Help - my plant looks on it's last legs!!

Can anyone advise me what to do about my houseplant.... I've had it about 10 years but slowly the leaves are turning brown and dying off and it's getting a bit spindly. It's been in the same position all this time so that can't be a problem. I give it a mug of water every three weeks or so. I'm not sure what this plant is called so perhaps someone could tell me.

Should I try feeding it with some general purpose liquid feed or, as a last resort, repot it with fresh compost (it's never been changed)

Any advice on nursing it back to producing new leaves would be appreciated - or is it too late ??

 

Probably a dracaena? or maybe a thin looking Yucca.

Think I'd cut the tops off and try re rooting them, might be good to wait until spring before doing it though.
You could then cut the straggly stems down to a foot or so tall, repot and water sparingly until new shoots form.

 

It looks like a Yucca to me, but could also be a Dracaena. They are very similar also when it comes to requirements. @barryman , Could you take a picture showing the pot please? (please be reassured that I'm not a pot voyeurist or anything sinister like that, it just helps to see where the plant is growing at the moment )

If it has been in the same position for a decade and survived, the straggly look could just be that it has just nearly survived but never thrived.

Pete is right, in order to get a thriving plant you must do something drastic. I'd wait until April though to give any cuttings the boost of spring light.

What direction is the window facing? Does it get a lot of direct sun or is it mostly in shade? Is there a radiator nearby?

Yuccas like a lot of sun so that could be a factor. Your watering regime sounds very sensible, Yuccas prefer to be on the dry side especially in the winter. However, when they are in active growth in the summer, a good soak once the top of the compost is dry is a appreciated.

In general feeding will not help a plant that is struggling especially at this time of the year. The reason for the poorly growth must be sorted out first, and when the plant recovers and starts to grow it's the time to feed as and if needed.

 

Oh Dear! Seeing photos like this remind me of those sad pictures put out by the RSPCA etc of starved, ill treated animals, where you can almost see their insides..

Strange thing about plants. We often read and practice pinching out, stopping etc. Forgive me please but, I have never accepted the classification, 'House Plant'.

I tend to agree. This looks very much to be a Yucca. A Yucca basically is a speies of palm tree, so whatever you do, it will persue it's genetic code and grow upwards.

Not seeing the pot or compost in this case. I tend to imagine the soil/compost may well be much the same age as the plant. Even with meticulous care etc, pot plants need to be repotted into fresh compost at around four years. Then attention given to situation, feeding and watering. May I offer some help?
1. Irrespective of time of season. Repot in fresh new compost.
2. Provide some stake/support. Forget feeding for now. Never feed an ailing plant. The effect will be like. Giving a starving child at deaths doors, a steak & kidney pudding with spuds, cauli and carrots.
3. Having done this. Be patient. Now I suggest you research . Plant air layering. on the net. This is very simple. You literally wrap some moist spagnum moss around the stem. In this case, I would select say five leaf scars below where the plant now breaks to leaf. Making sure the moss is wet and moist but not dripping. Now take a plastic bag... a sandwich bag will do. Cut it into strips and then gently wrap it around the moss. Do this several times. Finally a strip of sellotape will hold it all in place. In time the now concealed old leaf scar will begin to break out. You will in time see roots forming, don't be in a hurry. You can gradually reduce the plastic covering. Once a good strong root growth is present. Sever below and pot up.

4. Another means of treatment. If and where possible. The gentle bending and layin flat th trunk/main stem. Providing contact with a compost, pegging down etc. Given time the trunk/stem will produce new growth.

Hope this helps.

 

I too think it looks more like a Dracaena. Yuccas tend to have broader leaves and the stem/trunk would be thicker. I have both. But it could be either!

I too would cut the tops off about at the bend on the left one and a bit further down on the right one. I would then cut a further length or two off each. Then pot up the cutup pieces and allow the stems to shoot new heads. I am very 'devil may care' and just use common potting compost and have had 100% success ... even with Cane Begonias, Poincettias, Geraniums, etc, using this method and let nature takes her course.

Good luck. None of these plants need to be babied once established, just respect and enjoy.

 

Thank you all so much for your guidance. I've attached two more photos. The pot is just a 7 inch one and the compost is it's original .

1. When you say "cut tops off at around the bend wouldn't that mean cutting off all the existing leaves above the cut??? Sounds very drastic !

2. Re the advice "plant air layering", would this encourage new shoots to grow and only after they "take" I then cut off above it??

3. It has always been at the same patio door window which is approx. South-West facing

4. I can certainly tease out the roots immediately and repot them in fresh potting compost - maybe snip back any long roots ??

I await your esteemed replies to this....... and thanx again.

 

Looking at the new photos. The pot is IMO far too small. Probably if you decide to repot, the pot will be all roots and no compost. This can answer the question asto why the plant has grown so straggly. Probably just me, but I have this notion that plants have some kind of know-how and detect problems, prompting them to race for life and complete their purpose.
Your plant has been suffering for a long time. This can be seen from the sudden trunk/stem thickness.

Often gardeners will cut the top off a plant and basically use it as a cutting. I'd say that in this case it would be too large a cutting and taking into account the general condition, probably resulting in failure.

Yes. In most plants, shrubs & trees. Cutting back will encourage new growth from below the cut. This is so evident with old roses etc. If I may. I would first and foremost repot using a good compost. For the time being, I'd add a support. When the leaves begin to look healthier, then consider air layering. Once new airial roots can be seen.. Cut below th new roots, remove the plastic etc around the moss and roots and pot up. As so much weak stem growth has been made. I'd be inclined to cut the tems back to a couple of old leaf nodes above the thick trunk/stem. It shouldn't take long for new shoots to appear. You can try your hand at cutting the no wasted stems to about four inch pieces, cutting just below a joint. Insert these around the edge of a pot/s, water and leave. Hopefully you will have new rooted cuttings.

I wish you every success.

 

Thank you Mike. I will repot in the next few days. So, once repotted do you agree I should first try to air-layer the existing plant (no cutting yet) and wait to see if I get some new shoots and THEN take the more drastic cutting actions??

 

Sometimes you have to be cruel to be kind. I have seen the tops chopped off at a meter or so big and dumped next to lixo bins, our rubbish collection points here where others then take them to replant. Now seeing that you have a main stem, I would cut off both where the picture ends. They will only send shoots from near the cut.

If it is a Yucca, same procedure applies. Maybe this will help you ...

How to Prune Dracaena

 

Thanxx to all who replied. Will repot now as it won't do any harm and will then wait till spring to carry out the other stuff.....