Dracaena fragrans, also known as Corn plant, is a popular indoor houseplant among beginner gardeners. Its popularity comes from the fact that it requires very little care, yet its beautiful greenish-yellow leaves can decorate your home.
Obviously, you want to keep your plant healthy and happy, so there are some signs you need to keep an eye out for. For example, If the leaf tips start to turn brown or you start to see faded colors on them, that is a sign of over-watering, underwatering, or rotting roots. The solutions also vary depending on the signs, for example, if the leaves are brown you can just cut them off. In colder environments, it might be enough to just move them to a warmer place.
In this article, we’re gonna assist you in checking out the plant and figuring out if there’s any disease going on. After that, we’ll show you how to tackle different diseases step by step. Let’s see, how to save a dying Corn Plant!
What are the signs of a dying corn plant?
You can totally spot when the corn plant is feeling down just by looking – whether it’s the leaves, the whole deal, or even the roots. Figuring out what’s up is key to knowing what to do next. Here’s a rundown of the usual red flags for a struggling plant.
- Brown stems: You can easily see those brown stems on the plant. It’s interesting how sometimes the lower bit of the plant is all good, but the upper part goes brown. That’s a sign that the stems are getting sick in that upper area.
- Brown leaves: Brown leaves are like the top clue that something’s off with a sick corn plant. They could also point to root rot. What matters is figuring out if it’s just the tips or if the entire leaves are turning brown or kinda brownish-green. That’s the key distinction to keep an eye on.
- Root rot: Roots going all mushy isn’t exactly a surefire sign that the plant’s sick. It’s more like a sign that it’s getting too much water. But, those soggy roots can lead to leaves going brown and the soil getting all wet and smelly.
- Pests: When creepy crawlies (pests) start showing up on the plant, it’s like an infestation alert. You’ll mostly spot these hanging out on the big, lush green leaves.
How to make the right environment for corn plants?
Creating the right environment for your plants is super important if you want them to keep growing. But, you gotta get the lowdown on the particular environmental stuff that matters for corn plants.
What soil does the corn plant need?
These plants thrive in loose and loamy soil. The roots need to be protected from being constantly in water, so the soil must be well drained.
How much water does the corn plant need?
You don’t want the soil to turn into a desert, but drowning it isn’t great either. Finding that sweet spot between not letting it dry out completely and not soaking it too much is key. Too much water can lead to root rot, so it’s a balancing act. Water the plant until the soil is visibly damp. Severely wilting corn plant can be also cured easily by watering it more.
How often should you water the corn plant?
On average, you should water every 10 days. You can tell with a trick: Stick your finger in the soil about 2 inches and if you don’t feel the soil is wet, water. Again, make sure that your soil is dry enough.
How much sun does the corn plant need?
The corn plant isn’t a big fan of basking in full sun, so it’s all about that indirect light vibe. Pop it in a cozy corner of the room where it can catch some nice, gentle light. Too much direct sunlight can actually scorch those leaves, so let’s avoid that.
What are the temperature and humidity conditions for the Dracaena fragrant?
Dracaena fragrant is a fan of spots with a bit of moisture and craves that humid air. If the air is too dry, it can make your corn plant sick. Aim for a humidity sweet spot between 40 and 50 percent. And as for the temperature, it’s all about indoor comfort, ideally hanging out between 59°F (15°C) and 75.2°F (24°C).
How to save a corn plant from dying?
Once we’ve got the hang of spotting the illness signs and nailing down the good environmental stuff, it’s time to dive into the actual rescue mission. When it comes to pests, you can bring out the chemical big guns, but for issues like overwatering, underwatering, and leaf burns, it’s all about going the organic route to sort things out.
How to save a dying corn plant damaged by pests and disease?
Pests tend to cause problems when the plant gets too much water. Overwatering leads to root rot and a bacteria party on those roots, which really doesn’t help the plant’s chances of doing well. When roots are soaking, bacteria sets up shop because they’re all about that damp scene.
The best solution is to let the soil dry out. If the rot has already caused some serious damage, consider giving your plant a fresh start by moving it to a new pot with dry soil. This can help things pick up speed since the roots won’t be sitting in water for as long, and it reduces the odds of bacteria.
These are the most common pests of Corn Plants:
- Thrips
- Mealybugs
- Spider mites
Gardening experts suggest neem oil as a natural fungicide that can wrangle those pests. And if you’re dealing with bugs, you can grab some isopropyl (you might know it as rubbing alcohol) and drop it onto a cloth to give those plant leaves a disinfecting wipe-down.
Leaf spot is like the usual suspect when it comes to dracaena plants getting sick. It shows up as those brown spots on the leaves and often happens because the soil’s been too soggy. To keep it at bay, try cutting back on the watering routine.
How to revive a dying corn plant?
These are the steps of reviving your corn plant:
- Assess the Plant’s Condition: Check if all conditions are given to keep your corn plant happy (right amount of watering, indirect light, 40-50% humidity level)
- Adjust Watering and Soil Conditions: If too wet, water less often, if too dry, water the plant. From the plant’s soil you can determine the moisture with the finger method. Be careful not to overwater.
- Provide Adequate Sunlight and Temperature: Keep the temperature at a comfortable temperature, such as room temperature, and avoid placing it in the full sun.
- Pruning and Trimming Techniques: Cut off leaves that have already turned brown to prevent further browning of the plant.
- Pest and Disease Management: Let’s keep our radar on for any pests that might sneak onto our plants and stay mindful of what might be causing them (like overwatering). And of course, don’t skip out on the must-do actions: letting things dry out and giving the plant a new home if needed.
- Monitor Progress and Adjust as Needed: If we think we’ve done all we can, then we just need to monitor the plant.
How to save your dying corn plant by propagating it?
Dracaena plants can be saved by propagation. The propagation technique you can use is division. Look for a part of the plant that is still healthy. The key is to separate the healthy, strong part from the dying part.
To tackle this, you’ll need to take the plant out of its pot, which makes it easier to do some investigating. Grab a pair of sterilized scissors and snip right at the spot where the roots connect, effectively separating the plant into distinct parts.
Afterward, plant the healthy cutting in fresh soil in a new pot. By doing this, you’re actually kickstarting the process of propagating a fresh corn plant, essentially rescuing the ailing one.
How to prevent corn plants from dying?
To keep plant diseases and deaths in check, it’s crucial to keep an eye on those conditions we talked about earlier. Plus, by consistently keeping tabs and watching out, we can catch the illness source early and jump in pronto to prevent any dire consequences.
Conclusion
Fortunately, corn plants are pretty easy to maintain, and also difficult to spoil completely. Still, just like any other plant, it needs a bit of TLC. One of the top culprits for plant troubles is actually too much watering. When you overdo it, you might notice the leaf tips turning yellow – that’s a surefire sign. To fix this, give watering a break for a bit. And if things have gone too far, consider giving it a fresh start in new soil that’s dry, packed with nutrients, and ready to help the plant bounce back.
