I recently purchased a Dragon Tree, which was perfectly healthy when I brought it home. Within 2 weeks, the leaves have turned yellow and now brown and dry at the tips- what am I doing wrong? It is always beside a big window, I fertilized it once, and water it every 1-2 weeks. The temperature in the apartment is usually around 15Celcius or warmer, and quite humid. Is this too cold for this plant? Thanks in advance for any advice.
Stick your finger, to first knuckle, down in the dirt and see if the soil is damp. Usually brown dry tips means not enough water.
yup, soil is damp. Maybe I have over-watered it?
There's always the possibility of fertilizer burn. Overwatering can cause the same symptoms as underwatering. The roots aren't able to take in air when they are wet all the time. It is prob. a copout to say your plant is showing stress from a new environment, but that could be part of the problem. Does it drain well when you do water? I don't know 15C, but if you can stand it in the apt. then the plant should be able to. Did you happen to bring the plant home on a day when the temp was far below freezing? Just moving it from the car into the apt. could have been long enough to shock the plant. All you can do is let the soil get nearly dry between waterings and wait it out.
It could also be transplant shock. My draceanas always drop their leaves if I move them from their current location to another or when I repot. They are really sensitive!!
oh, it was definitely below zero when we moved it, and it was in the car fror 5 hours.. we had the heat on but maybe it was too cold.
I will keep an eye on it and wait and see. Do you think its ok to trim off the brown ends?
We love to grow tropicals, but they are obviously very cold-sensitive. As I said, even moving it in from the car into the apt. in very cold weather can send one into shock or even kill it. If you feel better trimming the burnt ends off, do it. You won't know for several weeks if the plant is dead or has enough stamina left to recover.
