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eggwhiteshenanigans

Plant ID - and help!

eggwhite
9 years ago

Hello forum folk,

Hoping to get some advice on this plant. It was doing incredibly well in the bathroom in my girlfriend's old flat, but we moved recently and so stuck it in the bathroom again - but now it's really suffering, as you can see. Any ideas why this might be? Should I just try repotting it?

And an ID would be much appreciated too, if anyone has a good idea?

Thanks!

Matt

Comments (15)

  • MrBlubs
    9 years ago

    I'm pretty sure it's a species of Dracena....Pretty sure

    Is There a window in the bathroom?
    It might just be in shock of adjusting to a new enviromemt
    Are you sure your not over watering it? If it is a Dracena they don't like too much water.
    Someone more knowledgeable will come around and then you can trust the information they are giving out over mine :P

  • yasha
    9 years ago

    Dracena Lemon lime

    It also maybe the water if you are using tap water. There maybe more stuff in the water then there was at the last place making it more noticeable.
    They also tend to get brow leaves. I normally just take them off.

    Others know better then I do but at least with the type of plant you can look around for info why you are waiting.

    I also should add its not a good idea to repot plants this time of year.

    This post was edited by yasha on Mon, Dec 1, 14 at 20:27

  • zzackey
    9 years ago

    I would repot it into a larger plastic pot. It looks like it needs fertilizer. We always called that plant a corn plant dracena. it kinda resembles a corn plant. They don't need alot of water. I never understood why you can't repot in the winter? If the plant is suffering like this one is I would go for it.

  • User
    9 years ago

    eggwhite,
    The ID others said is correct.
    We call them corm plants, just a nickname.
    Don't water it too much, it likes to dry out between waterings.
    Those plants are wonderful, it seems to like the sun in the room in the pic.
    You can not water that for 2 weeks at least, and come back, and it will be fine. LOL

  • yasha
    9 years ago

    Everyone says not to repot them in the colder months because they don't grow as fast and they need to regrow roots and everything after being repoted. There is also shock in repoting and messing with the roots. You can still do it but it may make the plant look unhappy for longer then trying to care for it in its current pot for the time being.

  • tapla (mid-Michigan, USDA z5b-6a)
    9 years ago

    Don't repot, don't fertilize.

    It looks like over-watering, but tell us if your new place has a water softener? or have you fertilized recently? How much difference in the light levels between the 2 bathrooms? Is there forced air heat blowing on it?

    Al

  • Tiffany, purpleinopp Z8b Opp, AL
    9 years ago

    That container doesn't look like it would have a hole, but yet there is a drip tray. Is the drip tray just to protect furniture from the scratchy bottom surface of the pot, or because it does have a hole in the bottom?

    Could there possibly be too much love for this plant now, in the form of 2 people caring for it instead of 1?

  • zzackey
    9 years ago

    I would think if a plant was stressed out I would repot it regardless of season, but then again I live in the south. Does it have good drainage? I would think even half strength fertilizer would be ok. Why make the plant suffer?

  • Tiffany, purpleinopp Z8b Opp, AL
    9 years ago

    A theoretical debate about a theoretical issue would be interesting in a separate discussion, probably unnecessarily distracting here.

    When eggwhite gets a chance to revisit this with some more info about this plant, it would then be possible to make reasonable assumptions about its' current condition. Deciding what one would do at this point seems like jumping the gun to me, with so little info known about this pretty plant.

  • eggwhite
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    Wow, so many responses - you guys are the best! I'll try to answer all your questions about this beloved plant, but may well miss some...

    MrBlubs:

    Yes, the bathroom has a window - with the plant about the same distance from it as in the previous house.

    And yes I think my girlfriend did overwater it in the last 2 weeks, but it was badly suffering before that, so it's certainly not the only cause. It's not sitting in water anyway. Normally we err on the side of underwatering, since it gets a lot of moisture in the bathroom anyway.

    yasha:

    Nope, no tap water - we're only using water straight from the butt.

    tapla:

    No water softener - we only use rain water anyway. I've never fertilized this plant but it was fine for years without fertilizer so doesn't seem to explain its poor health. No discernible difference in the light between the 2 bathrooms, and no forced air heat blowing on it (in either bathroom).

    purpleinopp:

    Looks can be deceiving! Yes the container has a drainage hole, but the tray is mainly to protect furniture as we don't let it sit in water. Oh and my girlfriend has basically just made me 'look after' this plant now (hence why I'm writing this, and not her!) so I certainly don't think it's getting a double love dose...

    zackey:

    yes the drainage is good.

