Grow Dracaena Marginata
Dracaena Marginata, often called the dragon tree, is a popular indoor plant originally from East Africa that is often used to adorn homes and offices. Easy to care for because of its low light and water needs, it features green, thin leaves with red and yellow strips along the edges; these grow from a thin cane that can reach heights of 15 feet (or 5 meters). The best way to grow dracaenas is to buy a small one from a nursery and plant it in a simple pot. After that, the necessary care is very simple. As the plant ages, it will continue to grow and sprout new branches and leaves up to 2 feet or 2/3 of a meter long, while lower leaves may fall off naturally.
Contents
Steps
General approach to planting
- Buy or find a baby dracaena marginata.
- Fill appropriate size pot for the size plant with standard potting soil. Do not over-pot.
- Transplant the dracaena marginata into the new pot.
- Place the pot in an area low in natural light.
- Dracaenas flourish with constant, low-intensity light. Do not place them in an area where the sun strikes directly, especially in the afternoon, but keep them out of dark corners. Likewise, low-intensity fluorescent lighting is ideal for dracaenas; more intense, direct light can be damaging.
- Water the dracaena approximately once a week.
- Because of their low water needs, it's important not to over-water dracaenas. Soak the soil about once a week; wait until the top of the soil is dry to the touch before watering again. If you are in a dry or warm area, you may need to water more regularly. Do not let dracaenas sit in water.
- Maintain a temperature of 65 to 75 degrees Fahrenheit (or 18 to 24 degrees Celsius) around the plant.
- Maintain a relative humidity of 30 to 40 percent around the plant.
- Use a hygrometer to measure humidity. They can be purchased for around $15 at most hardware stores.
- Regularly wipe the leaves with a damp cloth.
- This helps both to remove dust and to keep the leaves fresh. If the plant is in a particularly dry area, spraying the leaves with water mist can also help.
- Use liquid fertilizer on the dracaena once or twice a month.
Outdoor planting of Dracena Marginata in Florida
- Dig and prepare hole. Dig a hole two times the width and two times the depth of the potted plant root ball. Plant at least 3 feet from house wall to allow for growth and access to wall for painting.
- Backfill hole so that top of root ball is {{safesubst:#invoke:convert|convert}} above topsoil line. Water the soil in and around hole until water "puddles" in hole. Let the water seep down.
- Place the plant in the hole and center it. Make sure top of root ball is {{safesubst:#invoke:convert|convert}} above top of hole or soil line. Add more soil in hole it necessary.
- Fill in spaces around plant with soil. Tamp down soil lightly. Be sure to place all dirt back around plant to allow for settling.
- Water around the plant using a spray pattern until the soil is slightly wet. Do not over-water.
- Fertilize if the soil is of a poor or sandy texture. Then watch it grow.
Tips
- Pest problems are rare with dracaenas, especially as they are usually an indoor plant. If you notice small holes in the leaves that may be indicative of spider mites or other pests, spray the plant with insecticide.
- Dracaenas are resilient but may die from such problems as too little water, pests, or fungus. Follow the troubleshooting advice given above for specific problems. If none of these works, start watering the plant more heavily and move it into an area with greater light. If the leaves turn yellow, you are watering too much. Try adding fertilizer to make the plant stronger. Ultimately, the only thing you can do to save your dracaena is tweak the amount of light and water, spray for pests, and change the soil.
- If you want to propagate your dracaena and grow another, cut off a branch in the spring or summer and plant it. You should have a new dracaena shooting within a week or so.
- If you dracaena develops brown or droopy branches, cut the tips of these off with scissors. New leaves should grow at the spot where you cut.
- Dracaenas sometimes develop brown or gray spots on their leaves. This may be due either to too much fluoride, salt in the soil, or fungus. First, try switching to distilled water. If the problem persists, move the dracaena to a spot with better air circulation. If spots are still appearing, put the dracaena in a new pot with a different kind of soil from the first.
Warnings
- Fluoride can seriously damage dracaenas. Do not use water with high levels of fluoride, and avoid soil with perlite and fertilizers with superphosphate, as these contain fluoride.
Things You'll Need
- Flower pot
- Potting soil
- Water
- Liquid fertilizer
