Dracaena Dorado (Dracaena Deremensis)

Today I'm going to talk about the beautiful Dracaena Dorado. When I first picked this plant up at Lowe's I was very shocked that it was on the clearance rack for $1.00. Of course I had to examine it very well to see why it was marked down so low. Now the only issue I saw with this plant was a little brown scaring on one of the leaves and that was it! It wasn't anything to bad and didn't make the plant look sickly at all. I'm in love with the dracaena family simply because they are the perfect house plants even for beginners and those with black  thumbs. One of my favorite features of this plant is the dark green leaves edged in charteuse which makes it so beautiful and graceful looking. What do amaze me is you really don't see or hear a lot of talk about this plant for some reason. I'm going to take a wild guess and say maybe it's not one of the more popular dracaena plants and if it's not it need to be in my opinion. Another thing I want to mention about the leaves is it has a twisted kind of look to it which I find very rewarding and just another simple reason to love this plant. This plant is also a slow grower which is perfect for a indoor house plant especially for those of us who don't have a lot of indoor space. If you don't have the patience to watch it grow you can find these plant much bigger and more then likely you will pay a little more money for it. This is also a very forgiving plant like most dracaena plants so if you forget to water it from time to time it won't mind that at all. Of course like I state all the time avoid overwatering that is a sure way to kill any house plant no matter how tuff or hardy they are. Just like most of my other house plants I never water on schedule I keep a plant care book that's how I keep track of which plant I watered and feed on any giving day. For this plant I do let it dry out between watering's because most (if not all) dracaenas like to dry out. Once I test the soil and it has dry to my liking I take the plant hold it over the sink and give it a nice soaking. Once the water starts to run out from the bottom I sit the plant in it's saucer for a few minutes and then I dump the excess water out. I also like to mist this plant every now and again just to increase the humidity and it also sits on a tray of wet pebbles daily. Now we can talk about the lighting for this plant I personally keep it in a spot where it's getting indirect sunlight all day. This can tolerate low to medium light but I recommend giving it as much indirect sunlight as you can. This is one plant that I don't give direct sunlight to no reason behind that I just never did but I'm willing to give that a shot one day just for a couple of hours. Just keep in mind that if your new leaves seem narrow your plant not getting enough light so of course the fix to that is moving it closer to a light source. I know I mention before that I let my dry out but one thing I want to point out is if you notice brown leaf tips your plant not getting enough water. I personally don't have this problem but just wanted to add that in here. This plant thrives in temperatures between 65-80 f so keep that in mind where you place your plant. So far as the soil goes you always want to use a well draining soil you can buy it from your local big box store or garden center. Some people like to mix their own soil or sometimes use a soilless soil. All I use in the beginning was the miracle gro soil for cactus, palms, and citrus plants I haven't tried just their basic potting soil but maybe willing to give it a try. One soil that I'm liking this far is the baccto premium potting soil. I mention before that it seems much lighter then the miracle gro soil and drains much faster so eventually I want to make that switch and see how it goes for all my plants. I believe they consider that a soilless soil and if that's the case it will explain why I see a huge difference between the two. I'm just going to touch a little on the fertilizer because I don't use much if any at all. The reason behind that is both soils that I use already have it mixed in and you never want to over fertilize any plant because that will cause the tip of the leaves to burn. So every once in a while I will use miracle gro plant food that's all ready to go. I only feed my plants spring through fall and never in the winter because the growth slows down big time. One thing I have never had an issue with is pest on this plant and I really can't say what pest love this plant (if any at all). Nonetheless you still want to take steps to keep your plants healthy and pest free by simply cleaning the foliage. Every once and again give your plant a nice shower in the sink or your shower and take the time to wipe the leaves down with a damp cloth. This helps the plant keep up the good work with cleaning the air for you and it keeps pest away from your green babies. To add to that it just simply keep your plants looking good all around because let's keep it real having a dusty plant not attractive at all. One thing I notice they have in the stores is this product that shines the leaves. I personally never invested in this product but it's said to do more harm then good so just be mindful of that if you are or thinking about using it. So far as propagation my plant is to small at this point to even think about cutting it up so I have no experience with that. Like any other plant that's mature enough you probably can just divide the plant up but don't quote me on that. Last but not least let's talk just a little on repotting, like I always say I don't repot in the winter it's always spring, summer, and even fall. I haven't had any issues at all following this routine that I do but you have to do what's best for your plants. This plant I only repotted once and that's when I first brought it home. This baby was so root bound roots were coming out the bottom and were wrapping around the pot. Because this is a slow growing plant you will not have to repot it much just check on the roots from time to time and if it's more roots then soil you know it's time to repot. Make sure you are choosing the right size pot to avoid over potting your plant. For example if you buy your plant in a 4 inch pot and it need to be repotted repot it in a 6 inch pot. I mention before in another post I repotted two plants and over potted them and it was clear signs they were being over watered because the soil stayed wet longer. It was no worries because I quickly moved them down to a smaller pot and both plants are doing very well. As always if you have any more questions feel free to leave a comment or you can follow me on Google+ and remember to always do your part to keep this world green.