I recently bought a Diffenbachia (dumb cane) in fair condition. The leaves started to turn brown and a few of the leaves had bug bites. So, I washed them and cut the stems back a bit. It started sprouting, but on the bottom a piece of the stalk rotted off. I have now managed to cut off all of the leaves except one, leaving just the new sprout and the stalk. Did I kill this Plant and can I start a new one from the base? I am fairly new to house plants but have managed to grow three different plants beautifully. Do I need to keep it in low light or by a window? And will it re-grow from the base or just from the top? Thank you in advance.

Don't worry, your plant is not dead yet, and it is possible to start a new plant from the base. The sprout that you described should eventually grow into a new stalk and new plant. You can also grow a new plant from the existing stalk using air layering. Air layering is a method of plant propagation where you make a small incision into the stem, wrap it in spaghnum moss in plastic, and then new roots will form from the incision mark. When the roots are fully formed, you can them cut the stalk off, and re-pot it to form a new plant. The following link is from Iowa State University, and has a great illustrative guide to air layering. http://www.extension.iastate.edu/Publications/PM268.pdf

You may want to check the roots and other stalks to make sure they are not suffering from rot. If so it they are, then it may be best to make new plants if the damage is very severe. The same also applies to pest damage.

Your Diffenbachia will continue to grow, but new leaves will form from the
top of the plant, and the lower leaves that you lost will unfortunately not
be replaced. Diffenbachias do best in medium light, so it will do best
placed in a window that receives a medium amount of indirect light.

Good luck with your Diffenbachia.

Answer from Adrienne Kleintop, Plantoasis.com Chief Editor. Contact info@plantoasis.com for more information.

My diffenbachia is quite mature, but has just started being plagued by yellow leaves. The yellow leaves appear to be the smaller leaves. The plant doesn't appear to be over watered.

Yellow leaves can be caused by several different factors in Diffenbachia. My first guess
would be that they are probably caused by the plant being too root-bound.
The following link has more information on how to determine if a plant is
too root-bound, and how to re-pot it.
http://www.plantoasis.com/articles/1001_1020/1001_re-potting.htm

If the plant is not root-bound, then it is also possible that the yellow
leaves may be caused by another factor, such as a nutrition-deficiency if it
has not been fertilized for a long time. In which case, fertilizing the
plant will probably help.

Best of luck,

Answer from Adrienne Kleintop, Plantoasis.com Chief Editor. Contact info@plantoasis.com for more information.

I want to get some plants for my home. What are some good plants to get that do not need a lot of sunlight? I live in an apartment and there aren't many windows.

The following are some easy to care for houseplants that have low light
requirements:

Heart-leaf Philodendron
Pothos
Peace Lily
Cast-Iron Plant
Chinese Evergreen
Neathe bella palm/ dwarf mountain palm

Good luck!

Answer from Adrienne Kleintop, Plantoasis.com Chief Editor. Contact info@plantoasis.com for more information.

I have a yellow fungus or mold growing in my houseplant soil. I think it came from the soil I bought from the dollar store. Can you help me identify and treat?

Unfortunately, I am not sure what type of fungus you have, and cannot
identify it. But I can offer some suggestions on how to get rid of it.

You could try scraping the fungus off of the soil. Additionally, you could
also apply a fungicide to the soil. You should be able to buy fungicide at
your local garden center. Just follow the instructions that come with the
fungicide for how to apply it.

Also, I am guessing that the fungus came from spores that were probably
already in the potting soil when you bought it. I am not sure what type of
plant you have, or how tightly its rootball is wound around the soil, but if
possible, it would probably be best if you could get rid of as much of the
soil as possible and replace it with new, fresh soil. Additionally, since
the spores probably came from the potting soil, it would be advisable not to
use the potting soil to re-pot other plants, since that might lead to more
fungus in other plants.

I hope that helps.

Answer from Adrienne Kleintop, Plantoasis.com Chief Editor. Contact info@plantoasis.com for more information.

Dracaena, about 7' tall, is outside for the time being. From the floor up to about half way it bears no leafs. The trunk is growing crooked. Someone told me to just cut off the top so it would have more room to grow taller. It is top heavy. What should I do?

One method that you can use to create a shorter, bushier plant (Dracaena here) is air layering. With air layering, you make a small wound in the plant's stem, and the plant then grows roots from this point. Once the roots are well-formed, you can cut the stem off at that point, and pot up the top part of your plant to form a new, shorter plant. And if you choose a point on the stem just below where the leaves start, you can create a bushier plant, and account for the loss of lower leaves on the parent plant.

The following link is from Iowa State University, and has a great illustrative guide to air layering. http://www.extension.iastate.edu/Publications/PM268.pdf

I hope that helps.

Answer from Adrienne Kleintop, Plantoasis.com Chief Editor. Contact info@plantoasis.com for more information.