautiful tropical plant. Especially often, owners of a false palm have a question about why the dracaena turns yellow. We will discuss this later. We hope our tips will help you in breeding this bright and interesting flower.
Beauty Dracaena: why the tips of the leaves turn yellow?
In order to grow a healthy and strong plant, agrotechnical rules for the cultivation of dracaena should be observed. With poor care, it often changes the color of its leaves from emerald green to yellow and even brown or black. The tips of the leaves of this evergreen shrub turn brown and dry for various reasons, including due to inappropriate climatic conditions. Sometimes this also occurs due to natural processes, including aging of deciduous mass. It is known that dracaena leaves live on average one and a half to two years, and then begin to turn yellow, dry out and fall off. As a rule, this process of dying of leaves begins from the top of the plant. Lower leaves dry out more slowly.
In case of natural yellowing, only ugly tips are removed, leaving a healthy tissue. Thanks to timely pruning, the plant will not lose its attractive appearance.
Favorable temperature and lighting
In an evergreen shrub called "dracaena" the ends of the leaves turn yellow often due to lack of light or due to excess moisture. Therefore, choosing the right temperature and good lighting is very important. This plant prefers soft diffused light, and some varieties stably tolerate the lack of sunlight in winter and autumn, while others respond to the lack by changing the color of the deciduous mass. If you notice that the dracaena leaves turn yellow (young and healthy), make sure that it receives enough light.
In the cold season, you can highlight the palm with special lamps. At the same time, direct sunlight can adversely affect the plant. If you notice dry light spots on the leaves, move the flower to another place and protect it from the scorching sun.
As for the temperature regime, dracaena loves neither heat nor cold. The optimal range for its cultivation is considered to be 18-25 ° C. At temperatures below 15 ° C and above 28 ° C, the plant may become sick and die. The first sign of freezing is the twisted soft brown edges of the leaves. The palm tree does not tolerate extreme temperature changes, so do not put the pot with it on the windowsill, by the open window in the winter season. Frozen leaves can be saved - transfer the flower to a warmer place and regularly spray it with warm water.
We establish and maintain humidity in the room
This tropical plant loves dry air. Therefore, it is undesirable to place a flower pot next to heating appliances and batteries. For normal palm growth, it is necessary to maintain sufficient humidity - above 60%, and also spray it daily with warm, clean water. If the leaves of the dracaena turn yellow or their edges turn brown, then you violate the spraying regime and do not maintain optimal climatic conditions in the room.
Remember: dry, hot air is harmful to a tropical plant. But a warm shower, on the contrary, is extremely useful. It allows you to perfectly moisten the leaves and wash away dust from them.
Dracaena Moisturizing Mode
Watering the plant should be regular and moderate. In no case should the flower be poured. Between watering, the earthen lump in which dracaena grows should have time to dry by at least 2 cm. The water is used clean, settled and not cold. In addition, experienced growers recommend monthly topsoil loosening to improve aeration.
Extremely poorly tolerates excessive hydration of dracaena. The leaves turn yellow and fall, the plant withers and may die due to decay of the roots. Therefore, it is extremely important to establish the correct irrigation regime by moisturizing the earthen lump in the summer once a week, and in the winter once every two weeks. But you should not allow excessive drying of the substrate, especially if the air in the apartment is not too humid.
Feeding and transplanting dracaena
This plant responds well to periodic top dressing. Especially it needs nitrogen. Most often, the lack of this element, as well as insufficient air humidity, affects not such a good way on a plant like dracaena. The tips of the leaves turn yellow, wither and die. To prevent this, it is highly recommended that you feed your palm with special complex fertilizers. This should be done during the active growth of the plant, from April to the end of August.
In order for your flower to grow well and have an abundant deciduous mass, it is sometimes advisable to transplant it into a new substrate. If the dracaena leaves turn yellow, dry out, and new ones grow extremely slowly and turn black, then it's time to change the pot and soil mixture. Usually a flower that has been in the same substrate for more than three years is sick and does not grow well. The fact is that in the old soil a huge amount of salts accumulates, which impede the flow of nutrients into the plant.
