There are a few members of the Dracaena family and they have long been popular house plants. Dracaena Fragrans is sometimes called Corn Plant as it somewhat resembles corn. Dracaena is grown in a variety of forms including the tip, bush, staggered, character and standard. This versatile plant can be anywhere from one foot tall to twenty feet tall. You will not often find Dracaena plants much larger than 6-7 feet tall except in interior landscapes, botanical gardens, or in nature.
The most common Dracaena house plants you are likely to find offered for sale at your local garden center or home improvement store are the Dracaena Marginata, Dracaena Warneckii, Massangeana and the Dracaena Janet Craig. These Dracaena plants are also the ones most often used in the interior landscape. Their tolerance of lower light makes them well suited for use under the artificial light available in many offices and the limited light you have in many homes.
These are some of the best house plants and make great additions to any home while requiring minimal care. Bright indirect light is best and they will take some morning sun. Most Dracaena will tolerate lower light levels for some time with reduced watering frequency. If placed in very low light, your Dracaena plant will eventually become thin and leggy.
Dracaena house plant care questions? You can send a houseplant care question but before you do, please read this information on watering your indoor houseplants, how to help keep your houseplant's root system healthy, lighting for your houseplants, and basic houseplant care. These are most important for your houseplant's health and this is some of the information I will refer you to if you send an email.
Working in the interior landscape industry, I get a lot of questions from customers about their personal houseplants. It is nice to be able to help them keep their indoor house plants growing and healthy. That is why I started this website, to help others with their house plant care so please read on, Plant Lover!
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Watering Dracaena - In lower to medium light, you should water Dracaena when potting media has dried down 1/2 to 3/4 the depth of the pot. If your Dracaena is in very bright light, allow the soil to dry down about 1/2 the depth of the soil depth before watering thoroughly. Please read the sections on watering indoor house plants and lighting for indoor house plants for information on two things that will most impact your plants health.
For the most part, dracaena is a beautiful easy care houseplant. If you have a Dracaena plant in a fairly large pot, it is a good idea to check the soil with a moisture meter or soil probe before you water.
You will need to be careful watering Dracaena fragrans and most Dracaenas. New plants with minimal roots should be watered around the cane only. Established plants with a good root system can be watered thoroughly. They are very prone to rot if kept too wet.
Some signs of over watering may be yellowing leaf tips, root rot and pale new growth with dark tips. More to the dry side is better but don't be extreme either. The first sign of under watering will be a slight drooping of the leaves and leaf margins or edges may start to curl.
In high light areas be sure you do not let the soil dry out completely as your dracaena will wilt and once this happens it will take a long time to recover.
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Dracaena does best in a bright, indirect light situation. With good care, it can be maintained in somewhat lower lighting. Do not place in hot, direct sun. It is prone to root rot if over-watered, especially in lower light. Spider mites will often be a problem as will leaf scorch if your Dracaena house plant is placed in an overly hot, sunny location.
Leave your Dracaena plant in a nursery grow pot with drainage holes at the bottom and set that into the pretty container you purchased for your home. Having no way to remove excess water from the roots and soil makes it more likely that you will have a problem with over watering. Make sure you size properly as there should be an inch or two of room between the decorative container and the nursery pot. This will provide adequate air circulation. If you must direct pot, use a clay pot as this is porous and will allow the root system of your plant to breathe.
Remove lower leaves as they yellow and trim brown tips to the natural leaf shape, as needed. It is normal for a new plant to shed some of its old foliage when it is moved to a new environment. Expect new additions to your home to do this. Given the proper care, it should acclimate and become a beautiful, trouble free plant.
It is a good idea to quarantine any new additions to your indoor house plant family for a few weeks just to be sure there are not any insects that were not noticed at first. Wash down your new indoor house plant with a mixture of water and mild dish detergent. I like to add a few drops of Eucalyptus essential oil or Orange essential oil to my house plant cleaning solution.
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Apply to top and lower leaf and stem surfaces of your house plants, being careful not to saturate the soil. You can clean by hand or use a spray bottle to apply your house plant cleaning solution. I use a sponge moistened with my cleaning solution to gently wipe the top and lower leaf surfaces. Cleaning of your houseplants should be a regular part of your houseplant care.
Never apply anything to the foliage of your plant while it is in the sun or when the soil is dry. Water first and move to a shady location. Hope this has been helpful to you as you care for your indoor plants and flowers! More houseplant care information below...
Questions about your indoor house plants or plant care problems? You can send a house plant question, free of charge, no sign ups, registration or log in required!
Before you send a houseplant care question, please be sure to read this information on watering your indoor house plants, how to help keep your your indoor house plants root system healthy and lighting for your indoor house plants and flowers. These are most important for the health of your house plants and this is some of the information I will refer you to if you send an indoor house plant or flower care question.
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Thanks for visiting and come back soon as houseplant care information, pictures and more are being added all of the time. I hope that your indoor tropical house plants and all of your plants and flowers are happy, green and growing because that is why I started this indoor house plant and flower care website, PlantAndFlowerInfo.com.
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