4

Recently I noticed that my dracaena dragon tree center leaves have a green yellowish color. First I thought it might be new leaves, but the tips of these leaves are brown. I checked the moisture level, it seems okay as you can see in second image.

Whole plant Plant base with moisture tester Dragon Tree Base Dragon Tree

I'm keeping it indoors as I'm living in Arabia with scorching heat, as heat reaches peak in August. I water it every 4 days.

OmiPenguin
  • 792
  • 3
  • 15
  • Is that root material from the plant I can see on top of the soil in the second photo, to the left on top of the soil in the pot? There do seem to be visible roots at the base of the stems as well, but maybe I'm not seeing it clearly... How long's it been in the same pot? – Bamboo Aug 29 '18 at 21:06
  • No that is coco peat . I purchased it a month ago. And seller moved it to bigger pot – OmiPenguin Aug 30 '18 at 06:43

1 Answers1

1

I believe this to be a pest I have not seen in a long time, the false spider mite or Brevipalpus phoenicis.

The symptoms would be:

  • usually only seen on Dracaena Marginata
  • none of they usual signs of the most common pest: spider mites, no webbing, no grain of salt sized white eggs
  • yellowing or chlorotic areas found in the new growth
  • if left alone the new growth in the centre becomes brown and dry and plant continues to lose leaves from the newest to oldest

I found this very difficult to control as you often did not know the plant had a problem until it was quite advanced. You may wish to use a magnifying glass to confirm the diagnosis. Note that the eggs are hidden in the leaf tissue.

Usually 4 to 8 clusters of eggs are present, normally deposited in cracks or the hollow cavities in leaves created when the internal mesophyll has been destroyed

Control can be attempted by using a mixture of 5 ml of dish soap, 5 ml of isopropyl alcohol (Rubbing alcohol) to 1 liter of water.

Use a rag or cloth and wet in the mixture. Wipe the top and bottom of every leaf with this. Repeat at five to six day intervals at least three times.

kevinskio
  • 57,927
  • 9
  • 76
  • 157
  • im morning i checked for Spider mite using flash but couldn't see them, guess i will have to buy Magnifying glass. I came across a video that even cold water can also kill spider mite. is that right ? – OmiPenguin Aug 30 '18 at 06:44
  • Water does not kill spider mites or false mites. That would be great if it worked – kevinskio Aug 30 '18 at 10:43
  • I looked for the Spider mites couldn't find a single – OmiPenguin Sep 02 '18 at 07:15
  • If it is false spider mites the eggs will be hidden in cracks in the leaves. That is why it is hard to diagnose. – kevinskio Sep 02 '18 at 15:19
  • Ok then going to pharmacist to purchase magnify glass – OmiPenguin Sep 02 '18 at 16:08
  • Update: Plant died 3 months later, well after killing few plants, i learned how important Light is for Plants. There were no pests on that but it was starting to root bound. There were three roots stacked at the bottom rim of pot – OmiPenguin Dec 23 '20 at 05:32