White spots on palm leaves. Tips for caring for indoor palm trees

For a long time, many interiors of houses are decorated with palm trees. These beautiful plants from subtropical and tropical latitudes have long been loved by everyone. In addition, a lot of their decorative varieties have appeared that can decorate any room, regardless of its size, as there are even miniature views. And in order for her to please the eye, she needs to be given proper care. Therefore, it is worth knowing the basic rules on how to care for a room palm tree.

First you need to choose the right place where it will stand. It should be well lit, but direct sunlight should not be allowed. You also need to ensure sufficient air humidification, this can be done using a conventional sprayer or, if possible, put a humidifier. When choosing a place for a palm tree, you need to consider that it is afraid of drafts, so it is better not to put it under the opening windows. This is especially true in winter, when there is also a risk of hypothermia, which will also negatively affect this plant.

As for watering, it should be moderate, waterlogging of the soil should not be allowed, this is fraught with rotting of the roots. In winter, you need to water once a week, and in summer once every three days. In any case, before watering, it is necessary to test the soil, if it is still wet, then it is impossible to water.

The palm tree does not tolerate various damages, especially for the roots. Therefore, when transplanting, you need to handle them carefully, you can only remove rotten ones, and healthy ones, try to disturb them as little as possible. Dry castings can only be cut when they are completely dry with the stem, you can not cut the dried tips of the leaves. It is also worth noting that a young plant needs to be transplanted in the spring every year, and when it is five years old, the transplant is done no more than once every four years. In this case, it is necessary to pay attention to the roots, if they support the walls, you should take a new larger pot. With regards to soil, it is better to buy it special for palm trees.

With the right caring for indoor palm you need to feed with special additives for flowers, which can be purchased at any flower shop. Immediately after transplantation, a young plant that does not need to be fed up to a year. Older ones should be watered with these special additives once a week from March to September, when they are actively growing.

Diseases of indoor palm trees, how to treat them

Proper care of any plants is necessary not only for their full growth, but also to avoid various diseases. After all, they can appear not only from factors environment, but also from not proper care. Sometimes, without knowing it, you can harm the plant. Therefore, in indoor floriculture, you need to know everything how to care for and how to treat.

It is clear that the palm tree is also subject to such risks. One of her most common ailments is yellowness, fading of leaves, stem. In this case, you need to pay attention to watering, it is quite possible that it is insufficient. Also, water for irrigation must be defended so that it is soft. Such a color can also indicate a lack of light, dry air or a low temperature in the room, which is uncomfortable for her.

This solution will also help in the fight against spider mites. And the signs of his defeat are cobwebs, sluggish leaves. As a rule, a soapy solution is enough to eliminate it, but if not, then you need to treat the palm with an actellik solution. Exactly the same way of dealing with mealybugs, because of which the leaves are bent.

Quite common house palm disease is spotting, caused by a fungus. Spots spread throughout the leaf, if there are a lot of them, the leaf dies off over time. As with any other fungal disease, the cause is the increased humidity of the substrate, its excessive compaction, as a result of which air does not reach the roots. Also, the development of fungi can be hypothermia or watering. cold water. If such spots are found, the palm tree must be treated with a copper-containing preparation.

There may be other fungal diseases in which the plant becomes covered small dark spots- disputes. In this case, it is worth removing the affected areas and treating the palm with fungicides.

With excessive watering, not only fungal diseases can occur, but they can begin wither leaves. Therefore, it is so important to properly care for the plant. The soil should not be very dense, as this will prevent the passage of air to the roots, when transplanting, you need to take care of drainage in advance so that there is no stagnant water and the roots do not rot. It is also necessary to humidify the air and protect from direct sunlight. Thus, the beauty and health of a plant mainly depends on proper care for it.

Take the test

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The appearance of this pest cannot be confused with anything. This is a fairly large relative of the scale insect. Mealybug reaches up to 8 mm in length.

Female individuals of "hairy lice" have an undeveloped oval-shaped body, more characteristic of insect larvae. Numerous eggs are laid in special sacs in the axils of the leaves. The shoots on which the pest lives are covered with a sticky, waxy coating of white.

