Cut all leaves and start anew?
Hello folks, I’m curious to get your opinions.
So I’ve had this Dracaena Lemon Lime for about 4/5 months and we were struggling for a sec.
When In first got her, her leaves kept getting brown spots & getting black tips. I eventually learned that she’s sensitive to my tap water, so filtered became the go to. I also adjusted her spot to ensure she wasn’t getting burnt.
Since then, she’s remained the same. I haven’t detected any new growth, nor degradation. I also noticed the center of the plant looked burnt out.
Because the center was burned, I had the thought of cutting all the leaves off and starting from zero. The roots have looked healthy so I was hoping to get everyone’s opinion. Should I leave it be, or cut off all the leaves and start
anew.
So I’ve had this Dracaena Lemon Lime for about 4/5 months and we were struggling for a sec.
When In first got her, her leaves kept getting brown spots & getting black tips. I eventually learned that she’s sensitive to my tap water, so filtered became the go to. I also adjusted her spot to ensure she wasn’t getting burnt.
Since then, she’s remained the same. I haven’t detected any new growth, nor degradation. I also noticed the center of the plant looked burnt out.
Because the center was burned, I had the thought of cutting all the leaves off and starting from zero. The roots have looked healthy so I was hoping to get everyone’s opinion. Should I leave it be, or cut off all the leaves and start
anew.
0ft to light, indirect
6” pot with drainage
Last watered 2 days ago
1
@Senatorfluffy Is It the beginning of winter or the beginning of summer where you are? And how did the center growth point burn like that, direct sun? When the growth point gets damaged or chopped off, dracaenas can sprout new growth from lower nodes, but getting burned and/or going through drought can shock and weaken their immune system, so it is completely reasonable that growth has stalled. It would be good for your planty to have a nice rest and recuperation. Since its defenses are down right now I would not recommend cutting the leaves off at this point since fungal/bacterial pathogens could be more likely to take hold at any wound point. 🤒 If you’re going into winter, and because your dracaena has just been through a lot, I would suggest keeping it in a stable environment, making sure you are watering consistently when your soil has dried out almost 💯 , depending on your climate. Is your plant info card correct? 22 days since you last watered seems a wee bit long to me. Does it take that long for your soil to dry out or do you let it dry out and then keep it dry for long periods? If the former, I might think about adding more aeration next time you repot so your soil dries out quicker. If the latter, I would recommend watering a bit more often. Whenever your pot feels light, or the day the soil has dried out almost entirely, give it a good drink. 🥤
If you’re going into summer, I would still recommend giving your plant a rest. Just give it care, with no expectations on it to push out new growth. If after a month or two there is STILL no change, then you could try a hard reset by cutting all the leaves off and putting it in a good area to sprout again. All considering, your dracaena doesn’t look *too* bad, so I hope it makes a full recovery and that this was helpful! Best of luck 🩶🌿
If you’re going into summer, I would still recommend giving your plant a rest. Just give it care, with no expectations on it to push out new growth. If after a month or two there is STILL no change, then you could try a hard reset by cutting all the leaves off and putting it in a good area to sprout again. All considering, your dracaena doesn’t look *too* bad, so I hope it makes a full recovery and that this was helpful! Best of luck 🩶🌿
