Dracaena diseases and pests: how to recognize a problem and deal with it

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Dracaena is a spectacular evergreen. It can be found both in apartments and in office premises. Amateur gardeners and designers, she is appreciated for its attractiveness and unpretentiousness. However, despite the undemanding and lack of whims, dracaena suffers from unintentional errors in care, attacks of pathogenic fungi, bacteria, viruses and harmful insects. This negatively affects her presentability. Therefore, you need to know what symptoms are characteristic of a particular disease or pest, and how to deal with them.

How to create an optimal microclimate in dracaena

Dracaena is quite unpretentious, and there is nothing complicated in creating an optimal microclimate for her at home. But the requirements of the plant should nevertheless be heeded, trying to create an atmosphere as close as possible to that to which it is used in nature.

Dracaena - a popular (not least because of its unpretentiousness) houseplant

Table: Suitable conditions for growing dracaena

FactorRecommendations
LocationNearby (1-2 m) from a window facing east or west. Putting close to the south window is not recommended to avoid sunburn. In summer, if the dimensions allow, you can move the container to fresh air. Dracaena loves him, but does not tolerate cold drafts.
LightingDiffused light or light partial shade. Species with variegated leaves are more demanding on lighting. All dracaena can exist in fully artificial light, if daylight hours last at least 12 hours.
TemperatureIn spring and summer - moderately warm (20-25ºС). Dracaena does not tolerate heat well. In winter it is slightly lowered - to 17-19ºС. The lower limit is 15ºС. Exceptions are fragrant dracaena, Hooker, Dragon (they suffer a short-term decrease to 10ºС). All species react negatively to sudden changes in temperature. A difference of 10 ° C or more can lead to the death of the plant.
Air humidityNormally exists with a standard air humidity of 40-50% (Dragon and Godsphere dracaena are especially undemanding to it), but with gratitude responds to any measures to increase it. The only thing you should not do is pour water into the sump. In winter, working heating batteries dry the air very much, so once every 2-3 days it is recommended to spray ambient air with warm water. In the summer, in the heat, you can spray the plant itself, but so that the drops do not fall into sockets, or arrange a shower by covering the ground with polyethylene. Be sure to wipe the leaves with a wet cloth or sponge at least once a week.

Choose a place near the window to the dracaena, it is very difficult to put it on the windowsill because of the dimensions

In addition to the optimal microclimate, a great influence on how the plant feels is provided by timely top dressing and the correct watering regime.

In summer, you need to let the soil in the pot dry out about 4-5 cm in depth. This can be determined by sticking a wooden stick in the pot. One procedure in 2-3 days is enough. In winter, intervals are increased to 5-7 days. In wet soil, when cool, rot quickly develops. Broad-leaved dracaena need to be watered more often - they have a larger evaporation area. An obvious signal is drooping, toned leaves. And do not forget to loosen the soil after each procedure.

It will also be useful material on the conditions of detention of dracaena Sander: //diz-cafe.com/rastenija/bambuk-komnatnoe-rastenie-uhod.html

As for top dressing, there are special fertilizers for dracaena. The tree is watered with a nutrient solution once every 20-30 days, after about half an hour moistening the soil well. If a universal tool for indoor plants is used, pay attention to the composition. Excess phosphorus and nitrogen can lead to a deterioration in the appearance of leaves. And dracaena categorically does not tolerate fluoride.

Video: home care and flower maintenance

Diseases and pests typical for dracaena and their prevention

Dracaena, which is properly looked after, is quite resistant to damage by various pathogenic fungi, viruses and bacteria. Most often, this kind of plant problem is the result of unintentional host mistakes. An invasion of pests, even a massive one, is also unlikely to lead to its death, but it will cause a lot of trouble to the grower.

The most dangerous for it are all kinds of rot, as well as bacterial and viral diseases, which cannot be cured with modern means. In this case, the plant needs to be destroyed as quickly as possible, no matter how sorry it is. Otherwise, you may lose the entire collection.

