Comments on: What is the deal with my corn plant?

Question: What is the deal with my corn plant?

zembla3 — Fri, 09 Mar 2007 09:32:33 -0800

I recently purchased a three- to four-foot Dracaena Massangea, or corn plant. I have a moisture meter gauge that I use to determine whether my plants need to be watered or not (it has two metal prongs that you put into the soil, and a red, yellow or green light goes on to signal whether the soil is moist or not.) The gauge works great with all my other plants, but with the corn plant, the gauge never indicates that the soil is dry. I have now gone weeks without watering the corn plant, and the gauge still says the soil is sufficiently moist near the roots. The plant looks fine, but what gives? How often should a corn plant of this size be watered?

By: rintj

rintj — Fri, 09 Mar 2007 09:42:11 -0800

My mom has one of these, and she tosses it some water every couple of weeks, sometimes once a month, and it is the healthiest plant she has.

By: jeff-o-matic

jeff-o-matic — Fri, 09 Mar 2007 09:57:33 -0800

It's easier to kill a houseplant by overwatering than underwatering. In the winter, I only need to water some of my plants every ten days or so, while in the summer it's way more often.

House plants are potted in different types of soil sometimes. I have one fern that I purchased that seems to be planted in some kind of dense mucky clay that hardly ever needs water. But the thing is thriving, so I let it be.

Err on the dry side is my advice. You could also test the gauge you're using by temporarily putting it in another plant pot. I've never used a gauge, though.

By: somanyamys

somanyamys — Fri, 09 Mar 2007 10:05:05 -0800

In my experience, Dracaenas are pretty hardy, so I wouldn't worry about it croaking for lack of water. It will warn you long before it ever actually dies of thirst. jeff-o-matic has it right that you're more likely to kill it by overwatering.

By: KRS

KRS — Fri, 09 Mar 2007 11:48:05 -0800

The massangeana is almost impossible to kill. I had one for years that grew to ceiling height and actually bloomed.

When it needs water, the leaves will droop. Take a good look at it the day after you water it. When the leaves get noticeably lower, it needs water again.

It does best in a small pot with the soil packed tight.

By: beatrice

beatrice — Fri, 09 Mar 2007 12:12:10 -0800

What kind of pot is it in?