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Low Light, Lots of Green,Make Dracaena Popular

By Jos Van Hage

If you are looking for nice looking, easy care houseplant then you should consider growing a Dracaena! 

They have been a popular choice both for the home as well as office spaces. 

Dracaenas are identified by their long sword like foliage that come in varying colors and widths. Different varieties come in different heights from 2-15 feet and growth habits such as long and narrow or bushy. 

A dracaena that is commonly seen is the ‘Dracaena fragrans ‘Massangeana’ or commonly called the ‘Corn Plant’. It has heavy ribbonlike green leaves with a lighter green/yellow center stripe. The plant often is planted up with 3-4 canes in one pot giving it a very bushy look on the top, as the bottom of the cane does not have foliage. 

Another type is the ‘dracaena marginata’ or madagascar dragon tree, which has green narrow, leaves with a red/purple line running along the outer edge of the leaf. There is also the marginata tricolor, which has a band of yellow that separates the green, and red stripes making it a very nice looking plant. As the marginata plant grows new upper leaves the older bottom leaves turn yellow and fall off leaving a mark on the stem giving it a nice look. The plant will grow to 12 feet tall and by placing 3-4 plants in one pot, it is an impressive sight. Both the Massangeana and the Marginata can tolerate lower light than some of the other types of dracaenas. Others such as dracaena deremensis ‘Janet Craig’ which has wide dark green glossy leaves and ‘Warneckii’ has stripes of different shades of green with a white outer edge stripe are slower growers and grow to around 4 feet tall.

One reason for the dracaenas’ popularity besides its good looks is its easy maintenance. 

They grow best in bright indirect light such as an east or west window, however, they do tolerate lower light which many other tropicals can not. 

They also will tolerate an infrequent water schedule but for best results should be watered, when soil becomes slightly dry. As with most plants they prefer to be watered with room temperature water, and when watering, water the plant thoroughly allowing it to go slightly dry between wateriness. 

Feed the plant with an all-purpose fertilizer such as 20-20-20 every month over the spring/summer months when the plant is growing and every other month over the winter months when the plant slows on its growth. 

A good thing to remember is that if the plant is in a low-light area and grows slowly it does not need to be fertilized as often or watered as often as the plant does not take it up as quickly. 

Dracaena plants enjoy the same household temperatures as we do and prefer an average humidity. Dry air can cause the tips of the plants’ leaves to dry and become brown. If this happens the brown tips can be removed with scissors however, they will not grow back.

If you are, looking for a houseplant in the home or office that is easy to grow and good looking try a Dracaena!

- Jos


-Jos van Hage owns three Art Knapp's Garden Centres in Prince George
-The old Cariboo Highway and Highway 97South
-Highway 97 North
-Highway 16 West


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