Most often, to avoid problems with dracaena, competent prevention is enough:

  • quarantine for newly acquired plants for 25-30 days;
  • regular inspections of the entire collection (ideally through a magnifying glass) and immediate isolation of “suspicious” specimens;
  • free, without crowding, placement of pots;
  • frequent airing of the room and maintaining high humidity;
  • placing indoor and cut flowers as far apart as possible, especially if it is roses or chrysanthemums;
  • mandatory sterilization before using pots, substrate, any tools;
  • treatment of all "wounds" inflicted by dracaena in the process of trimming;
  • implementation of recommendations for plant care, especially those related to irrigation and fertilizing;
  • maintaining cleanliness - regular dusting from leaves and other authorized water procedures.

Diagnose a problem

The plant gives the grower unambiguous signals. Deterioration of his appearance is a clear sign of health problems. It is important to correctly interpret these signs, and know what to do in each case.

Table: Symptoms and Possible Causes

External manifestationsPossible reasons
Mistakes in leavingDiseasePest
Yellowing and fading leaves.Their life span is about two years. Otherwise, excessive irrigation
Turning pale, fading leaves, deforming, thinning trunks.Deficit of light.
Falling green leaves.Unsuitable room temperature (both high and too low), constant cold drafts.
Drying, curled and falling leaves.Too scarce watering.
Dry brown leaf tips.Low humidity in the room.
Dry tips and small areas of dead tissue on the leaves.Excess fluoride in the soil - the use of unsuitable fertilizers or irrigation with hard not settled water.
Leaves that lose color saturation and yellowish or almost discolored spots on them.Burn from prolonged exposure to direct sunlight. It is almost inevitable if the plant has been sprayed before. Drops of water focus the rays no worse than lenses.
Yellowish-white spots on the leaves, dry edges.Low temperature in the room or its sudden changes.
A discolored “watery” border around the edge of the sheet.Excess fertilizer in the soil (too frequent fertilizing).
Blushing leaves.Unsuitable too heavy soil with a predominance of peat.
Fine white crystals on the back of the sheet.A natural phenomenon provoked by a single plentiful watering in combination with high humidity.
Slow growth or its complete absence.Unsuitable soil, lack of top dressing for a long time or overly tight pot.
A flour-like coating on the leaves.Powdery Mildew
Browning soft-touch barrel.Root rot.
Brownish spots, gradually pulled by a gray "pile".Gray rot.
Dark "watery" spots, softening tissue.Bacterial rot.
Yellowing leaves, covered with dark brown spots.Brown rot.
Reddish-yellow, gradually browning spots on the leaves.Fusarium
Brown spots with bright green border on the leaves.Brown spotting.
Small beige spots with a white dot in the center.Alternariosis
Elongated beige spots with a pale red border.Heterosporosis
Blurry brown spots with yellow-green border.Phyllosticosis
Dark "watery" tips of leaves, "sores" on the trunk.Bacteriosis
Brownish spots and stripes cast in bronze.Spotted wilt
Yellow spots on leaves, braided by petioles.Spider mite.
Silver “scratches” and small black dots on the leaves.Thrips.
Brown "plaques" on the leaves, reddish-yellow tissue around them.Shield.
Small lumps of whitish substance in the axils of the leaves and in the ground.Mealybug.
Many small yellow-green or black-brown insects on the underside of leaves and sticky drops on them.Aphid.

What the mistakes in leaving lead to: examples in the photo

Diseases and how to cope with them

Of the fungal diseases for dracaena, the most dangerous are all types of rot, which develop very quickly when irregularly irrigated. If at the same time the room temperature is still below normal, this is almost inevitable.