Males are not at all like females - they have wings and normally developed limbs, the body is divided into sections and ends in a bundle of tail filaments

With the help of their oral apparatus, females and larvae easily pierce the surface of a leaf, bud or shoot and suck the juices out of it. Young mealybugs are extremely mobile and easily move between plants. Sexually mature males do not feed, because as they grow older, their mouthparts atrophy.

Signs of a mealybug infection

To detect pests, it is enough to carefully examine indoor plant.

Main features:

drooping appearance, lethargy of leaves and shoots;
underdeveloped buds, deformed leaves;
white powdery coating with lumps;
small "mosquitoes" (male mealybugs) on the windows near the pots;
the presence of sticky mucus (honeydew) on all parts of the plant;
the presence of white blotches in an earthy coma during transplantation;
the presence of white oval insects.

Any of these symptoms may indicate the appearance of a worm. Not a single flower is immune from infection. Citrus, amaryllis, cycad and palm plants, as well as cacti, violets and orchids, should be taken under special control.

Often suffers from an azalea pest, the photo of which is given in the article. The pest attacks young shoots. Leaves stop growing and turn yellow. Azalea, whose photo demonstrates her beauty, struck by insects, is losing its former appearance.

Harm to the plant

The mealybug literally draws all the nutrients from the flowers, disrupting their growth and normal development. Sweet honeydew secreted by females provokes the development of associated fungal infections. Due to the sticky impermeable coating, the green pet's breathing worsens. This can lead to wilting and even leaf fall.

Mealy aphids (another name for mealybugs) do not give preference to a certain part of the plant, hitting everything that comes in its path. Under attack are not only shoots, buds and leaves, but also roots. If treatment is not started as soon as possible, the mealybug will spread to surrounding indoor plantings. In time, he will destroy them all. Therefore, it is necessary to immediately declare war if you notice a mealybug on houseplants. How to deal with a pest will be described below.

Causes of the appearance of the mealybug

Why do these harmful insects appear?

There are several main reasons:

The presence of eggs and larvae in the soil. Even purchased soil can be contaminated, so it is very important to treat it with hot steam before use.
Transfer of larvae with newly acquired plants. New pets should be kept separately and periodically carefully inspected. You can put them next to the rest of the flowers only after finally making sure that there are no pests.
Mistakes in care - low air temperature in the room, stagnation of moisture in the soil, insufficient lighting, excessive fertilization. Improper care significantly reduces the immunity of the plant, provoking various diseases.
The presence of dust on the leaves, irregular removal of dry parts.
Untimely replacement of earth in pots. Harmful insects can start inside a compacted earthen coma.
Poor quality water for irrigation.

Folk methods of dealing with mealybugs

Now you know how dangerous a pest is for plants. You can easily determine that a mealybug has settled on houseplants.

How to deal with such an insect? With a small focus of infection, you can try to get rid of it without special means.

Popular home remedies:

Infusion of medicinal herbs. To process the plant, you can use horsetail, calendula. Powder purchased at a pharmacy should be brewed with boiling water. After the agent has cooled, the plant is treated with it. To prepare the infusion, use the following ratios: 100 g of horsetail (calendula) per 1 liter of liquid.
Tincture of garlic. This is a fairly effective method of dealing with mealybugs. Peel and mince a medium-sized whole head of garlic. Pour a liter of hot water and let it brew for 4 hours. Tincture of garlic is applied to the leaves and trunk with cotton wool or a sponge.
Oil emulsion. In a liter of warm water, stir 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Spray the affected leaves with a spray bottle.
Soap-alcohol solution. For its preparation, it is better to take natural soap, without perfume additives. For 1 liter of water, 1 teaspoon of grated soap and 1 tablespoon of ethyl alcohol is enough. Spray the affected parts of the plant, avoiding getting the solution on the earthen ball. You can carry out the procedure 1 time in 3 days. It is necessary to wash off the applied agent a day after spraying.
Tincture of lemon and orange peel. A surprisingly simple recipe that allows you to effectively rid the plant of pests. Take the peels of lemon, orange and pour boiling water over them. The ratio is as follows: 30-50 g of zest per 1 liter of liquid. During the day, the remedy should be infused. Then treat your green pets with this infusion using a spray bottle.

