Fluoride and salt sensitivity

What's happening

Dracaena marginata can't process the fluoride, chlorine, and dissolved salts found in most tap water and in many fertilizers. Those minerals accumulate in the soil and travel to the very tips of the long, thin leaves, where they collect and burn the tissue — leaving sharply browned, sometimes yellow-bordered tips while the rest of the leaf stays green.

How to fix it

Switch to filtered, distilled, or rainwater, or let tap water sit out uncovered overnight so some chlorine dissipates. Flush the pot every couple of months by running plenty of clean water through the soil until it drains freely, to wash out built-up salts. Avoid superphosphate fertilizers, which contain fluoride. Trim the browned tips at an angle with clean scissors to mimic the leaf's natural point.

This is general guidance based on common symptoms; individual plants vary.