Draceana Marginata (Dragon Tree)

Draceana  Marginata also known as a dragon tree have beautiful green red-edge almost ribbon like stiff leaves. It's complimented by graceful curving stalks for trunks. I find this a perfect house plant because it's a slow grow which in my opinion make it perfect for those who don't have a lot of living space for fast growing plants. Draceana's are said to thrive in full sun as well as shaded areas but I find that my plants benefit from both. I often move my plants to my windowsill for a few hours of direct sun and move them back to a indirect sun light spot so the foliage won't burn from being in direct sunlight all day long. Draceana's are pretty drought tolerant which is perfect for those of us with forgetful minds or for those who travel a lot. Like many of my plants I let them dry out a bit before I water them again. I found that sticking a light colored stick in the soil works best for me. If soil come out on the stick I don't water at all. Another way to tell is when the soil dark in color it's clearly still moist so I also wait until it's looking a little light in color before I even check it. Another important thing to remember is when you water it make sure you water it until the water runs out of the drainage holes. I made a mistake and was giving my dragon tree little sips of water when I first got it. Needless to say I almost killed it I'm so glad I realize what I was doing wrong and corrected the problem in time. I had to feed it some plant food and good watering and in no time the leaves were lifting up and the trunk it's self harden up again. I only feed my dragon tree with miracle gro liquid plant food in the spring and summer because plants need to rest in the fall and winter so you don't want to over fertilizer it during it's resting period. Now lets talk about pruning I don't prune this tree at all! Now if you notice any brown tips I don't see no harm in trimming them off to give the plant a better look. Before I forget to mention this please remember that it's normal for a dracaena to loose their bottom leaves. Mature plants will have a spindly looking trunk with tufts of leaves at the top. It's also normal to see multiply trunks and some people even "braid" the trunks. I like the look but I personally won't do it to my tree. Now if you want to make the tree look more bushy, cut the tallest cane down if you wish and from the cut you will see new sprouts which will grow new leaves eventually. I haven't notice much issues with this tree but there are a few like leaf spot diseases which can occur during warm weather and being wet for a prolong time period. If you notice this issue you want to cut the affect area so the other leaves won't get affected. Some of the pest that can affect this tree are thrips, and mites but that can be controlled by giving this tree a nice shower once in a while and keeping the humidity up around this tree. I keep my tree on a tray of wet pebbles and it seem to be doing my plant some good. This plant also help clean the air but don't forget to wipe the foliage down with a microfiber cloth so the plant can continue to thrive and breathe. Cleaning the foliage also help with keeping pest away from your plant which is always a great thing. The ideal temperature for this plant is between 60-75 degrees. So far as repotting go you only need to repot when the plant is very congested and showing clear signs that it's suffering. So don't be afraid to pop it out the pot and check the root system every once in a while. It's been said that indoors this plant can grow up to 6ft tall with proper care of course. I also forgot to mention that these are fairly inexpensive plants. I wanted to watch mines mature and grow so I brought a very small one from Ikea for $1.99! Now of course you can buy them bigger but they will cause a little more still not to expensive though. If there's any questions you may have for me leave a comment on this blog or you can follow me on my Google+ page and remember to do your part to keep this world green.