Mealybug chemicals

With inefficiency folk methods or large foci of infection, you have to turn to chemical insecticides.

Widely available effective drugs against mealybugs:

"Decis".
"Vertimek".
"Tsvetofos".
Nurell D.
Phosphamide.
"Bi-58".
"Actellik".
Fitoverm.
"Aplaud".

Special difficulties with such substances should not arise. The main thing is to carefully read the instructions and follow all precautions.

Affected plants should be quarantined. Usually 3-4 insecticide treatments are sufficient. If the pests still remain, you need to change the drug.

Precautionary measures

Make sure that the drugs used do not cause harm:

Use chemicals only in a well ventilated area.
Keep children and pets out of the way.
Use personal protective equipment to avoid poisoning.

Preventive measures

Periodically inspect green spaces.
Replant grown flowers regularly.
Inspect the earthen ball during transplantation. Rinse the soil with hot water (about 55°C).
Properly care for flowers according to their preferences.
Timely remove dying parts of the plant. Dried leaves can serve as a convenient shelter for various pests.
Before planting, scald the pots with boiling water, and steam the soil.
Observe quarantine measures for new plants.

Insects are an integral part of any ecosystem, but they have no place on the landscaped window sills of apartments. Especially if a mealybug appeared on houseplants. How to deal with a pest, you know. Therefore, use any available methods. After all, healthy home plants without pests are actively developing and delighting the eye with bright greenery and abundant flowering.

The date palm is one of the most common and attractive indoor ornamental plants and belongs to the palm family.

Despite the unpretentiousness of this plant, the date palm, like many other indoor plants, is often exposed to various pests and diseases.

To prevent the occurrence date palm diseases and pests, it is very important to be able to recognize them, know the causes of their occurrence and take all necessary measures in time.

The main pests that cause diseases of the date palm

The red spider mite is one of the most dangerous and difficult to remove pests of indoor plants. The most favorable conditions for its development are high temperature and dry air. A small tick (up to 0.5 mm) infects the plant most often in spring, damages the stem (with severe infection and leaves), biting into the skin, after which yellowish or gray spots remain on them, the leaves and stem crack and die. In the later stages of the lesion, the entire plant is covered with cobwebs and dies.

Mealybug - is a sucking insect that settles in the axils of the leaves and forms large clusters on the youngest shoots and leaves of the plant, sucking the juice out of them, greatly delaying the development and growth of plants. The infected plant is covered with a white coating that looks like a cobweb.

thrips- an insect that damages indoor plants and causes diseases of the date palm by laying eggs in leaf tissue. This pest stays on the plant in large groups along the veins located on the underside of the leaves. Brown spots appear on the underside of damaged leaves. brown spots, and on the top - whitish. With a large-scale infection, the leaves turn yellow, dry and fall off, subsequently the date palm dries.

Treatment and prevention of date palm diseases

The methods of pest removal, prevention and treatment of any date palm disease caused by pests are the same. For mechanical removal of the pest, it is necessary to wash the surface of the leaves with warm soapy water and irradiate with an ultraviolet lamp. Next, spray with water and pollinate the plant with pyrethrum powder or ground sulfur. You can get rid of the date palm disease caused by pests by spraying the plant five times with an aqueous solution of pyrethrum, actellik, phosphamide, fitoverm or fosalone (2 g per liter of water, the interval between sprayings is 7 days).

A radical method of combating any type of pest is considered to be the treatment of a plant with medical alcohol - wiping it with a cotton swab dipped in alcohol or spraying with a fine spray. Measures to prevent the appearance of pests are regular washing and spraying of plants with water in the summer to prevent dry air, regular thorough inspection of the plant, removal of dry leaves and keeping the plant clean. Date palm from the stone.

Fungal and bacterial diseases of the date palm

Date palm diseases can be caused by various viruses, bacteria and fungi. With viral diseases, a mosaic pattern appears on the leaves of plants, and with fungal and bacterial diseases, putrefactive diseases appear. The most dangerous disease is rot, which appears in most cases in winter - at low air temperatures and at the same time high soil moisture. When rot appears, palm leaves become soft, lose color and fall off, the stem also becomes soft, which leads to the inevitable death of the plant.

