Jorielle's Blog

Dracaena marginata (Madagasgar dragontree)
Mar 24, 2008 | 12:57 AM PST
Cultural information: There are five different types of Dracaena marginata on the market today. The green variety pictured above, Tri-color, Bi- color, Colorama, and Magenta. The plants that have color in their names are varying shades of green, white, pink to reds. Magenta has burgundy colored foliage that may turn green if in to low of light. "Dragon Trees" are available from small starter plants to twenty foot plus specimens. They are grown in several variations such as Staggered plants, Exotic shape, Branched, tips or bush and tree form.

Check for watering weekly... allowing the soil to dry to the touch about 1/3 down the pot. Yellowing leaves can be an indication of over watering, under watering or simply just normal leaf drop.. Under watered plants will shed a large amount of totally yellow leaves from the lower portion of the head, whereas a plant that has been over-watered, the leaf will yellow from the tip towards the stem. Feed only once a year... the Dracaena family does not like to be fertilized.

Dracaena Marginata is not a plant that you grow for flowers - it's the foliage you're after. You can either grow it in the ground, planted en masse, or as a stand alone feature planted by itself in a decorative container.

And, it can grow just as well indoors as it does outdoors (that's if you live in a semi-tropical to tropical planting zone, that is). Dracaena's aren't very fond of frost but they can tolerate colder climates so long as they're protected. They don't like too much water but prefer their growing medium to be moist.

Draceana's come from the Dragon Tree, dracaena draco, which is a native plant to the Canary Islands, so their growing habits, likes and dislikes, and temperamental preferences are all very similar.

They can grow to more than 4m (12-13ft) but can easily be kept smaller by pruning the stems prior to spring.

The stems of a draceana marginata are commonly flexible and thin and seem adequately disproportionate to its height and also the foliage that tops it. They can easily be bent and shaped to conform to your structural desires by using bonsai wire to contort each stem.

If your dracaena is only single-stemmed and you want it to branch out, cut the foliage from the top and reduce the stem to the desired height. Within a few months the foliage will begin to bud from the wound and new branches will grow.

How to propagate dracaena maginata

Draceana's can be propagated by a variety of ways but the most easiest is by taking a cutting from the stem and after applying some rooting hormone to the base (don't forget which end is 'up') firmly push it into some potting mix. Water frequently and apply a liquid fertilizer when the foliage begins to appear.

Other methods of propagating dracaena include air-layering and basal root cuttings.

Fertilising dracaena marginata

Soluble liquid fertilisers are the best form of nutrient release for dracaena's but during their dormant period you can also add some slow release pellets to their growing area or container.