Corn Plant problems & how to fix them
Dracaena fragrans
Drooping, yellowing, brown tips, or a plant that just won’t thrive? Here are the most common Corn Plant problems, what usually causes them, and how to turn things around.
Common problems
Crispy tips (low humidity)
Brown tips are its signature complaint — fluoride, salts, or dry air. Brown, dry leaf tips caused by air that is too dry for the plant, common in heated or air-conditioned rooms. Existing crispy tips never turn green again, but with higher humidity new growth should come in clean within a few weeks.
Root rot
The thick canes rot from the base in chronically wet soil. A fungal or bacterial infection of the roots, almost always triggered by soil staying wet too long. Caught early, most plants recover within a few weeks after repotting; if most roots are already mushy, recovery is uncertain.
Phytophthora root rot on a dug-up root ball
Photo: Jerzy Opioła · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Fertilizer burn
Dracaenas are salt-sensitive; full-strength feeding scorches leaf margins. Root and leaf damage from a buildup of fertilizer salts in the soil, usually after overfeeding. Burned leaf tissue will not recover, but flushing the soil stops further damage and most plants push healthy new growth within two to three weeks.
fertiliser burn browning a leaf between its veins
Photo: Fenrisulfir · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Overwatering
Yellowing lower leaves usually mean the pot never dries out. The soil is staying wet longer than the plant can handle, starving roots of oxygen. If caught before roots start rotting, the fix is simple - let the soil dry out and adjust the routine - and most plants bounce back within 2-3 weeks.
a yellowing lower leaf on a potted Chinese evergreen
Photo: Saurav9656 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
The mistakes that most often kill it
- Overwatering a plant that would rather be forgotten.
- Heavy-handed fertilizing burning the roots and leaf edges.
- Cold exposure below about 13 C spotting and collapsing the leaves.
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