Hi. I am hoping somone from this site would be able to help me out with my plants. I bought a Dracaena Marginata plant a couple of months ago. My girlfriend thought it would be good to give it some outdoor light so she placed it on the balcony. While on the balcony it was rained on and it was VERY cold out. I brought it in as soon as I saw it on the balcony. It was out there for at least two cold nights. The next day after I brought it in, I noticed ALL the leaves on the plant were turning yellow. I touched one of the leaves and it fell off without even pulling it. The rest of the leaves wilted and dried up and fell right off with ease, the stem became really soft and mushy feeling. I could see that it was severely shocked. I thought it was dead. I left it on my kitchen counter to see what would happen, I did not water it again until the soil was COMPLETELY dry. The part of the stem that was all mushy earlier was now going thin and appeared to be drying up. The bottom 4 inches or so was still alive though, so I snapped off the top which was dried up and dead. I waited another 3-5 weeks and now it is growing new shoots from all sides. I am very happy about this. I looked on the bottom of my pot and noticed that the roots were surrounding the whole pot and the bottom was more roots than actual soil. I thought it could use a good re-potting. So today I got a bag of "BLACK GOLD - All purpose potting soil" Its a soil that appears to be very different from the soil the plant came with when I bought it. I am wondering if a change in soil types would kill this plant. I have also done this to a newer dracaena marginata I bought recently. It was also having roots come out of the drain holes in the original pot, and roots surrounding the pot. I have heard that the Dracaena Marginata is a very strong plant that can take a lot of abuse but is this TOO much abuse? Thank you for the help! Eric
Dracaenas are tropical plants, occuring in the Canary Islands and throughout tropical Africa, so our December temperatures would definitely make this plant unhappy. Since they will take a lot of abuse, and can be pruned to within 2 inches of the soil line, you will probably be able to save it. The new soil medium should work ok. The soil should be constantly moist but well drained, and you should apply some houseplant fertilizer in the spring, after the plant is growing well. Good luck!
Ok that sounds perfect! It has began to sprout new growth so im happy about that. another quick question. Will the Dracaena Marginata or Dragon Tree do well during the Vancouver, BC summers? It gets very hot, I dont know if it would really matter considering they are tropicals, but would they prefer the bright hot summer sun, or would they rather a slightly shaded room? And would the 40 degree celcius heat do anything negative to it? Eric
Black Gold soil, in my opinion, stays moist a long time, and since Dracaena like well drained soil and to dry out some between waterings [sorry to contradict the other information, but in the winter I think it is safest, if it is in a lot of light in the summer and growing fast it could be kept moist] that soil wouldn't have been my first choice. Just make sure you don't over water it. It likes hot temperatures. It can take either sun or part shade just fine.
