Proper care of dracaena in a pot at home - features of care immediately after purchase

After purchasing any variety of dracaena, the flower must be kept in quarantine, which lasts 2 weeks.
Since peat is not suitable for the Dragon tree, it requires replanting in a soil mixture for palm trees. Then a bright place is chosen in the west, east or south. Varieties with light foliage require more light. We will discuss below how to provide dracaena with proper care at home.

Dracaena

Dracaenas are popular plants due to their ease of growing and wonderful leaves that will add greenery and beauty to any corner of your home or office. The amazing tropical and graceful appearance of the plant is liked by many. I will tell you how to care for dracaena at home in this article. Dracaena can be classified as an unpretentious indoor plant that even beginning gardeners can grow. And yet, caring for dracaena is determined by some features that will help grow healthy, beautiful flowers.

Interesting! The name dracaena comes from the Greek drakaina "dragon" tree Draco Dracaena. This plant was considered by the local population to be a pro-dune dragon, the Guanches attribute magical properties to it, as it has many healing abilities. This belief was due to the fact that the juice that thickens the air turns red (dragon's blood).

General information

The places where Dracaena grows in natural conditions are Central and Eastern Africa, the Canary Islands, India, South America. In appearance, the plant looks like a palm tree, but the leaves are not so hard. In nature, it reaches the height of an average tree. There are succulent shrubs.

Dracaena belongs to the asparagus family. An evergreen plant can be giant, dwarf or ordinary. The shape of the trunk is tree-like, in some specimens reaching a diameter of 2 meters. At home, the trunk grows no more than half a meter in height.

The leaves can be either variegated or gray-green with a blue tint, long (up to half a meter) and not wide (from 2 to 4 centimeters). The green mass covers only the top layer of the stem. The lower leaves eventually turn yellow and fall off, exposing the trunk. The root system is straight and smooth, dark yellow or orange in color. The inflorescences resemble panicles in appearance. The flowers are creamy green or white and look like stars.

General information about the plant

Dracaenas are known to many indoor plant lovers. In apartment conditions, plants are grown for their magnificent leaves. The genus Dracaena consists of one hundred and fifty species of trees, succulent shrubs and evergreen shrubs. It is worth noting that previously dracaena, like yucca and cordyline, belonged to the agave family. Subsequently, a separate family was identified, which was called Dracaenaceae, but all Dracaenae were included as a genus in the Asparagus family.

The plant is native to the Canary Islands, Guinea, tropical Africa, the island of Madagascar, South Asia, West Africa and Guinea. The height of dracaenas in nature reaches six meters, but in apartments plants grow up to three meters. One of the brightest representatives of the genus grows on the Canary Islands in Ethiopia and Somalia and produces red resin. Thanks to this phenomenon, this dracaena is called the Dragon tree “Dracena draco”. The name of the genus comes from the word “dracaina” (ancient Greek) and translated means “female dragon”.

The largest number of dracaena species grows in Africa, in South Asia there are only a few species, and in the tropical region of Central America there is one species.

Dracaena leaves are hard, leathery and linear, collected in bunches located on the smooth trunk of the plant, mainly at the top, but dracaena can also produce a bud at the bottom of the trunk and in the middle. The leaves are both narrow and long, collected in spreading rosettes, and curved and arched, up to ten centimeters wide and up to seventy centimeters long.

The veins on the leaves are parallel and join at the end of the leaf. For some time now, plants have become not only ornamental, but also industrial crops. The fibrous leaves, having the properties of horsehair and bristles, became suitable for the production of brushes.

Dracaenas are also grown as a fancy and unusual standard tree. In this case, the plant resembles a small palm tree. Therefore, the flower is often called “false palm”. Used as a central plant in a composition or as a single plant. They are valued for the beauty of their green, variegated, and striped leaves. During winter, the plant successfully survives a short-term drop in temperature of 1-2 degrees. In flower shops you can see parts of dracaenas with several rooted shoots at the top. Such forms can also be obtained individually, by rooting parts of the trunk.

How to care for dracaeno after purchase

What care does dracaena require after purchase? Flower growers have different opinions on this issue. Some believe that the plant should be allowed to acclimatize to new conditions for two to three weeks and then replanted. Others believe that replanting should be done immediately after purchase, while others say that replanting is not necessary at all. To clearly understand these arguments, let’s look at all the opinions in order.