Quite often, such a fungal disease as gray spotting occurs, in which old leaves are damaged first of all, irregularly shaped gray spots and a large number of small black dots with fungal spores form on them. The treatment of date palm diseases consists in removing the affected parts of the plant and treating the entire plant with fungicides - this will save the life of the plant.

When a plant is infected with viruses carried by insects, there are no radical control measures, so you can only improve plant care. In case of severe damage, the diseased plant will have to be destroyed along with the soil, the dishes must be disinfected. To prevent the spread of date palm diseases to healthy plants, it is necessary to carry out chemical treatment twice a year with preparations designed to combat pathogens and pests.

The date palm, like all ornamental plants, is susceptible to a variety of diseases. Date palm diseases arise from improper care of it. We will consider the main diseases of the date palm, their causes and methods of treatment.

Date palm diseases: causes and methods of treatment

A list of the main diseases and problems of the date palm, ways to eliminate them and the causes of their appearance.

Old and young date palm leaves begin to dry out, brown spots appear on the outer and inner sides of the leaf plate. Disease: a palm tree was struck by a scale insect. Reason: dry air in the room. Elimination: the date palm must be isolated from other plants, wipe its leaves with a cotton swab dipped in soapy water. Then, to eliminate the disease, the date palm is sprayed with "Aktara" or an actellic solution (2 ml per 1 liter of water). The frequency of treatment is 1 time in 5-7 days, the duration of treatment is 4 times.

The tips of the date palm leaves turn yellow. Reason: lack of moisture in the soil and low humidity in the room. Perhaps the soil in the pot is poor in nutrients. Ways to eliminate the disease: at high temperatures, carry out frequent spraying of the palm tree, increase the amount of watering. Use only purified or settled water, and only at room temperature.

New shoots began to dry up on the date palm. They are easily removed from the socket and their base began to rot. The cause of the disease: overmoistening of the soil, inaccurate spraying, in which water enters the palm rosette. The date palm can rot due to lack of light and constant waterlogging. Ways to treat the disease: provide the plant with enough light, reduce watering and spraying. Sprinkle places of rotting stems and leaves with tetracycline or foundationazole.

Date palm grows slowly indoors. Reason: soil depletion or the root system has outgrown the volume of the pot. The latter can be determined by carefully removing the palm tree from the pot. The root system stuck tightly around the walls of the pot. Ways to solve the problem: transplant the palm tree by transshipment, without disturbing the earthen ball around the roots, into a larger pot. Water the palm tree with a solution of Zykron 1 time per week.

The lower leaves of the date palm dry. Causes of illness: age. The lower leaves of the date palm dry with age. They are removed as they dry. It is not normal if the young shoots of a palm tree or its rosette begin to dry and hurt.

White spots on date palm leaves that are easy to remove. The cause of the disease: mealybug or fungal disease. Treatment of date palm disease: you need to moisten a swab in alcohol and wipe the leaves with it. In parallel, treat the plant with anti-cocidal agents.

brown spots on leaves. The cause of the disease: dry indoor air or cold water was used for spraying. You can increase the humidity in the room by placing a container with wet expanded clay next to the palm tree. You can not put a date palm near heating appliances.

Dracaena is a showy evergreen plant. It can be found both in apartments and in offices. It is valued by amateur flower growers and designers for its attractiveness and unpretentiousness. However, despite its undemanding and non-capriciousness, dracaena suffers from unintentional mistakes in care, attacks by pathogenic fungi, bacteria, viruses and harmful insects. This negatively affects its 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 a dracaena optimal microclimate

Dracaena is quite unpretentious, and there is nothing difficult in creating an optimal microclimate for it at home. But it is still worth listening to the requirements of the plant, trying to create an environment for it that is as close as possible to that to which it is accustomed in nature.

