Hello everyone! I need some help with a dying Dracaena Fragrans. The stems/branches have gone soft in the middle and would completely flop over if they weren’t supported. Can I save this plant or should I cut off the tops and try to propogate them? Any and all help is appreciated! Thank you! (Detailed information below) I recently inherited the plant from a friend. I’m pretty sure it’s a Dracaena Corn Plant. The leaves were drooping and many were yellow/brown. The plant had been living in a pot with no drainage, with irregular watering and only low artificial light for over a year. I decided to introduce to natural light by placing it about 8 feet away from a window in the back of my apartment, which receives less sun- however, I did not introduce the plant gradually enough and it began to lean, the stalks became soft, and leaves brown. I imagine it went into shock. I moved the plant into my kitchen where there is only artificial light (similar to the conditions my friend had it in), watered it, pruned the brown leaves, and made a sort of brace out of chop sticks and straws. I had also pruned the plant prior to my sun experiment. The plant was in front of the window for about a day and a half only. This was almost two weeks ago. I’ve pretty much left it alone until today. There was another “trunk”(?) in the pot which was already dead (no leaves or roots) that I removed from the pot today, I removed about half of the soil (which was fairly wet still), repositioning the existing trunk, and filled the rest of the pot with peralite and new potting soil. I also further trimmed back brown parts. I did not water it. I know the plant should be in a pot with a drainage hole, however I don’t think it could handle being repotted at the moment. Did I just waste all of that potting soil? Can the plant recover as is or should I cut off the stalks and try to root them? If I cut off the stalks is it possible for new growth to come from the trunk? This is my first post, it is probably way too long so I apologize, thank you for taking the time to read and reply! TLDR; Already dying Corn Plant goes into sun shock- help!
I think.... and this is just my opinion... maybe purpleinop will see this and have a different comment and if so... that okay... but I think it is a goner if you leave it like it is. IF it was mine I would hack off those two green sprouts all the way to the cane. trim off all the brown into the green growth and try to reroot those. if the planter has no drainage... take a drill and drill a few holes up through the bottom (just scoot it over the side of a chair that you have it sitting one and drill up through the bottom a couple of holes) and place it on a saucer. take a pair of loppers and cut back the canes a little at a time to see if there is discoloration in the cane. cut until there is none and then let it sit to see if it sprouts any new growth. good luck. do the best you can.... I think you have good questions and solutions on your own... but if it keels over don't be too pained. it happens.
I agree 100% wit6h Carolyn here. In fact the diagnosis will be confirmed if the foliage turns yellow. The softness of the stems means to me that it is rotten inside. I would not hesitate to remove the top bit without any of the black, soft internal tissue of the shaft and try and re-pot that. If you open the shaft and it is squishy and black and has a noticeable odour...well, it is not a good sign at all. Actually, I would probably just throw the whole plant away and try a new one. I suspect that the plant has been over-watered. Good luck with your inheritance, and let us know how you get on please. BTW--the big trunk. It is difficult to say if it will produce more plant stems, but I doubt it. I think that it may also be a bit rotten on the inside. You ought to take the whole thing apart and check things out properly.
Thank you both! Most of the leaves have yellowed since I originally posted. I cut off the top of both stalks, the rot had reached to where it green in my previous photos. And trimed until it was all green on the bottom of the cutting, peeled off some of the worse looking leaves. I have them in water for now. Do you think I should use rooting hormone first or just plant them directly in potting soil? I’ve also read you can root them in water. There is very little cane left on either of them. The canes were both a weird grey/brown inside until fairly close the trunk, at which point they were dry and splintery. One of them peeled off completely. The bark feels semi soft, but part underneath is still hard. The root system is fairly strong as well. I’m fairly sure the whole thing is a goner- but I’d like to try and root the cuttings at least!
I'm so sorry, I can't say anything more positive than that it looks dead. At the point where it turns from green to black, it might be possible to propagate but it does not look very promising. Hopefully your plant will prove us wrong! As long as some part is not yet black, there is some degree of hope, even if very small. Thanks for the shout-out, Carolyn.
If you try rooting the bits that are left...then I would try rooting hormone powder. I think that under clean and normal circumstances that you may be able to root the tops in water, but just remember...it is water that caused this problem. ..and there is "rot" present. If the rot is bacterial or fungal, the prognosis is poor. If you keep your tops in a warmish and moist milieu, then the conditions are right for continued collapse. Having said all those negative things, I am not a quitter either and would simply try my best to root the tops. It's a peanut and shells scenario. Either way this will be a learning experience. Bonne chance.