If the purchased plant has a healthy appearance, bright leaves, it is not crowded in the pot and the soil is not depleted, then replanting is not required. It is advisable to wait until spring (recommended in March-April) and transship the flower. Transplanting into a new pot after purchase is performed for the first time using the transshipment method, without disturbing the root ball.

Urgent transplantation of dracaena after purchase is required in the following cases:

1. If the plant is cramped in the pot. On average, with a flower height of 45 cm, the diameter of the flower pot should be at least fifteen centimeters. If this rule is not followed, you need to transfer the plant to a larger pot 1-4 weeks after purchase (depending on the condition of the plant).
2. If the soil in the pot is depleted or the plant grows in special conditions. substrate used during transportation. It is worth knowing that today many plants come to our shelves from abroad. Therefore, when purchasing, be sure to clarify where the plant came from. The plant must be replanted if there is a transport substrate.
3. If the base of the soil is peat, then the flower must be replanted immediately, completely freeing the root system and replacing the substrate with a new one. The reason for urgent replanting is peat, which retains moisture; this will cause the roots of the plant to be constantly wet, which will entail the process of rotting.

Caring for dracaena at home

Location and lighting

The flower does not want direct sunlight to illuminate it, but it also needs a lot of light. Dracaena domestica does not tolerate direct sunlight. Basically, indoor plants are placed in large, spacious rooms with diffused light. The light is sunny and bright, although the dracaena needs to be shaded from direct rays. Varieties with green leaves are shade-tolerant. In regions with temperate climates it can grow outdoors, but without drafts.

Temperature

Dracaena, being from a warm climate, does not tolerate cold. It grows well in hot and humid environments at temperatures around 26 ° C. When it drops to 15 ° C, the plant begins to suffer. Dracaena feels great in the interior of a winter garden with a constant temperature of 17 - 20 degrees. When keeping the plant, the temperature in the room in summer is no more than twenty-seven to twenty-eight degrees (optimal 20-23).

In the winter season, the temperature range is sixteen to eighteen degrees (not lower than twelve). In winter, the indoor plant must be installed in a room with a temperature of no more than eight to ten degrees.

Watering

Dracaena requires constantly moist soil, but not a substrate flooded with water. From April to October (the period of active growth), dracaena needs moderate watering, with water at room temperature, and the substrate should not be allowed to become waterlogged. Since the flower exists in nature in a humid environment, it needs daily spraying. In winter, watering is performed occasionally once or twice, over a period of three to four months. In winter, the substrate in the pot should be slightly damp.

Top dressing

During the spring-summer period, dracaena should be fertilized every week with liquid fertilizer along with irrigation water in small quantities (1/3 of what is specified in the fertilizer). In the autumn-winter period, feeding is suspended. Fertilizer feeding is carried out only in the summer, once every two to three weeks.

When it comes to choosing fertilizers, a good rule of thumb is to read the label that lists the ingredients. For dracaenas to grow quickly, it is preferable to use fertilizers that have a sufficiently high level of nitrogen (N) and potassium (K), which mainly contribute to the development of this plant. Also, check that in addition to macronutrients (nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), potassium (K)), it also contains microelements such as magnesium (Mg), iron (Fe), manganese (Mn), copper ( Cu), zinc (Zn), boron (b), molybdenum (Mo), all are important for proper care of dracaena.

Some types of dracaena do not have a dormant period; they are fed with complex fertilizer once every seven days in the summer, and once a month in the winter.

Trimming

In general, dracaenas are not pruned. The basal leaves are dried slowly to prevent the occurrence of parasitic diseases; they are cut off. Be careful to ensure that the tools used for pruning are clean and disinfected (preferably flame) to avoid tissue contamination.

Soil, replanting

It is advisable to replant young plants annually. An adult dracaena is usually replanted every two to three years, in the spring, but if you follow the rules for caring for dracaena at home, it may be necessary to replant every year, as the plant grows quickly. In addition, the plant requires a lot of space for its roots. When transplanting, the container is taken 3-4 cm larger than the previous one. Be sure to use high-quality drainage.

