Dracaena Species, Dragon Tree, Red-Margined Dracaena, Madagascar Dragon Tree

my husband had one of these trees when i met him. we originally were told it was a "pencil palm" until i did some research and discovered...Read More it was a dracaena marginata. they're beautiful trees, and look really neat when the stalks get tall and start to get twisted and bendy from the weight of the heads. they do well here in central florida. we water ours about twice a week in the summer (unless it rains; and only so frequently because it's in full sun, in a pot). i fertilize it with milorganite once every 3 months, and fish emulsion once a month during the growing season, and it's doing wonderful. has grown 5 new stalks this year! a great, easy to care for plant!

I had this plant as a house plant before I moved here 9 years ago. I planted it outside and it done well. When it freezes I cut back th...Read Moree damaged part and it will regrow otherwise it comes back from root.

Well i have a dragon and it is a very easy plant to care for, i aint no green fingered man but the main reason for this plant to die is t...Read Moreo much care(yes to much care)WATER WATER WATER DONT OVER DO IT... just leave it and water very little. i use miricle grow all purpose plat food once every 2-3 weeks in spring through to summer . in the winter monthes i just leave it no water unless it starts to really dry out.... i have just taken cuttings from this plant and willl post pics in few weeks if all goes well...GR8 site by the way dave keep it up....Rich

I really enjoy this plant, originally it was purchased with the stems twisted into a heart shape, i think it was for valentines day or so...Read Moremething, i tried staking and pulling the branches apart for a few months so it would spread out a bit more but could only get them to stay about half way. About a month ago i cut one of the heads off trying to get a new shoot to form that would go straight up but nothing has sprouted yet. Wondering if its going to do anything or if i should cut the branch all the way back to the original break so it doesn't look so weird?

Also it had alot of fungus gnats so i drenched it with a water/soap combo, waiting to see if that got rid of them.

My first plant was lost at 45*

I have had several of these in my life. I find them very easy to care for. But the biggest thing is DO NOT OVER WATER. I feel that the wa...Read Moreter recommendation here should be changed from "Average Water Needs; Water regularly; do not over water" to "let dry between waterings". I watered it according to the basic house plant rule of dry to first kuckle-time to water. until the stem went soft and I got fungus knats and the plant died. so the next one I got I rarely water. It is the least watered plant in my house, and that includes the succulents. It has been doing fine for almost two years.

Last year I moved and unfortunately one of the tops broke off (I have one with a single stem that was chopped and three more came out) last year when I moved. From that brake point it has grown 3-4 inches (maybe more) in the last twelve months.

Sun to Partial Shade might be ideal. But if you don't have a place with lots of sun you can still keep this plant. Mine has lived on top of a bookshelf for the past year. The shelf is about 15' from a large but northwest facing window. It never gets any direct sunlight. In the evening it gets artificial light from our lamps. I also used to work in a shop where my boss kept a very large dragon tree in the lobby area. It was 20-25' from the window and behind a shelf so it also did not receive any direct sunlight. This plant was taller then me including the pot. I do not know how old it was.

I have never had a bad experience unti now.
HELP!!!! HELP!!!!!
I have a Madagascar Dragon Tree for 32 years, plant is di...Read Moreeing, leaves and trunks drying and withering. Soil was foul someone over watered, I flushed, no help, I changed most of the soil. I really need assistance. Anything I can do.

I bought my plant on sale on a "It's pretty feeling" but had to put it in the back of my truck in the canadian winter so now its drooping...Read More and I have no idea if its dead or if it can be saved. If any one has any info they can give on if it is savable that would be great.

We have our dracaena in a pot, but I will tell you we went through a learning process with this one. It does not like to be overwatered,...Read More as many have mentioned. The secret is to not water it until the leaves wilt. We water ours no more than once a week. In Florida, we've learned to just water it as needed and like I mentioned, it will die if you overwater.

I've had a Dracaena marginata since the fall of 2002. It's the only plant I have from college that is still alive. It's not the fastest g...Read Morerowing plant on the block, but it is fun to watch it send out new leaves and drop the old ones. It's hard to kill this plant, as it can handle a wide variety of lighting situations. It accepts neglect well, but really appreciates some TLC from time to time.

It has dealt with a lot of poor treatment on my part, which ultimately killed one of the two stems I had growing. I've learned a lot about container gardening since then, and my marginata is the happiest of all my foliage plants.

A.K.A Madagascar Dragon Tree.

I got mine just as a last minute grab on sale at some discount store. It was marked way down and I had no idea what it was. It thrived ...Read Moreon the front porch, and like many posters here, my cats loved to chew on it. It survived a winter without me paying too much attention to it, back on the porch for another summer, then back inside for the winter at which time it finally grabbed my attention.