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

Table: suitable conditions for growing dracaena

Factor	Recommendations
Location	Not far (1–2 m) from a window facing east or west. It is not recommended to put close to the south window in order to avoid sunburn. In the summer, if dimensions allow, you can take the container to fresh air. Dracaena loves him, but does not tolerate cold drafts.
Lighting	Diffused light or light partial shade. Species with variegated leaves are more demanding on lighting. All dracaena can exist in completely artificial light, if daylight hours last at least 12 hours.
Temperature	In spring and summer - moderately warm (20–25ºС). Dracaena does not tolerate heat well. In winter, it is slightly lowered - up to 17–19ºС. The lower limit is 15ºС. Exceptions are fragrant dracaena, Hooker, Dragon (tolerate a short-term decrease to 10ºС). All species react negatively to sudden changes in temperature. A difference of 10ºС or more can lead to the death of the plant.
Air humidity	It normally exists at a standard air humidity of 40–50% (dracaena Dragon and Godsphere are especially undemanding to it), but responds with gratitude to any measures to increase it. The only thing that should not be done is to pour water into the pan. In winter, running radiators dry the air a lot, so it is recommended to spray the surrounding air with warm water every 2-3 days. In the summer, in the heat, you can spray the plant itself, but so that the drops do not fall into the sockets, or arrange a shower by covering the soil with polyethylene. At least once a week, be sure to wipe the leaves with a wet cloth or sponge.

Pick up a dracaena place near the window; it is very difficult to put it on the windowsill because of its size

In addition to the optimal microclimate, timely feeding and the correct watering regimen have a great influence on how the plant feels.

In summer, you need to let the soil in the pot dry out about 4–5 cm deep. This can be determined by sticking a wooden stick into the pot. One procedure every 2-3 days is enough. In winter, the intervals are increased to 5–7 days. In wet soil with a cool content, rot quickly develops. Broad-leaved dracaena need to be watered more often - they have more evaporation area. A clear signal is drooping leaves that have lost their tone. And do not forget to loosen the soil after each procedure.

The material on the conditions of keeping Sander's dracaena will also be useful:

As for dressings, there are special fertilizers for dracaena. The tree is watered with a nutrient solution every 20–30 days, moistening the soil well in about half an hour. If you use a universal remedy for indoor plants, pay attention to the composition. An excess of phosphorus and nitrogen can lead to deterioration appearance leaves. And dracaena categorically does not tolerate fluoride.

Video: maintenance and care of a flower at home

Diseases and pests typical for dracaena and their prevention

Dracaena, which is properly cared for, is quite resistant to damage by various pathogens, viruses and bacteria. Most often, these types of problems with the plant are the result of unintentional errors of the owner. An invasion of pests, even a massive one, is also unlikely to lead to its death, but it will cause a lot of trouble for the grower.

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

Most often, in order 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 the immediate isolation of "suspicious" specimens;
free, without crowding, placement of pots;
frequent ventilation of the room and maintaining high humidity;
placing indoor and cut flowers as far apart as possible, especially if they are roses or chrysanthemums;
mandatory sterilization before using pots, substrate, any tools;
processing of all "wounds" inflicted on the dracaena;
implementation of recommendations for caring for the plant, especially those related to watering and fertilizing;
maintaining cleanliness - regularly dusting the leaves and carrying out other permitted water procedures.

Problem Diagnosis

The plant gives the grower unambiguous signals. The 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 manifestations	Possible reasons
External manifestations	Mistakes in care	Disease	Pest
Yellowing and wilting leaves.	Their life span is about two years. Otherwise - excessive watering
Pale, shrinking leaves, deformed, thinning trunks.	Light deficiency.
Falling green leaves.	Unsuitable room temperature (both high and too low), constant cold drafts.
Drying, curling and falling leaves.	Too little watering.
Dry brown leaf tips.	Low indoor humidity.
Dry tips and small areas of dead tissue on the leaves.	Excess fluoride in the soil - the use of unsuitable fertilizers or watering with hard, unsettled water.
Losing color saturation leaves 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 rays no worse than lenses.
Yellowish-white spots on leaves, dry edges.	Low room temperature or its sudden changes.
Discolored "watery" border on the edge of the sheet.	Excess fertilizer in the soil (too frequent top dressing).
Reddening leaves.	Unsuitable too heavy soil with a predominance of peat.
Small white crystals on the underside of the sheet.	A natural phenomenon provoked by a single abundant watering in combination with high humidity.
Slow growth or its complete absence.	Unsuitable soil, lack of fertilizing for a long time or too cramped pot.
Flour-like coating on leaves.
Brownish soft to the touch trunk.
Brownish spots, gradually tightened with a gray "pile".
Dark "watery" spots, softening tissues.
Yellowing leaves covered with dark brown spots.
Reddish-yellow, gradually turning brown spots on the leaves.
Brown spots with a bright green border on the leaves.
Small beige spots with a white dot in the center.
Elongated beige spots with a pale red border.
Blurry brown spots with a yellow-green border.
Dark "watery" tips of the leaves, "sores" on the trunk.
Brownish spots and stripes, casting bronze.
Yellow spots on the leaves, petioles braided with cobwebs.
Silvery "scratches" and small black dots on the leaves.
Brown "plaques" on the leaves, reddish-yellow tissue around them.
Small lumps of a whitish substance in the axils of the leaves and in the ground.
Many small yellow-green or black-brown insects on the underside of the leaves and sticky drops on them.

