by Peter on October 27, 2020
Dracaena leaf drop is a common problem with many dracaenas. It happens when the leaves fall off due to stress or other reasons. The first step to dealing with this problem is to identify the cause of the problem so you can take steps to prevent it from happening again. You may have noticed that some dracaenas do not lose their leaves at all, while others are affected by leaf drop every now and then.
The most common causes of leaf drop are:
1) Over watering.
Too much water is applied to the plants during the summer months leading to wilting. If you notice your dracaena plants have fallen over, they probably need less water than usual. Watering too little will result in leaves dropping off if you don’t give them enough time to dry out before re-watering them.
2) Heat Stress.
A hot summer day can lead to heat stroke, which can kill the leaves. Plants grown under these conditions often die.
3) Insect Damage.
Some insects such as aphids and scale attack the leaves causing them to fall off.
4) Disease.
Some diseases like powdery mildew or wilt can affect the leaves and cause them to fall off.
5) Lighting.
Too little light will cause weak growth and cause the leaves to fall off. (Note: other types of plants grown under low lighting also suffer from this problem)
6) Other causes.
Sometimes your dracaena can be perfectly healthy except for one minor factor, such as the air around it is too dry. This can cause the leaves to fall off, just make sure that you don’t let your plant sit in a saucer of water if this happens.
Now that you are aware of some of the causes of leaf drop, you need to take steps to prevent it from happening again. Try to figure out exactly what is causing the problem such as over or under watering, disease, insects, etc. Take steps to correct these problems and your dracaena should start growing new leaves soon.
You can also try repotting the plant. After repotting, be sure to water carefully (if you’re underwatering, water a little more often than usual). Don’t water too much or the roots will rot.
Sources & references used in this article:
Are Dracaena nebulophytes able to drink atmospheric water? by N Nadezhdina, V Nadezhdin – Environmental and Experimental Botany, 2017 – Elsevier
Dracaena deremensis by EF Gilman – 1999 – hort.ufl.edu
A new species from Thailand and Burma, Dracaena kaweesakii Wilkin & Suksathan (Asparagaceae subfamily Nolinoideae) by P Wilkin, P Suksathan, K Keeratikiat, P van Welzen… – PhytoKeys, 2013 – ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
Periplasmic cuticular calcium oxalate crystal deposition in Dracaena sanderiana by SV Pennisi, DB McConnell, LB Gower… – New …, 2001 – Wiley Online Library
Production of dragon’s blood in Dracaena cochinchinensis plants by inoculation of Fusarium proliferatum by XH Wang, CH Zhang, LL Yang, J Gomes-Laranjo – Plant science, 2011 – Elsevier
(42) Effects of Photoselective Shadecloths on Potted Dracaena and Anthurium Plants by KD Kobayashi, AF Kawabata, JS Lichty – HortScience, 2006 – journals.ashs.org
Mechanisms underlying the long-term survival of the monocot Dracaena marginata under drought conditions by R Jupa, R Plichta, Z Paschová, N Nadezhdina… – Tree …, 2017 – academic.oup.com
Micropropagation of Dracaena Species by D Vinterhalter, B Vinterhalter – High-Tech and Micropropagation VI, 1997 – Springer
Dracaena L.(Asparagaceae) in the New World: Its history and botany by S Zona, A Álvarez De Zayas, R Orellana, R Oviedo… – Vieraea, 2014 – academia.edu
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