Time To Deal With My Sad Dracaena
Okay, so this Dracaena fragrans in my living room? Been looking kinda sad for weeks. Leaves turning yellow, new growth super slow. I kept watering it like usual, but nah, didn’t help much. Figured it was probably suffocating in its tiny pot. Time for a move!
Digging In
First things first, I dragged the whole pot outside to the patio. Didn’t want dirt flying everywhere indoors, my wife would kill me. The thing was seriously stuck in there. Tipped it sideways, gave the plastic pot a good squeeze all around, nothing. Like, really welded in place.
Had to get rough. Grabbed a garden trowel, started scraping along the inside edge, prying gently. Felt those roots ripping, ugh. Finally, after way too much wrestling and wiggling, plop! Out it came. Honestly, looked pitiful. Roots were everywhere, circling tight, crammed against the sides like spaghetti in a small container. Barely any soil left, just this dense root ball. No wonder it was struggling.
Now, getting that root mess untangled? Forget it. They were super stubborn. I spent ages trying to tease them apart with my fingers, getting dirt absolutely everywhere. Managed to loosen them up a bit near the bottom and sides. Broke a few smaller roots, felt bad, but sometimes you gotta be cruel to be kind. Needed to give them a shot at spreading out.
Pot Prep 101
Grabbed a new plastic pot I had lying around. About two inches wider than the old one. Drainage holes are crucial, right? Checked them, seemed okay. Washed it out with the hose just to be safe.
Soil mix time. Didn’t have anything fancy. Used my regular indoor plant potting soil, but worried it might stay too wet for the Dracaena. Remembered some old bags in the shed. Found some perlite – those little white popcorn-looking bits? – and mixed a big handful of that into the potting soil. Goal: make it drain faster and not drown the roots. Also found some orchid bark chunks (weird, right?), threw a couple of those in too for extra chunkiness. Mixed it all up in an old bucket.
The Big Move
Put a layer of my new soil mix into the bottom of the fresh pot. Just enough so when I placed the root ball inside, the top of it would sit about an inch below the rim of the new pot. Dropped the root ball in. Filled in all the gaps around the sides with more fresh soil mix, pressing it down gently with my fingers as I went. Made sure not to bury it deeper than it was before.
Topped it off, tapped the pot on the ground a couple of times to settle everything. Watered it slowly until I saw water start trickling out the bottom holes. Felt good!
Post-Op Care
Dragged it back to its usual spot near the window, but I kept it out of super bright light for a day or two. Letting it recover from the shock, you know? Didn’t fertilize it, figure it needs time for those roots to heal and find their groove in the new space. Just gonna check the soil every few days and water only when the top feels dry.
Fingers crossed this does the trick! Hoping for some happy, green growth soon. Felt satisfying giving it a fresh start.