To make Dracaena feel good, transship once every two years, in the spring. The land can be used special for palm trees. You can add a little charcoal and sand to it to improve the friability of the substrate. In addition to transshipment, the topmost layer of soil in the pot must be replaced annually with a new one.
Propagation of a beautiful tropical dracaena plant
This palm tree propagates either in the apical part or in parts of the stem. Moreover, seedlings are quite easily rooted. The top of the plant is cut off (its length should be at least 10 cm) and placed in a container with water and pieces of activated carbon. After some time, the fragment should give roots, after which it can be rooted in the soil mixture.
Perfectly propagated dracaena and stem. It is cut into small pieces about 6 cm long and placed in moist sand to a depth of 2 cm. To root the seedlings, greenhouse conditions are maintained with a maximum comfortable temperature of 23-24 ° C.
Pests: how to deal with them? Shield and aphids
In addition to improper growing conditions, the plant may feel bad due to pests and fungal diseases. If dracaena turns yellow, what to do in this case? To begin to establish which particular pest attacked the plant. Most often, the scale shield damages the dracaena. It looks like brownish-brown plaques that form on the stems and leaf surface. Because of this pest sucking out the cell sap, dracaena does not feel well - the leaves turn yellow. What to do to overcome the scabbard and protect the plant from drying out and falling of deciduous mass?
To begin with, be sure to clean the leaves from pests by wiping them with a soapy sponge. In addition, the plant must be sprayed with a solution of Actellik (1 ml per 1 liter of water). The same insecticide is also used if the flower affects aphids. Such drugs as Decis, Inta-Vir, and Fitoverm do an excellent job of it. If struck by this pest, then dracaena looks bad - the leaves turn yellow and fall or wrinkle, twist and discolor.
Thrips and spider mite: how to recognize and fight?
Often, thrips, which are small insect pests that form colonies on the bottom of the leaf, are also struck by dracaena. If you notice that the dracaena leaves have a characteristic grayish-brown hue, it is time to take action. To exterminate thrips, a plant should be sprayed with any of these preparations: Decis, Inta-Vir, or Actellik. You also need to revise the growing conditions of the plant - reduce the room temperature to the optimum 24 ° C and make the air more humid. Why is dracaena turning yellow, covered with small white spots?
Sometimes the pest is to blame for everything - a spider mite, which is an insect of a yellowish-green color, with a size of not more than 0.5 mm. He chooses a place for himself on the underside of the sheet and strikes the site, entangling it with a thin cobweb. To combat this insect, dracaena is treated with a hot soapy solution and sprayed with Acaricid.
Fungal diseases of dracaena
In addition to pests, fungal infectious diseases, such as, for example, alternariosis (light brown spotting), can also harm your plant. Dry brown round spots may appear on the dracene, inside of which there are concentric rings. With the course of the disease, the leaves turn black and die. To combat fungus, fungicides such as Topaz or Oxychom are used.
Dracaena also turns yellow due to heterosporosis. This fungus attacks the leaves of the plant and appears first as yellow, and then brown spots with a dark border. Affected by this infection, dracenes are sprayed with fungicides.
There is another disease, sometimes affecting the palm, called "phylostictosis" or otherwise "brown spotting". Large rounded spots of light brown with a yellowish-green edging appear on the leaves of adult dracaena. Over the course of the disease, the spots become covered with black spores. Fungicides are also used for treatment.
Serious bacterial infection
In the event that Dracaena is affected by bacteriosis, the tips of the leaves turn yellow, soften and rot. Sometimes oily yellowish stripes appear on them, and small ulcers on the stems of the plant. This bacterial disease develops due to too high indoor temperature, excessively humid air and lack of nutrients in the substrate. Unfortunately, bacteriosis is not treated, and the affected plant must be destroyed.
Now you know why the leaves of dracaena turn yellow, and therefore they dry and fall off. In fact, there are many reasons for a plant to feel unwell : from a violation of the rules of care to fungal diseases. We hope our article will help you in this difficult task - growing a healthy and beautiful decorative flower - dracaena.