Dracena

(February 2011)

As soon as I got my corn plant dracena home, one of the trunks leaves started dying off. They turned brown and died, one after the other. I started cutting them back and before long they were all dead. Then the trunk started getting soft but stopped in a short time. What do I do now?

I would say it either got too wet or too cold. Corn plants actually can tolerate fairly dry conditions. Cut out the soft tissue and damaged trunk. If it goes all the way to the ground, you probably have a dead plant. Dig it up and examine the roots. If they are brown and gummy, toss it. If they are full and white, give it a chance to send up another sprout. You might also visit with the store where you bought it and see if they would replace it, or if others had the same problem.

All links to external sites open in a new window. You may return to the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture web site by closing this window when you are finished. We do not guarantee the accuracy of the information, or the accessibility for people with disabilities listed at any external site.

Links to commercial sites are provided for information and convenience only. Inclusion of sites does not imply University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture's approval of their product or service to the exclusion of others that may be similar, nor does it guarantee or warrant the standard of the products or service offered.

The mention of any commercial product in this web site does not imply its endorsement by the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture over other products not named, nor does the omission imply that they are not satisfactory.