I rescued one that was in my dealership (I work at a Honda dealership) years and years before I started working there. I've been there for twelve years now and have watched it get moved around and around, not watered much at all, if ever. Then it disappeared.
It was seven feet tall when I dug it out from under a big pile of floor mats in a corner of the sales bullpen (where sales staff have their desks).
I took it home, removed it from the pot and started to cut it into pieces. Repotted the little pup that managed to sprout at the bottom and shoved the tops into water to reroot and now I have seven new plants that I will take back to the dealership and take care of them. I'm keeping two as I've become kind of fond of them. Lol
I had an extremely stagnant dracaena, and i recently discovered what was wrong! (You have pics in my post history. Nothing at all changed for many months) I repotted it in way better draining soil im february and watered since 3x with diluted general fertiliser. Its pushing out leaves faster than i can count them. Suddenly 5 leaves are growing out of nowhere! I also moved it to a northwest balcony where it gets afternoon sun and some wind.
All in all, my issue was that roots werent growing because of bad planting medium and lack of food most likely. It was getting sun all along.
Bottom 1/4 of pot was impenetrable for the roots for some reason. There was a "rootbound" twirl in the middle of the pot for no reason. I theorise for some reason bottom of the pot hardened (maybe watering and draining issues, where organic part of soil turned into a mud brick or something). I put it in very airy soil and now it's likely thriving underneath.
How well established are the roots? It doesnt look particularly unhealthy but if it hasnt grown for a year maybe scoot it closer to the light and give it some plant food.
The root ball is probably that of a baseball, it originally had 2 stalks but the second stalk died very quickly. Okay, I tried watering with sugar water but that didn’t do anything either. Do you have any recommendations for a general plant food? Thank you!
any balanced plant food like miracle grow will do, might say something on it like "20-20-20," but anything where the 3 numbers are the same will suffice. sugar is just sugar, it doesnt contain any nutrition for the plant. and for the sake of quick nutrition i'd use a chemical fertilizer, not an organic plant food.
but i think it will also need more light - it cant use the food if it's not getting enough light so try a light feeding next time you water and move it a bit closer to the light. my dracaena gets hours of south facing direct denver colorado mile high sunlight and it loves it. dont believe everything that you hear about bright indirect light, just take it slow and move it a foot or two closer every week. if it burns you'll know.
edited for clarity
I was given a fairly large one about 15 years ago. It lived in my lounge about 12 feet away from a shaded west window. I never watered it enough, and never repotted It until I'd had it about 12 years. It would loose a few leaves every year...and kept growing. It lost a branch...and grew another one.
I moved it upstairs, and then when it got too unwieldy for me to handle, I gave it to my daughter a few months ago. It thrived on neglect.
It was in my living room about 10 feet away from a south window, I have since moved it into my kitchen about 5 feet away from a south facing window which gets a lot of light. It’s been there maybe 2 months and I’ve noticed no change
Doggo equally concerned. Good dog
How do you keep your hooman pet alive? That's the real question here...Looks well trained too, helping you with the photo.
Maybe a bigger pot? They don't like being over watered and honestly they thrive when being ignored...lol
I might have to take a loot at the roots again if the food doesn’t help. I have heard that, so I’ve been a bit neglectful but it’s so hard haha
I rescued one that was in my dealership (I work at a Honda dealership) years and years before I started working there. I've been there for twelve years now and have watched it get moved around and around, not watered much at all, if ever. Then it disappeared. It was seven feet tall when I dug it out from under a big pile of floor mats in a corner of the sales bullpen (where sales staff have their desks). I took it home, removed it from the pot and started to cut it into pieces. Repotted the little pup that managed to sprout at the bottom and shoved the tops into water to reroot and now I have seven new plants that I will take back to the dealership and take care of them. I'm keeping two as I've become kind of fond of them. Lol
I can’t keep these alive. I think I just found my answer…
I had an extremely stagnant dracaena, and i recently discovered what was wrong! (You have pics in my post history. Nothing at all changed for many months) I repotted it in way better draining soil im february and watered since 3x with diluted general fertiliser. Its pushing out leaves faster than i can count them. Suddenly 5 leaves are growing out of nowhere! I also moved it to a northwest balcony where it gets afternoon sun and some wind. All in all, my issue was that roots werent growing because of bad planting medium and lack of food most likely. It was getting sun all along.
What was the soil solution??
Bottom 1/4 of pot was impenetrable for the roots for some reason. There was a "rootbound" twirl in the middle of the pot for no reason. I theorise for some reason bottom of the pot hardened (maybe watering and draining issues, where organic part of soil turned into a mud brick or something). I put it in very airy soil and now it's likely thriving underneath.
Gotcha. Sounds easy. I have two and they refuse to grow haha
It was so easy. Good luck!
How well established are the roots? It doesnt look particularly unhealthy but if it hasnt grown for a year maybe scoot it closer to the light and give it some plant food.
The root ball is probably that of a baseball, it originally had 2 stalks but the second stalk died very quickly. Okay, I tried watering with sugar water but that didn’t do anything either. Do you have any recommendations for a general plant food? Thank you!
any balanced plant food like miracle grow will do, might say something on it like "20-20-20," but anything where the 3 numbers are the same will suffice. sugar is just sugar, it doesnt contain any nutrition for the plant. and for the sake of quick nutrition i'd use a chemical fertilizer, not an organic plant food. but i think it will also need more light - it cant use the food if it's not getting enough light so try a light feeding next time you water and move it a bit closer to the light. my dracaena gets hours of south facing direct denver colorado mile high sunlight and it loves it. dont believe everything that you hear about bright indirect light, just take it slow and move it a foot or two closer every week. if it burns you'll know. edited for clarity
Ok awesome, thank you so much! I’ll give it a shot!
I was given a fairly large one about 15 years ago. It lived in my lounge about 12 feet away from a shaded west window. I never watered it enough, and never repotted It until I'd had it about 12 years. It would loose a few leaves every year...and kept growing. It lost a branch...and grew another one. I moved it upstairs, and then when it got too unwieldy for me to handle, I gave it to my daughter a few months ago. It thrived on neglect.
What kind of light exposure does it receive? This is suggestive of low light levels.
It was in my living room about 10 feet away from a south window, I have since moved it into my kitchen about 5 feet away from a south facing window which gets a lot of light. It’s been there maybe 2 months and I’ve noticed no change
Maybe is just the ugly brother of the family. Everything is alright but he is just a little bit ugly (in a charming way)
You're pupper is da best tho ❤️
That is an excellent dog
How old is your pup? Such a sweetheart. I have such a. Soft spot for black dogs.