It dropped the bottom leaves. I have now read there can be several reasons for this. One, it's rooting out and natural for it to drop the bottom leaves. Two, it's overwatered, and three, it's underwatered.

My plant definitely does not like too much water. I did place it on the dryer, next to the washing machine next to a south window. The humidity from the washer is making it very happy and I have learned to water it just a little.

It is too tall now for my cats to reach the foliage. What really got me is my grandkids showed up for Thanksgiving this year and they all threw a fit over this exotic looking plant and had much discussion among themselves over what it may be. Now we are talking 8, 7, 5 and 3 years of age. If kids are impressed, it must be interesting. I love this plant and intend to re-pot it into a shiny red glass pot next spring. I'm tempted to cut it back to see if it will grow extra shoots, but I'm a little cautious as I don't want to ruin it's beauty. Maybe I'll just cut a notch in the side first.

AS a little extra note for you cat owners. I have learned to put lava rocks on the top of the soil in my houseplants to keep my cats from digging in the dirt. The lava is beneficial for the plants and the cats don't like to dig in it as it is rough on their little paws.

I have had a green one for a few years now. It is potted in a small 6" pot and stays in my kitchen where it gets no direct sun at all. ...Read MoreIt has survived my once a month (if that) waterings, no sun, pure neglect. Granted, it is growing quite slowly, but is still looking well. I have purchased a quadruple braided one to put at my front door and that one is happy, too. Seeing how well the others have done, I have gotten some 6 or so more to put in my front yard landscaping. I havent planted them yet, but they should be just fine.
So, if you want something fluffy and nice and will still survive neglect, even as a houseplant, this will do just fine.

A friend gave the Dragon over two years ago and it is THRIVING in full sun out in our yard. Why is it in full sun? When we moved to our ...Read Morenew place about 1 year ago we didn't have room for it inside so it went out in the yard and I had NO CLUE about plants, but apparently it works in the sun too!

I don't think I have watered it more than twice (the sprinklers get it a bit) and it is doing fine. It is over 6' and we got it when it was 3.5'-4'

I received this in a basket full of plants from a co-worker when she quit about a year ago. I have since separated it from the other pla...Read Morents because I thought it was so beautiful. I didn't even know what it actually was until today.

I watered it too much and the tips leaves started to turn brown. I have since cut back to watering mine once a week, about a half of a cup of water. The new leaves seem to be doing much better.

I keep the water away from the trunk so that it doesn't rot and I haven't had any problems.

About a week ago I repotted it in Miracle Grow Moisture Control potting soil and it seems to love it. There are already new leaves starting to form.

I had this plant indoors and was very happy with it. I liked how it added "texture" to my living room. Until... my baby was born and I fo...Read Morergot to water it (sniff). It has lost all of the leaves and the steams are soft. Is there still hope for it?

Grown as a houseplant here in the northwest, it is easy to care for. During the summer, it stays outside in the full sun all the time. ...Read MoreDuring winter, it is grown by a south window with a growlight (periodically). It winters well indoors, I keep it a little drier in the winter, last year one of the cats started chewing on the bottom-most leaves and ruined the finely-tipped ends. I had to re-cut the ends to clean it up and will put it higher this winter.

This is a wonderful indoor plant that requires little care for a plant of its size.

Functions well under many different li...Read Moreght situations, & tolerates dryness well. In fact, as others here have noted - it does best when not kept "soggy". You'll know when it's overdue for a drink, as the leaves witll start to turn downward. Not wilting, just turning downward like a folding umbrella.

Oh, & another poster here stated that this plant is "toxic to cats". Nothing could be further from the truth. I have 7 housecats who have grazed mercilessly on the lower leaves of my 6' Dracaena marginata's over a period of several years & have yet to have a fatality or one even sick. In addition, this plant does not appear on legitimate poison plant lists for pets.

Don't let this erroneous information keep you from trying one of these if they interest you.

The dragon tree is a beautiful addition to my home. Mine is taller than me now and I'd have to go count how many heads it's got now...it...Read More's gotten so many! I took a cutting recently to see how well it would grow without soil. But I wasn't able to just leave it in water because it started to rot, so I switched it to the hydroponics "wick system" using perlite and charcoal as a medium. So far, it's doing wonderfully. I put the main plant in the bathroom because it loves humidity (it keeps the leaves up) and water it about every 2 weeks or so...it doesn't mind some neglect and I think it enjoys it. In fact, the soil should allow for drainage. Also, dracaena prefers the soil to be more acid than alkaline. Because the lighting is poor in my bathroom, I use a 13 watt flourescent light (a desklamp) for about 10 or more hours a day.
As for the gnats (also known as fungus gnats), if your plant is smaller, you can soak it in a small concentration of bleach and water for an hour and that will kill the gnats and will not harm your plant. But if your plant is larger, I would water your plant with soapy water and also spray (keep ventilated) with a bug killer especially designed to be used for plants. Try to make sure it lists "fungus gnats" on the label. Email me if you'd like a good brand.
The brown tips are most likely due to the soil being too alkaline. Try making your soil more acidic. I've heard of people doing this by adding iron sulfate or aluminum sulfate.

