Although you may mother over and carefullytend your Dracaena plant , it could still amount down with a disease .

This can happen preciselybecauseof the attention you have given it , in fact . Unlike many other types of lush houseplant , these plants prefer allow the soil they ’re planted in to dry out between lacrimation .

lachrymation that is too frequent can get the roots to become vulnerable to diseases and rot , leading to symptoms including black stems .

A close up horizontal image of a Dracaena marginata plant pictured from below, growing in a pot indoors.

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Read on to learn how to prevent these diseases , and what to see for if your plant becomes septic .

Here ’s everything we ’ll cover :

A close up vertical image of a large dracaena plant growing in a pot indoors by a window. To the center and bottom of the frame is green and white printed text.

What Is Causing My Dracaena’s Stems to Turn Black?

Several types of infections can have black stems in Dracaena .

Fungal Root Rot

Your flora may first let you know that it is infected by wilt severely . While your inclination to solve this problem may be to give it a lot of weewee , this could make the place even high-risk .

Paradoxically , wilt in Dracaena can bea sign of diseasethat ’s actually due in part to an overweening amount of water .

At this item , rotted , dim area may become visible on the middle of the shank .

A close up vertical image of a small Dracaena marginata tricolor plant growing in a small terra cotta pot set on a wooden surface.

While you are not likely to desire to prune open your short plant , if you do , you will find that the tissue paper inside have a brown discoloration if fungal contagion is the culprit .

Types of Fungi that Cause Black Stems

A number of species of fungus have been found around the world to cause stem rot on Dracaena . These let in :

Do n’t interest about this long listing . Just because a pathogen is active in Egypt does not inevitably mean that it will be a job for you .

My intention here is to illustrate the preponderance of these type of symptom in these plants when due to fungous pathogen .

At home in the US , Fusarium solaniis a vulgar fungus , and it is the coinage that ’s most potential to be a job topically .

What to Do with an Infected Plant

In possibility , you could transfer the plant life from its can and trim back the rotted roots .

However , if your plant has already progress to that point , and it ’s already badly infect , you will probably not be capable to heal it .

As painful as it may be , your best bet is to dispose of the plant and desexualize the pot with a 10 pct whitener solution if you want to recycle it .

Tomato Spotted Wilt Virus

There is another fearful pathogen that can afflict Dracaena plants , and it ’s known as tomato blot wilt virus ( TSWV ) .

Do n’t let the parole “ tomato plant ” in its name slang you . This pathogen can attack over 1,000 specie of plant life .

It is ever - present in some areas , because it can infect many native specie , widow’s weeds , and landscape plants .

TSWV has been known to cause C of grand of losses in a single greenhouse flower crop . And it can affect your houseplant too .

TSWV Spread

Without the littleinsects known as thrips , tomato spotted wilt virus would not be a problem .

Young thrips acquire the computer virus as they fertilize on pathologic plants . When they become adults , the insects can transmit the infection .

The computer virus requires living plants to survive , and there is no shortage of potential hosts given the enormous host range of this virus .

Symptoms

Although symptoms start appearing seven to 20 day after the thrip acquire the virus , it is difficult to diagnose .

This is because so many other kinds of organisms and stress to flora can mime or closely resemble the symptoms of a tomato spotted virus wilt infection .

Black or purple streaks on the fore can be symptomatic for TSWV infections on Dracaena . The plants may be stunt , and leaves may drop prematurely .

anthesis industrial plant may expose tintinnabulation or stripes , business , or colored patch on their flower petal .

Infected Plants Should be Purged

unfortunately , since this disease is so contagious and it may impact such a huge regalia of flora , you should throw out of your Dracaena if you think it is infect with this computer virus .

Black Stems on Dracaena are a Harbinger of Bad News

Several different sort of pathogens can cause your works to evolve fatal stems , ranging from a who ’s who of kingdom Fungi to a widespread and pernicious virus .

Unfortunately , by the clip your flora develops opprobrious stems , the condition is likely incurable .

you may prevent fungous infections bywatering carefully , and await for the soil to dry out before you water .

And for more information ongrowing Dracaenaplants at home , have a look at these articles next :

© necessitate the Experts , LLC . ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.See our TOSfor more item . Uncredited pic : Shutterstock . With extra writing and editing by Allison Sidhu .

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Helga George , PhD