Brown Tips on dracaena
What's Happening
Dracaena species (especially D. fragrans and D. marginata) are hyper-sensitive to fluoride, chlorine, and mineral salts found in municipal tap water. These chemicals accumulate in the leaf tips over 4-8 weeks, causing cell necrosis that manifests as crispy brown or yellow tips.
How to Fix It
- 1
Switch immediately to distilled water, rainwater, or reverse osmosis (RO) water.
- 2
Flush the soil thoroughly (3x pot volume) with distilled water to leach out accumulated salts.
- 3
Trim brown tips with sterilized shears, following the natural leaf curve but leaving a tiny sliver of brown to avoid re-wounding healthy tissue.
How to Prevent It
Avoid tap water entirely. Use well-draining soil with 30% perlite to prevent salt buildup. Avoid fertilizers with high superphosphate content which often contains fluoride.