The soil for dracaenas plays one of the main roles in development. The soil must be nutritious and slightly acidic. If it is not possible to prepare the soil yourself, then it is recommended to buy the soil mixture at a flower shop. Soil is well suited for decorative deciduous plants, which it is advisable to mix with perlite to make it loose. When preparing the soil on their own, take: leaf soil, humus, sand, peat and turf soil in equal proportions.

Prepare a soil mixture with the following composition:

• sand (1 tsp);
• deciduous soil (2 hours);
• turf soil (4 hours).

To reduce the root system by 10 kg. It is advisable to add two or three handfuls of charcoal and half a kilo of broken brick to the resulting substrate, which loosens the soil and absorbs excess moisture.

Humidity

Flowers need high air humidity. If the air in the room is dry, you should spray the dracaena with water daily, morning and evening.

See also: Why is dracaena believed to bring happiness?

Bloom

Many dracaenas have the ability to flower. The color of the flowers is white, light green, pink. Plants usually bloom once every eight to ten years. The flowers are collected in inflorescences and open only at night. The smell of flowers is pleasant. For example, fragrant dracaena blooms with miniature white-cream flowers in the summer. Dracaenas rarely bloom when grown at home in pots. Some gardeners, in the hope of flowering, place a pot with a flower in the open air so that it blooms.

Know! It is recommended to wipe the leaves of plants with a damp cloth. Do not use leaf polishes. These products clog the stomata of plants, disrupting their normal physiological functions.

Air humidity

For all dracaenas, without exception, the air humidity in the rooms where they are grown should be increased. It is necessary to spray regularly. In summer, spraying is carried out a couple of times a week. During the winter season, a pot with a plant should not be placed near central heating radiators.

The soil

The substrate for growing dracaenas must be slightly acidic. The mixture usually consists of garden soil, peat and sand (3:1:1). Replanting is carried out every two to three years, and provided that the entire volume of the pot is filled with the root system.

Signs of improper lighting.

Understanding the needs of dracaena is not at all difficult - just be careful and the plant itself will show what it lacks. If light spots appear on the leaf plate, which subsequently acquire a brown tint, this is a clear sign of sunburn. You should move the dracaena to a place without direct sunlight, or shade it during the hottest hours.

Much more often we have to deal with another problem - the top of the plant has become deformed due to its stretching towards the light, and the lower part of the trunk has become very bare. Dracaena looks painful, and the leaf blades become faded. This is a clear sign of insufficient lighting. In most cases, this applies to specimens that are located on the floor near the window. The sun's rays cover only the upper part of the plant, thereby causing it to stretch upward intensively.

An adult, large plant should be placed near a window so that sunlight falls on its entire area, and not just on the upper part.

It is worth noting that dracaena tends to shed its lower leaves as it grows. Normally, a plant may lose several leaves per month. This should not be a reason for worry, this is how the crown renewal process goes.

Reproduction

Reproduction of dracaena depends on the shape of the plant. Variegated species are propagated by air layering from the apical part of the plant or by non-lignified cuttings. Dracaena, which has green leaves, can be propagated by seeds. For rooting, use a mixture of sand and leaf soil or sand. Proper rooting should be accompanied by spraying, regular watering and maintaining a temperature of 22-26°C.

Dracaenas, which have green leaves, reproduce by seeds. Shoots appear in thirty to thirty-five days. We perform rooting by cuttings when the dracaena stretches upward. In this case, we cut the trunk into pieces, provided that each cutting has a bud ready to start growing, and we root it. For rooting we use a mixture of sand and peat and a temperature of twenty-three to twenty-four degrees.

Variegated forms of plants can be propagated from parts of non-lignified stems. To do this, make a cut on the trunk just below the leaves up to half the trunk from bottom to top. We insert a piece of a small stick into the cut so that the parts of the stem cannot connect. We wrap this place with damp moss and tie it with twine to form roots.

The best option would still be to cut the pot into two halves, or you can wrap the cut with thick paper in the shape of a funnel. We fill the pot or funnel with loose and nutritious substrate, where young roots are formed in a short time. The soil in the pot (funnel) must be constantly moist.

Then, after the roots have formed, the upper part is completely separated, and the lower stem, if desired, can be used for cuttings.

Homemade dracaena flowers can be grown using hydroponics.

Pests and diseases

Pests of the plant are red spider mites and scale insects. The plant may also suffer from thrips and mealybugs. Dracaena leaves can be damaged by spotting, which is the result of excess moisture in the soil or very dry air.