What mistakes in care lead to: examples in the photo

Dracaena, in which the tips of the leaves dry, suffers from too low air humidity or sunburn Dropping dracaena leaves can be for several reasons, including natural ones. This is how dracaena most often looks before shedding leaves. Dracaena can get burned very easily if the sprayed plant is left in direct sunlight. Browning, drying dracaena leaves mean a long neglect of the plant's need for ao moisture By yellowing the leaves of the dracaena reacts to overflow

Diseases and how to deal with them

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

Table: diseases typical for dracaena

Disease	Symptoms	Treatment and prevention
Small 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 off.	Wipe the leaves and trunk with an infusion of wood ash or colloidal sulfur. Treat the plant and soil with a solution of Topaz, Oksikhoma, Kuprozan. Repeat three times with an interval of 10 days. During this time, water not with ordinary water, but with a pale pink solution of potassium permanganate. For prevention, treat the flower and soil once a month with a 0.1% solution of Fundazol, Topsin-M.
Elongated beige spots with a reddish border on the leaves. Gradually they are covered with a layer of greenish-gray plaque.
Phyllosticosis (brown spot)	Blurry patches of irregular shape of beige-brown color with a lime border. Then small black “grains” form in the middle. At risk are adults and especially old dracaena.	Cut off all infected tissue. Remove severely affected leaves entirely. Sprinkle the sections with activated charcoal powder, chalk, cinnamon, treat with iodine or brilliant green. Spray the flower with a solution of Skor, Topaz, HOM. Repeat three times (treatment once a week). During this time, add any biostimulator (Zircon, Epin, potassium humate) to the water for irrigation (2-3 ml per liter).
Dark brown “watery” leaf tips, brown spots on them, small round “ulcers” on the stem and petioles. Healthy tissues are separated from infected ones by a wide yellow "oily" stripe.	There are no effective treatments. Provokes the development of bacteriosis constant dampness in a pot, heat in the room, alkaline soil unsuitable for dracaena.
Spotted wilt (bronze)	The leaves are almost completely covered with irregularly shaped stripes and spots. In artificial light they are brownish, in the sun they cast bronze. The growth of dracaena almost stops, new leaves are small and deformed.	With the help of modern means, it is impossible to get rid of the virus. Plants that do not feed are more likely to suffer from spotted wilt. For dracaena, a deficiency of potassium and phosphorus is harmful.
Yellowness spreading along the leaves from the bottom up. There is a "watery" border along the edge. The top of the trunk wilts. He himself becomes thinner, changes color to brick. In especially severe cases, the dracaena is covered with "weeping" brown spots.	Wash the flower under a warm shower, remove the affected leaves. Process the cuts. Spray the plant and spill the soil with a solution of Fundazol, Vectra, Benomyl. Repeat 2-3 times with an interval of 3-5 days. If there is no effect, use "heavy artillery" - Quadris, Bravo, Raek. For prevention, add Fitosporin-M to the water for irrigation. Add Humistar, Trikhovit to the soil when transplanting.
Root (black) rot	Brown roots and bases of the trunk, mold on the soil and an unpleasant putrefactive smell coming from it.	Remove the dracaena from the pot, thoroughly rinse the substrate from the roots. Trim anything dark and slimy to the touch, grabbing 3–5 cm of tissue that appears healthy. Soak the roots for 20-30 minutes in a bright pink solution of potassium permanganate or 0.5% Bordeaux mixture. Sprinkle the sections with sifted wood ash, colloidal sulfur. Transplant the plant into a sterilized pot using new soil. For 3–4 months, water with a 0.5% solution of Alirin-B, Baikal-EM, Previkura.
Bacterial (wet) rot	Dark "watery" spots on the leaves and trunk. The tissues in these places soften to a semi-liquid state.
Pale brown spots on the leaves, gradually covered with a layer of grayish "pile" with multiple small black blotches.	Cut off any infected leaves. Treat the wounds. Wipe them and pour the soil with a solution of Abiga-Peak, Kuprozan, Topaz. Water the dracaena with a weak solution of potassium permanganate (0.25 g / l) for a month.
Brown rot (rhizoctoniosis)	Dracaena stops growing. The leaves turn yellow, discolor, then become covered with black-brown spots.	Stop watering immediately. After 3–5 days, soak the roots for 10–12 hours in a solution of Bactofit, Agata-25K, Maxim. Let them dry well. If there is no effect, change the pot and soil.
Small brownish spots with a bright green border on the leaves.	Cut off any affected leaves. Provide the plant with optimal or close to them conditions. Follow the recommendations for caring for dracaena.
Leaves, as if powdered with flour. Gradually, this plaque thickens and turns brown.	Remove plaque from the leaves by washing them with a pale pink solution of potassium permanganate. Powder them with crushed activated carbon or colloidal sulfur. Water the dracaena twice with an interval of 10-12 days with a solution of any fungicide.