Table: Dracaena typical diseases

DiseaseSymptomsTreatment and prevention
AlternariosisSmall rounded pale brown spots on the trunk and leaves with a whitish dot in the middle, quickly changing color to black-gray. Gradually, the tissues in these places die.
  1. Wipe the leaves and trunk with infusion of wood ash or colloidal sulfur.
  2. Treat the plant and soil with a solution of Topaz, Oxychoma, Kuprozan.
  3. Repeat three times at 10-day intervals. During this time, do not water with plain water, but with a pale pink solution of potassium permanganate.

For prophylaxis, treat the flower and soil once a month with a 0.1% solution of Fundazole, Topsin-M.

HeterosporosisElongated beige spots with a reddish border on the leaves. Gradually they are tightened with a layer of greenish-gray plaque.
Phyllosticosis (brown spotting)Blurry spots of irregular shape beige-brown with lime border. Then in the middle small black “grains” are formed. At risk are adults and especially old dracaena.
  1. Cut off all infected tissue. Remove the affected leaves completely.
  2. Sprinkle the slices with activated carbon powder, chalk, cinnamon, treat with iodine or brilliant green.
  3. Spray the flower with a solution of Skor, Topaz, HOMA. Repeat three times (treatment once a week).
  4. During this time, add any biostimulator (Zircon, Epin, potassium humate) to the water for irrigation (2-3 ml per liter).
BacteriosisDark brown “watery” tips of leaves, brown spots on them, small round “ulcers” on the trunk and petioles. Healthy tissue is separated from the infected by a wide yellow “oily” band.There are no effective treatment measures. The development of bacteriosis is provoked by constant dampness in the pot, heat in the room, and alkaline soil unsuitable for dracaena.
Spotted wilting (bronze)Leaves are almost completely covered with stripes and spots of irregular shape. Under artificial lighting, they are brownish, cast in the sun with bronze. Dracaena growth almost stops, new leaves are small and deformed.With the help of modern means it is impossible to get rid of the virus. More often suffer from spotted wilting plants that do not feed. A deficiency of potassium and phosphorus is harmful to dracen.
FusariumYellowness spreading through the leaves from bottom to top. Along the edge is a "watery" border. The top of the trunk wilts. He himself is thinning, changing color to brick. In especially severe cases, dracaena is covered with “weeping” brown spots.
  1. Wash the flower under a warm shower, remove the affected leaves. Cut the slices.
  2. Spray the plant and spill the soil with a solution of Fundazole, Vectra, Benomila. Repeat 2-3 times with an interval of 3-5 days.
  3. If there is no effect, use "heavy artillery" - Quadris, Bravo, Rayek.

For prevention, add Fitosporin-M to water for irrigation. In the soil when transplanting add Gumistar, Trikhovit.

Root (black) rotBrown roots and base of the trunk, mold on the soil and an unpleasant putrefactive odor coming from it.
  1. Remove the dracaena from the pot, thoroughly rinse the substrate from the roots.
  2. Cut all dark and slimy to the touch, capturing 3-5 cm of tissue that seems healthy.
  3. Soak the roots for 20-30 minutes in a bright pink solution of potassium permanganate or 0.5% - Bordeaux liquid.
  4. Sprinkle slices with sifted wood ash, colloidal sulfur.
  5. Transplant the plant into a sterilized pot using new soil.
  6. For 3-4 months, water with a 0.5% solution of Alirin-B, Baikal-EM, Previkur.
Bacterial (wet) rotDark "watery" spots on the leaves and trunk. Tissues in these places soften to a semi-liquid state.
Gray rotPale brown spots on the leaves, gradually dragging on a layer of grayish "pile" with multiple small black blotches.
  1. Cut off all leaves infected with the fungus. Treat the "wounds."
  2. Wipe them and pour the soil with a solution of Abig-Peak, Kuprozan, Topaz.
  3. For a month, water the dracaena with a weak solution of potassium permanganate (0.25 g / l).
Brown rot (rhizoctonia)Dracaena stops growing. Leaves turn yellow, discolor, then become covered with black-brown spots.
  1. Stop watering immediately.
  2. After 3-5 days for 10-12 hours, soak the roots in a solution of Bactofit, Agate-25K, Maxim. Let them dry well.
  3. If there is no effect, change the pot and the soil.
Brown spottingSmall brownish spots with a bright green border on the leaves.
  1. Cut off all affected leaves.
  2. Provide the plant with optimal or near-keeping conditions. Follow the recommendations for caring for dracaena.
Powdery mildewLeaves, as if powdered with flour. Gradually, this plaque condenses and turns brown.
  1. Wipe off the leaves, washing them with a pale pink solution of potassium permanganate.
  2. Powder them with powdered activated carbon or colloidal sulfur.
  3. Pour Dracaena with a solution of any fungicide twice with an interval of 10-12 days.