Red dots on the undersides of leaves indicate the presence of mealybugs. Pests have a protective shield, dark in color. Solution: Remove mealybugs using a cotton ball soaked in alcohol, if the plant is large, you can wash it with soap and water, very carefully wiping with a sponge to remove the parasites.

The plant should then be washed well to remove the soap. Large plants and plants planted outside the living area can be treated with special chemicals. Procedures using insecticides are more effective because they are directed against larvae, which are more sensitive than adults.

Leaves with necrotic spots with a yellow outline are a fungal attack. This usually occurs in combination with warm weather and too wet soil.

Choosing a pot.

When choosing a pot, special attention should be paid to choosing the correct size. A container that is too tight or one that is too large will have an equally bad effect on plant growth. It is necessary to take into account that approximately a third of the container will be occupied by expanded clay (to ensure a proper drainage system).

Many amateur gardeners are puzzled by which pot is safer for the plant - ceramic or plastic. Both types are safe, the fundamental difference between the materials is different. A ceramic pot (if it is not covered with varnish or enamel) allows the soil to “breathe”. At the same time, the plant will have to be watered somewhat more often. A plastic container cannot boast of its porous structure, but it is more practical. This pot is much lighter, and this is especially convenient for adult, bulky plants.

Dracaena species

There are many different types, but in indoor conditions only a few types are most widespread: D. fragrant, D. bordered and D. recurved. Although flower growers prefer to grow a wide variety of species, both variegated and striped and green.

Not demanding on lighting D. Deremenskaya, fragrant and edged. The same species plus D. bent require high air humidity. Dry air is tolerated by Dracaena canarian and Godseff.

Homemade dracaenas differ from each other in leaf color and variety of shapes. Conventionally, we can divide all types of dracaena into 2 groups, which will be based on the growth habits of flowers:

1. The first group includes plants with strong trunks and comprehensive, hard leaves. Such dracaenas grow in semi-desert arid areas. A striking representative of the group is the Dragon Tree.
2. The second group is shrub varieties with slender stems and flexible, belt-shaped leaves. They grow in the undergrowth of tropical forests. Known to many as shrubby dracaenas.

Dracaena deremensis comes from the tropics of Asia and Africa. Dracaena deremensis is native to Derema in East Africa, a plant that never grows to significant size. It grows very slowly, growing up to one and a half, maximum up to 1.5 m. The plant has the shape of leaves:

• conical;
• broadly ovoid;
• belt-shaped;
• spear-shaped.

Leaves can also be long, narrow, short, or wide. The color is green, with white, yellow stripes or fields located longitudinally. There is a variety with solid green leaves that is not as popular as the variegated varieties.

Dracaena Derema

There are many varieties: Dracaena deremensis var. Bausei with white central stripes and deremensis Dracaena var. Warneckii with two yellow stripes on the sides of the leaves and a green central stripe. Dracaena braunii is a sucker that, if placed in water, develops leaves and roots within three months. The plant does not have variegated leaves. It has very fragrant flowers, but rarely blooms at home.

Know! Typically, Durham dracaena is vertically columnar, but if desired, it can be formed into a neat little tree by pruning.

Fragrant dracaena (Dracaena Fragrans) is so named because the flowers have a sweet aroma during the flowering period. The Dracaena Fragrans have a bare and woody single stem leading to a group of leaves at the top. The leaves are bright green with a silver-gray stripe in the middle. At home, with proper care, it reaches a height of 2 meters. In winter, the plant can withstand t = 10°C. A popular variety, "Massangeana", has yellowish-green longitudinal stripes down the center of the leaf. This variety is also known as lucky bamboo.

dracaena fragrant

draco or dragon tree is native to the Canary Islands. The plant reaches outstanding sizes, has a longevity of 500 to 600 years, and has the ability to grow secondary in thickness. Some trees grow up to nine thousand years. The leaves are green and often tend to blue fleshy.

Know! D.draco reproduces only by seeds. In winter, avoid watering completely for the D.draco species. In summer it should be kept in the sun, and in winter at t=10°C in a bright place.

The trunk is thick, up to four meters at the base, branched to a height of twenty meters. Thick branches are decorated with dense bunches of leaves. The leaves are leathery, linear-xiphoid, length up to 60, width up to 4 cm. The color is gray-green, the leaves are densely arranged. When grown at home, Dracaena Canarias reaches up to 1.5 m in height.