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

It seems that powdery mildew is a harmless coating that is easy to wipe off, but this is by no means the case Brown spotting is a rather rare disease Dracaena affected by brown rot practically stops growing Gray rot is easy to recognize, but not easy to cure Tissues affected by bacterial rot turn into a semi-liquid mass Root rot is very difficult to recognize in time, and the disease can be treated only in the early stages of development Plants in the garden often suffer from fusarium, but indoor plants are not protected from infection The plant affected by spotted wilt can only be thrown away It is not yet possible to cure bacteriosis Phyllostictosis most often affects adult and old dracaena Greenish-gray plaque that appears as heterosporosis develops, contains spores of the fungus Tissues affected by alternariosis gradually die off, holes remain on the leaves

Video: treatment of dracaena diseases

Pests attacking dracaena

Most pests, even having bred in abundance, will not kill the dracaena. But that doesn't mean they shouldn't be fought. The plant did not "bring" any exotic insects from its historical homeland. You will have to deal with the most common insects and mites that feed on its juice.

Table: common pests

Pest	Symptoms	Control and prevention measures
Rounded "plaques" of different shades of brown on the wrong side of the sheet. Gradually they "swell", the tissues around them acquire an unnatural yellow-red color. In severe cases, the soil turns black.	For visible pests, lubricate the shells with engine oil, acetic acid, and pure alcohol. After a few hours, the shields can be removed. Wipe the leaves with soapy foam, rinse with water. Treat the plant with Actara, Permethrin, Fufanon. If necessary, repeat 1-2 more times with an interval of 5-7 days.
Thin almost transparent threads braiding petioles. On the underside of the leaf there are brown dots and blurry pale or yellowish spots around them.	Wipe the leaves with alcohol, vodka or any alcohol tincture. After 15-20 minutes - with a damp sponge. Spray abundantly and water the dracaena, for 2-3 days, if possible, seal it tightly with polyethylene. To enhance the effect, place a container with chopped onion, garlic, turpentine in the same place. If there is no result, use acaricides - Neoron, Agravertin, Sunmite, Apollo. It will take at least 3-4 treatments with different drugs. The interval between them is 5–12 days. For prevention, spray the plant weekly with a decoction of cyclamen tubers. Or irradiate the leaves with a quartz lamp for 2-3 minutes on both sides.
Discolored leaves, small black dots and silver-beige thin “scratches” are visible on the inside.	Apply soap suds or whipped flea shampoo to the leaves, leave under plastic for 2-3 days. Or spray it with an oil emulsion (35-40 ml of any vegetable oil per liter of water). Repeat 2-3 times with an interval of 5-7 days. If there is no result, use Fitoverm, Spintor, Actellik (2-3 times at weekly intervals).
Lumps of a dirty cotton-like coating in the axils of the leaves and at the base of the trunk. Leaves quickly turn yellow and dry.	Spray the dracaena with a soap-alcohol solution. Wash the leaves with clean water after 2-3 hours. At the same time, remove visible "lumps" with a wooden stick. Treat the flower and soil with an infusion of tobacco chips, dry mustard, red pepper. Or spot any Neem tree oil preparation on the leaves. If there is no effect, use Iskra-Bio, Calypso, Mospilan (2-3 times with an interval of 5-10 days).
Large colonies of small insects sticking to the underside of the leaves (especially young ones) and the top of the trunk. Then a sticky transparent coating appears.	Wipe insects off with soapy water. Cut off any affected leaves. Arrange a dracaena of souls. Spray the plant 3-4 times a day with infusions of orange peels, onion peels, pine needles, and any sharp-smelling herbs. If there is no effect, treat the dracaena with Biotlin, Admiral, Confidor-Maxi. Repeat every 5-7 days until the aphids are completely gone.