I've been very happy with this plant in my house. It was very healthy until some days ago. We've had some 44 Cº then, and the plant just...Read More left all leafs fell to the gronud. It looks alive though.

I don't know what to think of it. Was it the heat or is there any natural reaction to its age ? (It's four years old now) All the leafs turned yellow and twisted before falling. This also looks like it had to much water...

I'm a little confused. Can anybody give a hand, please ?

I bought this plant a year ago but quickly found out the soil was infested with gnats. There were two plants growing from the same pot an...Read Mored I decided to do an experiment. I cut both plants at the base and let the cuttings sit in water. Several leaves died but rooted very quickly. After a year, both plants are still in the water which I feed with a few drops of hydroponic nutrients and both plants are lush and seem very happy and no leaves have died since then.

Native of Madagascar usually they like a wet peroid followed by marked drying. Humidity levels should be moderate. I dont ever water min...Read Moree unless it starts to wilt.
Grows faster in moderate light than in shady conditions. mist often in winter.Feed regulrarly with palm fertilizer..also loves extra iron.

I love these plants, but I can attest to the fact that they don't like a lot of water. I drowned one earlier this year. The stem gets k...Read Moreind of soft. It's a cruel, cruel death for a plant. My new one seems to do well being watered only when it asks for some.

I recently purchased a red-margined dracaena very cheaply at a discount-store garden center, as one of the two tops was broken off. I po...Read Moretted it in a good quality potting soil and placed it in morning sun, and it has really grown nicely the last few months. The top just grew back without any "split."

I have friends...who recently salvaged a dozen very tall Dracaena. My friends told me they could just stick the six-foot-tall Dracaena plants in potting soil, in a pot, and they would root.

I was dubious, but I was over at their place a few days ago, and all of the dracaenas they got in the Keys have rooted and are looking great. Here in northcentral Florida, zone 8b, Dracaena have to be overwintered inside or in a greenhouse.

The Southern Living Garden Book notes that D. marginata will eventually grow to 12 feet tall, and that if the plant grows too tall, the crown can be cut off and it will reroot. Then new crowns will appear on the old stem. The book also mentions a cultivar called 'Candy Cane,' which has a gold stripe.

I'm sure you can slit the stem for a new shoot. I have 'Tricolor' as a house plant, and accidentally snapped off the top of one of the th...Read Moreree I have in a pot. It promptly grew a split new top (two stems). It can thrive in pretty low light, even indoors. And yes, it can (somewhat) dry between watering. It does NOT like to be "soggy".

When I lived in Michigan I had great success with this plant indoors. Now I live in Florida and have two of them, both thriving outdoors...Read More in full sun to partial shade.

I seem to remember seeing an article years ago that said if you cut a small slice in the stem, a new shoot will grow.

I recently bought four Dracaenas to use in my science project, which involves studying how different types of music might affect plant li...Read Morefe. I have never grown Dracaena before.

There are at least three varieties of Dracaena marginata commonly available.
D. marginata has green leaves with re...Read Moreddish-purple edges; D. marginata 'Tricolor' has green leaves striped with yellow and red; and D. marginata 'Colorama' has mostly red leaves with a thin green stripe along the middle.

I love this plant, but I have a lot of troble with the leaf tips. I have children, who love to touch them; however I have seen others gro...Read Morewing in open areas where many people come in contact with the plant, so that can not be the problem, so I wonder if it could be planted too deeply.

I took one of the plants and inter-planted it with a Nephthytis (Syngonium species), and they look beautiful together.

I also examined the roots while I had a chance, there were some bulbs attached at the side of the base of the plant and tons of roots that I gingerly loosened. As for my other plants I planted them deeper, as I could not get them to stay upright.

My plants are only 18 inches high, with a 12-15 inch spread. Overall, I realy enjoy this plant but I sure need to know alot more about it.

My Dracaena has been difficult to figure out the correct amount of water: it seems to like drying out more than watering regularly. Every...Read More time I water it always has a number of leaves turn light brown and drop. I recently had two branches lose all their leaves. I don't know if they'll grow back.

This tree is inside and is tall (6 feet) but spindly at the top branches.The lower branches are full. I think it might need re-potting as it is very old.

I have rooted a small sprig in water, and I will experiment leaving it in water to see how long it will grow. I have lots of plants growing in water now, changeing the water every 2 weeks. They are thriving so well and no dropped leaves; I add two drops of Miracle-Gro (water-soluble fertilizer) now and then.

It is toxic to cats.

Grows very slowly, many different colors.