running out of time!

[serdna]

Hi folks,
I'm new to the site and new to home ownership, so I'll probably be on here fairly often. I am in need of some assistance. I have had this plant for a few months now, I don't know what it is or how to care for it. Hopefully somebody will be able to point me in the right direction. Thanks in Advance!
Andres

[Newt]

Hi Andres,

Congratulations on your new home.* Your plant appears to be Dracaena deremensis 'Warneckii' aka Striped Dracaena aka Dracaena Warnecki.* There are cane and bush types.* I suspect yours is the cane type.
http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/i...Warneckii.html
http://www.denverplants.com/foliage/html/drwarncn.htm
http://www.denverplants.com/foliage/html/DrWarn.htm

The leaves of yours appear to be curled, possibly from being too dry.* I would recommend you water when the top 2" of soil is dry.* You can put your finger into the soil up to the 2nd knuckle.* Then water so the water runs through to the saucer.* Drain off any water after 10 minutes.

If you will be asking questions about plants in the garden it would be a good idea to add your state and hardiness zone to your profile.* That way we won't have to ask each time you post a question.* If you aren't sure of your hardiness zone you can use this zip code zone finder.
http://www.gardenweb.com/zones/zip.cgi

Newt

[serdna]

Newt,
Thank you so much for your help and the extremely fast response! It's no wonder the poor thing wasn't growing, the last thing we tried was a high fertilized soil! oops! The links were great and I will remedy the soil issue immediately. I have a decent sized yard and high hopes for what it will look like in the future. I look forward to picking your brain and learning more about keeping things green!
Thanks again!
Andres

[Newt]

Andres, you are very welcome!* Wow, it looks like where you live you don't get much rain.
http://www.wrcc.dri.edu/pcpn/nm.gif

You might want to consider xeriscaping your new landscape.* Your water bill will be smaller.* :)*

Don't hesitate to ask questions.
Newt

[serdna]

We actually have the front yard xeriscaped and are planning to do pretty drought tolerant plants and trees in the back yard. I already have some really nice cacti picked out and am just tossing ideas around for the rest of the yard. After we get the inside of the house where we want it, I'll post some picks of the yard and maybe we can toss some ideas back and forth. Thanks again for your help and look forward to chatting more!
Andres

[Newt]

Andres, I would love to help you come up with plant ideas for the yard.* It's one of my favorite things to do.* In the meantime, when you have time, you can look at these sites and drool.* ;)* You might want to save them for future reference too.* It always amazes me how much color and variety is available for dryer gardens.
http://cals.arizona.edu/pima/gardening/gardening.html
http://www.highcountrygardens.com/
http://www.wildflower.org/

Good luck with the interior renovations.* I just went through stage 2 of our renovation and now we have to paint every room.* Still a bit more to go as the budget allows.

Newt

[serdna]

Ah yes, ye ol budget! I dream of being free of that little snag one of these days! Take care, good luck on your projects, look forward to talking more. ;)
Andres