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Dracena House Plant
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I rescued two lovely Dracaena houseplants recently. It was a spur of the
moment decision, I had gone into the shop for compost!! Anyone who knows me
will understand that I cannot resist a beautiful plant let alone two sitting
unloved on a shelf. They were a quarter of the original price so an
extremely good bargain, as long as I can keep them alive.
I do like to buy or rescue outdoor plants this way as bargains and bringing
back to life the unloved and unwanted, but I have never bought a houseplant
in need of rescue. Houseplants can be a little harder to restore to full
health once they have been very neglected, but I wanted to give it a
go.
So this Dracaena is a stunning-looking plant. Both were sadly completely dried
out and shrinking from their pots which is not good. So the first thing I did
was to put the pots into a bowl of water and allow the plant to drink what it
wanted for an hour. This way I did not overwhelm it with water but it could
quench its undoubted thirst.
Next was to give it the very best of treatment. This means the correct
position in the house, the food, water and environment it needs. It also
means the correct soil, but on this, I am waiting as it is always stressful
for a plant to be repotted and they had enough stress so far. So I will
repot in a month or so when they are more settled.
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Dracaena House Plant In Kitchen
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The Name Dracaena
This plant is named Dracaena which means female dragon in ancient greek.
Apparently, the red stems that are found in many of these houseplants are
like the colour of dragons blood! Sometimes it is also referred to as the
Dragon Plant which I like.
Dracaena Are Good For Us!
The Dragon plant is also a great air purifier and therefore very good to
have in our homes. It is a lovely thing to have a plant that is beautiful in
our homes and this one is stunning especially as it grows tall, but quite
another when it benefits us directly.
Our homes are surprisingly full of toxins and pollutants from our
furniture, paint, materials for building, clothing and cleaning chemicals we
use every day.
If we can help to offset at least some of this pollution with beautiful
houseplants we are doing our health good. Dracaena is one of the most
effective plants for air purification and so deserves a place in every
home.
Generally, for the majority of people this plant is safe to be around. For
most people, this plants leaves are not toxic if touched and handled, but
clearly as with any houseplant avoid anyone eating them. If anyone has
especially sensitive skin or allergies to plants then direct contact with
the plant is best avoided.
Dracaena Is Toxic If Eaten By Pets
It must be noted that beautiful as it is, Dracaena is toxic if our pets eat
it. It is the chemical in the plant, saponin that causes the issue. This will result in vomiting and diarrhea and if that occurs get your pet
to a vet immediately for treatment.
If you have pets it is wise to keep this houseplant out of their
reach.
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Dracaena House Plant In Bathroom With Filtered Light
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Where to Position Dracaena
Dracaena comes from the floor level of tropical rainforests and arid
deserts. I know mine came from Costa Rica. Dracaena like humidity so unlike
the houseplants I have reviewed previously this one loves being in a
bathroom or kitchen.
This is great news as I love houseplants in these rooms. To keep them
happy and in good condition, they appreciate regular misting of the leaves
and a humid environment so placing them on a dish of pebbles topped up
with water is also helpful.
The dragon plant likes to keep warm so heat of about 15 to 20 degrees
celsius is good, but it hates direct bright light so after some thought I
have positioned one in the bathroom window that is south facing but the
window is opaque so it filters the suns rays very well which is just what
this plant requires, filtered sunlight.
This plant is currently quite small but it will grow much taller which is
not a problem here as the window is quite tall as well. The taller one is
in the kitchen again by a window this time east facing but quite sheltered
from the sun by the foliage in the garden. So I will see if it likes it
there.
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Leaves Of Dracaena House Plant
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Water And Food Requirements For Dracaena
The soil must always be moist for this houseplant but it does not like to
sit in soggy wet conditions. The best soil is free draining so compost
mixed with perlite would be a good combination. It allows for generous
watering but permits good drainage to let excess water through. Always
make sure there is an inch or to at the top of the pot to allow for easy
watering.
Once watered allow the plant to drain through before you site back in its
outer container. I would recommend having the plant in a plastic or
terracotta pot then putting that pot inside a slightly larger decorative
pot. That way you can water thoroughly but allow it all to drain off
before repositioning.
If the leaves go yellow and droop then it has been overwatered and we
must cut down on the watering and ideally repot into fresh compost to give
it the best chance of recovery.
My two both need repotting and then placing into proper decorative pots
but that will wait until they have settled down.
Feeding is quite important and a task we need to do every fortnight
during spring and summer, reducing to once a month in autumn/fall and no
feeding is necessary during winter. You can buy Dracaena feed or any usual
houseplant fertilizer is fine.
Pruning Dracaena
It is not necessary to do any pruning of this houseplant. The only reason
I can see to prune is if it grows too tall for the space. It grows in an
upright habit so actually occupies only a small space on any
surface.
However, if you need to prune the canes or stems to reduce the height
you can simply cut them with secateurs like these
Wolf By Pass Garden Secateurs and then in time new growth will shoot from the pruning cut.
I am going to allow these two to grow pretty tall as I think they
look especially stunning as a huge plant and I love having them in our
home.
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Dracaena House Plant
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So in summary Dracaena is a stunning plant that takes up little room on
a surface, but can grow quite tall. It is beautiful and requires
filtered sunlight, warmth and steady watering and feeding.
Do be careful where you place it if you have pets as it is toxic to
them. Keep it out of the way of any person who is especially sensitive
or allergic to plants.
It is a very easy care plant overall and has air purification qualities
to help us be more healthy in our homes. Overall a very deserving plant
and one I am glad I rescued.
More Garden And Houseplant Reviews
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I am learning so much about houseplants from your interesting gardening articles, Jasmine. I have never heard of the Dracena or Dragon Plant before, so this was a fascinating read. I believe you must be a "Plant Whisperer" :).
ReplyDeleteI am glad you are enjoying my houseplant articles. Thank you for the "plant whisperer" compliment though its the plants that do all the work! I love having them in our home.
DeleteWow Jasmine, you are amazing! I never would have been able to bring that beautiful plant back from the brink of death. Your dracena is certainly lovely now! I'm sure it is grateful to have found such a wonderful caregiver and home.
ReplyDeleteThank you I do find that houseplants can be a little more difficult to bring back from severe neglect and if you can buy a healthy plant it is easier. However I just saw these and could not leave them there on the shelf all unloved! They do give me joy :)
DeleteJasmine, you really do have a marvelously “green thumb” and a wealth of knowledge (and excellent intuition) about caring for plants. I so admire your ability to rescue struggling potential beauties like these and helping them thrive!
ReplyDeleteThank you, I love to help plants thrive and it just takes a little knowledge and care, I believe anyone can do it. I just love gardening, indoors and outdoors :)
DeleteThis is one plant that I have not had and have looked at many times. Looking over the needs of this one makes me belief that I may have to pass on it. We are south facing and don't have a lot of tall windows that need a fill in. So sad for me, because it truly looks like a wonderful plant! Thanks Jasmine!
ReplyDeleteKnowing how you care for plants I think you could grow this plant. If your rooms are very sunny then you would need to do something to filter the light-a blind, opaque window or a light curtain for example. You can place the plant on the floor as well in a more shady area of the room. Regarding humidity if it is not in a humid room you can mist regularly and also place the pot on a saucer of pebbles topped up with water.
DeleteIf you want an indoor plant there is usually a way to meet its needs :)