Interesting! In the Parque del Drago (Canary Islands) there is a tree whose age is about 2.5-3 centuries.

Dracaena sanderiana is a low-growing plant with a thin stem that is densely leafy. The leaves are narrow, slightly curved, 15-20 cm long and 1-3 cm wide. The color of the leaves is greenish with wide stripes of silver-gray and white. The area of ​​the stripes is larger than the main green tone.

Dracaena Sanderiana

Dracaena sanderiana, also known as "Brazil's dowry".

Synonyms:

• Dracaena Sandera;
• lucky bamboo;
• bamboo friendship;
• climbing bamboo;
• Chinese water bamboo;
• ribbon plant;
• Goddess of mercy.

Judging by the name of the plant, you might think that its homeland is Belgium and China, but this is not so. The plant comes from Asia. Sanderiana dracaena is native to tropical Africa (Congo). It has leaves that are striped with white and arranged in a rosette at the end of the trunk. This is a shrub plant that does not exceed one and a half meters in height. It is mistakenly believed that Dracaena Sandera is bamboo.

The plant is easy to grow in water. It is advisable to protect the flower from direct sunlight and t<15°C. The flower is grown not only in water, but also in soil. Before planting in a pot, it is necessary that the plant has well-developed roots. When growing in a pot, they prefer spraying.

Dracaena Sandera

Keeping lucky bamboo in offices and living spaces is believed to bring happiness and prosperity. This sign contributed to a huge number of sales of lucky bamboo in decorative pots.

Attention! The plant has become a popular houseplant in India, where dracaena is imported from Taiwan and China.

Dracaena surculosa is the most characteristic species. The leaves are short, green in color with many yellow dots. In addition, it can reach 1.0-1.5 meters in height.

Unlike species of its genus, this is a plant that prefers shady places. Interestingly, Dracaena surculosa in translation means shoot-forming dracaena. Young shoots of the plant emerge from the soil. The young plant quickly grows shoots. The plant can bloom when grown outdoors. The flowers have a strong scent and red-orange berries.

Dracaena surculosa

Dracaena marginata or Dracaena marginata is a plant native to Madagascar. One of its features is that as it grows, the trunk lengthens and the lower leaves fall off, leaving marks that are a fun decorative element.

dracaena marginata

Another feature is due to the fact that the leaves are still developing in the basal part: this is due to the fact that in the spring the dormant buds located in the soil wake up. This happens when the plant is kept in active sun, because this way the process of photosynthesis occurs better. The flower grows up to three meters. The leaves are narrowly lanceolate, glossy, up to 50 cm long and up to 2 cm wide. The main color of the leaves is green, but there are varieties with red and yellow stripes. Main varieties:

1. Dracaena marginata tricolor - narrow red and yellow stripes.
2. Dracaena marginata colorama - wide red border.
3. Wild Dracaena marginata has green leaves and a reddish-purple stripe along the edge.
4. Variety Dracaena bordered var. Tricolor has leaves with creamy white grooves.
5. Colorama - wide red stripes along each side of the leaf.
6. THhcolor – stripes green, cream and red.

The plant is unpretentious and requires minimal attention. It is not demanding on lighting, but a dark corner is not suitable for it either. The best option is diffused light, that is, the side opposite the window.

Dracaena reflexa is grown mainly in greenhouses with high humidity and temperature parameters, as well as in heated winter gardens. It is not suitable for growing indoors, as it is the most capricious. The leaves are dense, lanceolate, slightly curled, tapering at the base. Leaf color is green. The most popular variety is “Song of India”, which has variegated leaves with two light yellow stripes along the edges.

Dracaena_reflexa

Dracaena Reflexa_Song of India

Draceana goldieana - has a short and thin trunk. The plant responds well to care at high humidity and temperatures of at least 20 degrees. The leaves are creamy white with dark green stripes. The length of the leaves is 20 cm, the width in the middle part is 12 cm, the leaves taper towards the top.