Photo gallery: what pests that affect dracaena look like

Aphids are distinguished by their rare “omnivorousness”, dracaena is also included in its circle of interests. If you do not pay attention to the mealybug, very soon the plant will be covered with a continuous carpet of moving “fluff” Small black dots on the leaves are nothing but the thrips themselves Spider mite is not an insect , therefore, to combat it, not general insecticides are used, but special preparations - acaricides. Durable scale insect shell - reliable protection against most folk remedies

Video: common indoor plant pests and their control

Plant resuscitation

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

In the first case, cut off all dry leaves to living tissues, without touching the growing point at the top of the dracaena. Spray every 2-3 days with a solution of any biostimulant. Rearrange as close to the southwest or southeast window as possible. Water according to instructions. If the roots are not affected, after 2-3 months the dracaena will give new leaves. When the growth point has also dried up, you will have to cut it off as well, and hope that the lateral buds will “wake up”. But there's not much chance of that.

In a waterlogged substrate, the development of rot is almost inevitable. Dracaena 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. Choose a container according to the size of the root system (plus a maximum of 2–3 cm).

What to do with a broken dracaena palm

Dracaena is a fairly massive plant, so the aerial part can simply outweigh the pot. Also, often the “fractures” she received are the result of the violent 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.

A broken dracaena is not a reason to arrange a tragedy

The easiest way is when the barrel is broken, but not completely broken. They put “tires” on it, as if on an arm or leg, and fix the skin so that it covers the “wound” as much as possible. Top can be wrapped with strips of sphagnum moss or coconut fiber.

Don't forget to seal your cut.

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

Saw off the trunk straight just below the damage. It is advisable to do this along the "scars" left over from fallen leaves.
Disinfect the cut with a bright pink solution of potassium permanganate or 1% Bordeaux mixture.
Fill with liquid wax, paraffin, cover with garden pitch. If nothing is available, apply 2-3 coats of oil paint.
Remove the plant in partial shade. Water moderately. When growth buds form, return to normal care.

Material on the methods of propagation of dracaena will also be useful:

The lateral buds on the dracaena “wake up” for quite some time, be patient

Broken top:

Cut at an angle of approximately 45º. Try to do this as smoothly as possible, without “fraying” and notching. Let dry for 2-3 hours.
Trim off disturbing leaves. Put in a container with a biostimulant prepared according to the instructions. You can use succinic acid and Activated carbon(one tablet for every 200 ml). An alternative is rooting in wet perlite, vermiculite, sand. The cut will need to be sprinkled with any powdered root stimulator.
Change the water every 3-4 days, moisten the substrate regularly. Provide bottom heating, at least 12 hours of daylight and a temperature of approximately 25ºС.
Be patient. The rooting process can take 3-4 months or even six months. When the first new leaf appears, transplant the plant into soil suitable for adult dracaena.

Most often, the broken top of the dracaena is rooted in water.

Video: rooting dracaena cuttings

Dracaena, like any houseplant, is not immune from the attacks of diseases and pests. However, it is quite resistant to them, and a tree that is properly cared for rarely suffers. Nevertheless, individual care errors, 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 causes certain symptoms and know what to do to cope with the problem.