How often should you water a Dracaena fragrans? Grow it this way and the leaves won't turn yellow
Dracaena fragrans is an excellent indoor foliage plant. It can be placed in the living room, office area, lobby and other areas, and it also helps purify the air. Dracaena fragrans likes high temperatures and high humidity, and its suitable growing temperature is 20—30°C. In winter, take cold protection measures when temperatures drop below 10°C. During daily care, pay attention to good ventilation and maintain relative air humidity. Maintaining humidity is related to watering, so how often should you water a Dracaena fragrans? Below, the Huacaole editor shares with you the watering and growing methods for Dracaena fragrans.
How often should you water a Dracaena fragrans, and how should you grow it so the leaves don't turn yellow
I. How often should you water a Dracaena fragrans
For watering Dracaena fragrans, there is actually no fixed time or fixed amount of water each time. Specifically, it still needs to be combined with the growing climate, environment and the special characteristics of the type of green plant being grown. For watering Dracaena fragrans, first of all, when growing this green plant, it is recommended to use a somewhat tall pot, use loose, breathable soil, and add some rotted cake fertilizer as base fertilizer. Once the hardware is done well, the subsequent watering work can just be adjusted according to the season and the growing season of Dracaena fragrans. In general, water thoroughly each time. What does watering thoroughly once mean? The first watering is done until water flows out of the drainage holes at the bottom of the pot, then after half an hour water again, and the bottom of the pot also leaks water. That is basically enough. Generally, 2 cycles are needed. The watering interval is usually once every 5-7 days. Dracaena fragrans is shade-tolerant, and in daily care you can give leaf surface water 2-3 times a day. In winter, watering once every half a month is enough. The flowering period is from June to August, when the water amount can be appropriately increased. The control of moisture and humidity is the two main reasons that directly cause the leaves to turn yellow.
II. How to grow Dracaena fragrans so the leaves won't turn yellow
1. Water and fertilizer management
Dracaena fragrans is shade-tolerant and has little demand for moisture. For watering, just water thoroughly when the soil looks dry; Dracaena fragrans grows relatively slowly and also has little demand for fertilizer. Too much fertilizer is instead unfavorable for growth. If the fertilizer amount is too much, it will cause new leaves to shrivel and fail to open, or the leaves to turn yellow; after half a year of growing, the root system of Dracaena fragrans begins to develop. During the growing period, water once every half a month with liquid fertilizer (soak rotted cake fertilizer in water and mix with water at a 1:4 ratio).
2. Temperature management
The suitable growing temperature for Dracaena fragrans is 20-30°C. In summer, shading is needed; after direct exposure to strong light, the leaves are scorched and turn yellow. In winter, it goes dormant below 13 degrees, and it needs to be moved indoors for growing. If the temperature is too low, yellow-brown spots will appear at the leaf tips and leaf edges.
3. Humidity management
Dracaena fragrans likes relatively high humidity, and the suitable relative humidity is 60-70%. When the humidity is above 70% for a long time, it is prone to leaf spot disease. In summer high temperatures and autumn dry periods, spraying can be used to increase air humidity. In hot, humid summers, it is very easy for the leaves to become diseased and turn yellow.
4. Light management
Dracaena fragrans has strong adaptability to light, and in an indoor light environment it can generally be placed for 5-6 months. But it cannot stay in a shady environment for a long time. Without light, it cannot carry out photosynthesis, and the plant will not grow. The green color of the leaves will slowly fade and turn yellow. Dracaena fragrans should not receive direct strong light, especially in summer.
5. Common diseases
1) Anthracnose: caused by a poorly ventilated growing environment and high humidity. It mainly harms the leaves. Semi-circular or irregular red-brown, brown, light brown to gray-brown spots appear on the leaves. Control method: appropriately increase phosphorus fertilizer, use 30% copper oxychloride suspension concentrate + 75% chlorothalonil, once every 7 days, spray continuously 3 times or more. When anthracnose is severe, the entire leaf will turn yellow. In severe cases, directly cut off the leaves.
2) Leaf spot disease: can be sprayed with 70% thiophanate-methyl wettable powder 1000-fold solution.
3) Aphids: can be controlled with yashijing 1000-fold solution. Or directly remove the aphids.
Summary
Dracaena fragrans is a very popular ornamental plant. Its price is generally determined by its ornamental value and the size of the plant. Generally, for a Dracaena fragrans about 60 cm tall, the price is about 30 yuan, while Dracaena fragrans from 70 cm to over 90 cm is generally more than 100 yuan. However, compared with other ornamental plants, the price of Dracaena fragrans is very affordable. Go grow a pot now; it is nice to look at and can also purify the air.