Photo gallery: how a plant affected by pathogenic fungi and bacteria looks like

Video: Dracaena Disease Treatment

Dracaena attacking pests

Most pests, even having bred in a multitude, will not kill dracaena. But this does not mean that they do not have to fight.The plant did not “bring” any exotic insects from its historical homeland. You have to deal with the most common insects and ticks that feed on its juice.

Table: Common Pests

PestSymptomsControl and Prevention Measures
ShieldRounded "plaques" of different shades of brown on the wrong side of the sheet. Gradually they “swell”, the tissues around them become unnatural yellow-red. In severe cases, the soil turns black.
  1. Grease visible pests with shells with machine oil, acetic acid, and pure alcohol. After a few hours, the guards can be removed.
  2. Wipe the leaves with soap suds, rinse with water.
  3. Treat the plant with Actara, Permethrin, Fufanon. If necessary, repeat another 1-2 times with an interval of 5-7 days.
Spider miteThin, almost transparent filaments braiding the petioles. On the underside of the leaf are brown dots and blurry pale or yellowish spots around them.
  1. Wipe the leaves with alcohol, vodka or any alcohol tincture. After 15-20 minutes - with a damp sponge.
  2. Spray generously and pour dracaena, for 2-3 days, if possible, tightly close with polyethylene. To enhance the effect, put the same container with chopped onions, garlic, turpentine.
  3. If there is no result, use acaricides - Neoron, Agravertin, Sunmayt, Apollo. A minimum of 3-4 treatments with different drugs will be required. The interval between them is 5-12 days.

For prevention, weekly spray the plant with a decoction of cyclamen tubers. Or irradiate the leaves with a quartz lamp for 2-3 minutes on both sides.

ThripsDiscolored leaves, small black dots and silver-beige thin “scratches” visible on the inside.
  1. Apply soap foam or whipped flea shampoo to leaves, leave under polyethylene for 2-3 days. Or spray it with an oil emulsion (35-40 ml of any vegetable oil per liter of water).
  2. Repeat 2-3 times with an interval of 5-7 days.
  3. If there is no result, use Fitoverm, Spintor, Actellik (2-3 times with an interval of a week).
MealybugLumps of dirty cotton-like plaque in the axils of the leaves and at the base of the trunk. Leaves quickly turn yellow and dry.
  1. Spray Dracaena with a soapy alcohol solution. After 2-3 hours, wash the leaves with clean water. At the same time, remove the visible “lumps” with a wooden stick.
  2. Treat the flower and soil with infusion of tobacco chips, dry mustard, red pepper. Or apply on a leaf any preparation with Neem tree oil.
  3. If there is no effect, use Spark-Bio, Calypso, Mospilan (2-3 times with an interval of 5-10 days).
AphidLarge colonies of small insects clinging to the underside of leaves (especially young ones) and the top of the trunk. Then a sticky transparent coating appears.
  1. Wipe off the insects with soapy foam. Cut off specially affected leaves. Arrange dracene souls.
  2. 3-4 times a day spray the plant with tinctures of orange peels, onion husks, needles, any sharply smelling herbs.
  3. If there is no effect, treat Dracaena Biotlin, Admiral, Confidor-Maxi. Repeat every 5-7 days until the aphids completely disappear.