Draceana goldieana

Dracaena godseffiana is suitable for keeping in a winter garden, a spacious living room, a small room, a hotel lobby, a restaurant hall. The height of the plant is from fifty centimeters to 3 m. The shape of the leaves, unusual for dracaenas, is oval, arranged whorled (3-5 pieces). The length of the leaf blades is seven to ten, width 3-5 cm. The leaves are leathery with a green-glossy surface, which is decorated with spots: cream, light green, white.

Dracaena godseffiana

Caring for dracaena in winter

Everyone knows that winter is the hardest time for indoor plants. In winter, most indoor plants suffer from dry air in the house and high temperatures. The dracaena plant is one of them. Since the plant comes from a humid climate, dry air has a bad effect on dracaena, not giving it good conditions during the dormant period.

Attention! D. godseffiana and D. sanderiana winter minimum t=10°С.

To help the plant, you need to periodically spray the flower with warm, settled water. A good solution to the problem is to place the plant pot in a larger pot filled with moisture-resistant material.

As for watering in winter, water indoor flowers much less often than in summer. The volume and frequency of watering depend proportionally on the room temperature. The lower the temperature, the less often you need to water the flower. Dracaenas tend to rot the root system, so it is better not to top up the flower than to overwater it. How to determine watering time? Proper watering should be accompanied by drying of the top layer of the substrate by 4-5 cm.

An important factor in keeping dracaena in winter is temperature. On a personal note, I would like to note that my dracaena overwintered well for several years in the kitchen, where the winter temperature was 10-15°C. I watered my beauty once every 1.0-1.5 months. This year, after repairs and installation of a new window, the temperature in the kitchen has become much higher and the plant is suffering, as a result the leaves turn yellow and droop.

Know! Many flower lovers often confuse dracaena with cordyline, which are very similar in appearance. Unfortunately, they are difficult to recognize visually, since the main difference between plants is determined only by the root system. Dracaena's roots are orange, while Cordyline's are white.

Transfer

Although you can replant dracaena regardless of the time of year, it is better to do this work in the spring .
Young plants (up to 4 years old) need this procedure annually. Later, once every 2-3 years they do transshipment; annually they only update the top layer of the soil mixture. Although dracaena is not picky about the composition of the soil, store-bought composition for palm trees is considered the best. If you can’t buy it, you can make your own soil mixture from well-ripened compost, leaf humus, peat, and sand. It is recommended to add some coal. It is important that the result is a soil that allows water and air to pass through well.

Expert opinion

Vera Ivanovna Sh

Since childhood, I have been interested in growing indoor flowers, then I decided to devote my life to landscape design and gardening.

The pot is selected so that the diameter is 5-6 cm larger than that of the old container. The clay one is scalded with boiling water and soaked in water for several minutes. It is advisable to place a clay shard at the bottom, then add drainage (coarse sand).

The plant with straightened roots is placed in the center, the soil mixture is poured and slightly pressed down. The dracaena is sprayed, watered and placed in a permanent place. The plant may look sick for some time after transplantation. More often this happens if part of the roots are cut out during replanting.

Dracaena leaves dry out and turn yellow

1. The leaves are fading - this symptom is associated with many factors, this indicates that the owner of the plant does not know how to properly care for dracaena at home. Excess water, humidity or low temperatures can cause foliage to wilt. Remedy: It is necessary to determine the condition of the soil. If the soil is too dry, adequate watering must be provided; if too wet, stop watering the flower until the soil dries out, and then resume watering sparingly. If both situations are excluded, then you need to move the plant to a warm place.
2. The leaves (tips) dry out and spots form – excess fluoride.
3. Withered leaves turn yellow - moisture stagnation in the pot; dry air.

Interesting! Dracaena was known in ancient Rome, where its juice was used as a dye, and then for its medicinal properties in the Middle Ages in alchemy.

Temperature

Why does dracaena feel so good in our apartments? The fact is that for us and for her the most suitable temperature is 18-22 degrees. She begins to suffer if the temperature stays above this level for a long time. And prolonged temperatures of 27 degrees can destroy the plant. Therefore, in summer he is most comfortable in office premises where there is air conditioning.

In cool summers, the flower can be taken out onto the loggia. But at the same time, air humidity and light conditions should be controlled. In winter, the temperature should not fall below 15 degrees.

And one more note: dracaena does not like drafts. And if she is also weakened by illness or transplantation, then a draft can destroy her. At the same time, the plant needs an influx of fresh air, so be sure to ventilate the room.