    Thanks again all. Based on your responses so far I'm thinking about leaving it another couple of weeks (without water) and then fertilizing, and if that goes well re-potting in the early spring.

    Would it be ok with a fertilizer for palms, do you think?

  • zzackey
    9 years ago

    Don't use palm fertilizer! Use something for house plants.

  • tapla (mid-Michigan, USDA z5b-6a)
    9 years ago

    Getting the watering under control is probably job 1. The more I read, the more convinced I am that the soil is excessively water retentive. Couple that with a heavy hand on the watering can and you get symptoms like those pictured.

    Ideally, you would be using a soil that wouldn't produce those symptoms, even if you made what would be a serious (over-watering) mistake in the soil you're using now. The most significant influence on being able to maintain a healthy root system control over both fertilizing and proper watering lies with soil choice. A healthy root system is a prerequisite to a healthy plant, manifestation of the proof being evident in the photo of the plant.

    If you haven't already chosen a fertilizer, maybe we could talk about that a little. Fertilizers labeled as appropriate for houseplants are often far from being most appropriate, at least that holds true here, stateside.

    Al

  • eggwhite
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    zackey:

    I only suggested using a palm fertilizer because I've already got some in, and I've used it previously on another dracena I have (I think it's a Madagascar Dragon Tree) and it seemed to go down well.

    tapla:

    would you suggest re-potting into better soil soon then? Or waiting until the Spring? And no, I haven't decided on a fertilizer yet - am open to suggestions.

  • zzackey
    9 years ago

    Interesting! I've used regular fertilizer on acid loving plants and orchids because I only had a few plants. Nothing got harmed. If it worked before for now then it should work now. The palm fertilizer in the stores around here is not the correct analysis. I found that with several other fertilizers. I don't know why the companies sell ones that are the wrong numbers. My horticulturist friend told me this and helped me with my fertilizing. I just didn't want you to hurt your plant.

  • tapla (mid-Michigan, USDA z5b-6a)
    9 years ago

    I think that we should avoid repotting almost everything we grow as houseplants in any months other than Jun or Jul, unless dire reasons dictate otherwise. That said, root rot is something I would consider dire. What I would do is, lift the plant from the pot and inspect the roots you can see. If the roots smell sour or are obviously rotting (stringy, dark, slimy), you probably need to repot if you want to save the plant. If evidence indicates it's more likely the roots were functionally affected (prevented from functioning efficiently because of a lack of oxygen) as opposed to physically affected (rotting), I probably wouldn't repot until Jun. What I would do, if I don't repot, is use some added restraint when it comes to watering frequency and employ some tricks to help mitigate the downside of a water retentive soil.

    As far as nutrition - plants vary considerably in the o/a amount of nutrients they use, but don't vary much in the ratio of nutrients used. Sequoias, sedum, snapdragons, and sunflowers are all going to use about 10 parts of nitrogen for every 1.5 parts of phosphorous and every 6 parts of potassium. After the factoring is done for how the %s of phosphorous and potassium are reported on fertilizer labels, commercially prepared fertilizers with nutrient ratios of 3:1:2 come closest to furnishing nutrients at the average ratio that plants actually use. A fertilizer RATIO is different than its NPK %s, and much more important. Examples of 3:1:2 ratios would include NPK %s of 24-8-16, 12-4-8, and 9-3-6, with 9-3-6 (made by Dyna-Gro) being the fertilizer I "go to" for a number of reasons, but that it contains all the essential elements in one product is the primary reason.

    Let me know if you want to know more. Fertilizing effectively and with a good deal of precision is monkey easy once you are growing in a soil that allows you to water w/o worry about root rot or impaired root function.

    Al

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