Photo Gallery: How Dracaena-Infecting Pests Look

Video: common pests of indoor plants and their control

Plant Resuscitation

Most often, the dracaena requires urgent resuscitation, its owner is to blame. Most painfully, it reacts to improper watering - “drought” or “swamp” in the pot.

In the first case, cut off all the dry leaves to living tissue without touching the growth point at the top of the dracaena. Once every 2-3 days, spray with a solution of any biostimulant. Rearrange as close to the south-west or south-east orientation window. Water according to the instructions. If the roots are not affected, after 2-3 months the dracaena will give new leaves. When the growth point has dried up, you will have to cut it off and hope that the side kidneys “wake up”. But the chances of it are not so many.

In a waterlogged substrate, the development of rot is almost inevitable. Drazen needs to be transplanted as soon as possible, regardless of the time of year. But this procedure does not guarantee success; it will be effective only at an early stage of the development of the disease. In the process, be sure to cut off all the roots affected by the fungus, do not forget to sterilize the new pot and soil. At first, be very careful with watering, but spray the dracaena daily. Select capacity according to the size of the root system (plus a maximum of 2-3 cm).

You can learn more about how to transplant dracaena correctly from the material: //diz-cafe.com/rastenija/peresadka-dratsenyi-v-domashnih-usloviyah.html

What to do with a broken dracaena palm

Dracaena is a fairly massive plant, so the aboveground part can simply outweigh the pot. Also, her "fractures" are often the result of the intense activity of children and pets. In this case, do not be upset. If everything is done correctly, instead of one plant you will get two.

Broken dracaena - not a reason to arrange a tragedy

The easiest way is when the trunk broke, but did not break at all. “Tires” are placed on it, as if on an arm or leg, and the skin is fixed so that it covers the “wound” if possible. You can wrap strips of sphagnum moss or coconut fiber on top.

Do not forget to "seal" the cut

Otherwise, the remaining part of the plant in the pot:

  1. Saw off the barrel evenly below the point of damage. It is advisable to do this according to the "scars" remaining from the fallen leaves.
  2. Disinfect the section with a bright pink solution of potassium permanganate or 1% m Bordeaux fluid.
  3. Pour with liquid wax, paraffin, cover with garden var. If nothing is at hand, apply 2-3 coats of oil paint.
  4. Put the plant in partial shade. Water sparingly. When growth buds form, return to normal care.

It will also be useful material about methods of propagation of dracaena: //diz-cafe.com/rastenija/dratsena-razmnozhenie-v-domashnih-usloviyah.html

The side kidneys on the dracene "wake up" for a long time, be patient

Broken tip:

  1. Cut at an angle of approximately 45º. Try to do this as smoothly as possible, without "flaking" and chipping. Let it dry for 2-3 hours.
  2. Tear off the interfering leaves. Put in a container with a biostimulator prepared according to the instructions. Succinic acid and activated carbon can be used (per tablet for every 200 ml). An alternative is rooting in wet perlite, vermiculite, sand. The slice will need to be sprinkled with any powdery root stimulator.
  3. Change the water every 3-4 days, regularly moisten the substrate. Provide bottom heating, daylight hours of at least 12 hours and a temperature of approximately 25ºC.
  4. Be patient. The rooting process can stretch for 3-4 months and even for six months. When the first new leaf appears, transplant the plant into soil suitable for adult dracaena.

Most often, the broken tip of the dracaena is rooted in water

Video: rooting dracaena cuttings

Dracaena, like any houseplant, is not immune from attacks of diseases and pests. However, it is quite resistant to them, and the tree, which is properly looked after, rarely suffers. Nevertheless, individual errors in care, pathogenic fungi and bacteria can provoke a deterioration in the appearance of dracaena. If nothing is done, the plant may even die. Therefore, it is important to be able to recognize what caused these or other symptoms, and know what to do to deal with the problem.

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Watch the video: Plant Health & Disease Troubleshooting Guide (November 2024).