Dragon Tree Quick Care: Dracaena marginata is shade tolerant but the bright indirect light-loving plant and prefers loamy soil which retains water but is not soggy. Deep watering weekly once and fertilizing yearly once is good enough for healthy growth.
Prune off damaged leaves and look for pests, trim rotten roots and repot if the plant is drooping leaves and slowly dying.
How to Revive a Dying Dracaena Marginata:
Sometimes, you may find that despite following every caring method attentively, your Dracaena marginata is suddenly dying. This could be happened due to some mistakes in your care measures. You must notify the signs courteously and take the needed precautions in time-
Signs of a Dying Dracaena Marginata:
Some apparent signs of your dragon plant might die are-
- Dry leaves
- Wilted leaves
- Spot on leaves
- Rotted root
- Browning leaf tips and curvy edges
- Yellow and crisp leaves
- Stunted growth
- Dark or brownish stem
- Wilted stems
- A high pest infestation, etc.
These signs could appear for several reasons, such as-
- Underwatering
- Overwatering
- Untreated pests and fungal infestation
- For unpruned session
- Rotten roots
- Using infected garden tools
- Overfertilization
- Getting insufficient light
- And providing inappropriate climate
How to save an overwatered peace lily
How to Care for A Dying Dracaena Marginata Plant:
If you want to revive a dying Dracaena marginata plant, you must take precautions in time, before it’s getting too late to retrieve it. Some quick actions you should take here, are-
- Find the real cause of the troubleshooting and apply the curing method consequently
- Trim the soggy and damaged root parts, if you find any at the bottom
- Change the planter by clearing the roots and damaged leaves once, and use whole new potting soil for the new plantation
- Follow the watering method properly and never over or underwater your plant ever
- Don’t fertilize more than once a year and do it during the springtime for the best outcome
- Look out for pest or fungal infestation and use the remedies immediately
- Prune the dead and infected leaves in time, before they start contaminating other healthy leaves
- Place your planter in a perfect spot where it can get adequate light but not scorching heat ever
- And mist the newly emerged leaves once in a while, to give them a kick start to thrive best
- Keep updated about your plant consistently, throughout its entire growing session
- Once you notice an issue on our plant, seek its reason immediately.
Can You Prune Your Dracaena Plant: How & When to Prune
Want a bushier dracaena? Either you can plant more than one draceana in a container or cut the top of the dracaena plant in spring and summer season.
This pruning process promotes new growth from the canes just below the spot where made the clear and crisp cut on your dragon tree.
Will my dracaena grow back from stem? Yes, making a clear cut with sterilized and sharp shears few nodes below the top leaves, will encourage new growth from the nodes. And if the stem cutting is in a considerable width you can use it to start a new plant.
How to Prune
Pruning is an essential step to maintain the healthy form of a growing Dracaena marginata plant consistently. This process of trimming unwanted parts keeps your plant neat and well-shaped perfectly. To do the process, follow the steps below-
- Bring a sharp trimming object like a shear or fully sterilized scissors
- Find out the disputed parts from your plant first
- Look for any discolored or dead leaves
- Seek for young leaves with curl or discolors
- Leaves with brown tips are also trimmable here
- And pests or fungal-infested stem
- Cut the leaves and infected branch about 1-inch depth
How to Propagate:
The propagation process of Dracaena marginata is even easier than normal houseplants. Follow these methods accordingly to do it properly-
- Wait for the new bunch of leaves coming out from the top of your plant
- Now, bring a disinfected trimmer and cut the top stem out of your plant with around 3-4 inch length along with its nod
- Prepare a new planter with adequate potting mix and soil
- Water the soil first and sow the cutting into the moist soil directly after the pruning
- Try to pat the base of your newly planted cutting well and place it in a warm spot in your house
- Attempt to provide your plant with bright but indirect light persistently for 1-2 weeks
- Once you see that the top nods will emerge slowly, provide your plant with the normal caring methods accordingly.
A quick read on how to propagate and care for peace lily indoor plants.
Dragon Tree: About Dracaena Marginata Indoor Plant
Dracaena marginata is a great plant to grow indoors. This beautiful plant is usually known as a dragon tree and is considered one of the most good-looking houseplants for many new-age gardeners.
Its low-maintenance and imperishable hardiness are two brilliant excellence, you can’t ignore easily. Leaves of this pretty plant grow in sword-like shapes in deep green shades.
The red hue around the edges makes the foliage more striking to resemble. A Dracaena marginata (dragon tree) plant can thrive in a normal home climate.
Thus, you don’t need to provide much attention to let it grow healthily. However, some quick caring tips can help you to get a thriving Dracaena marginata houseplant more effortlessly. So, let’s check those tips out below-
Dracaena Marginata Care: Quick Overview
- Soil: Loamy and loose soil rich in perlite with well-drained quality
- Water: Keep the soil evenly moist but not soggy, so, try watering once every week
- Fertilizer: Any water-soluble fertilizer that is rich in nitrogen and a bit of potassium more than phosphorus
- Sun Exposer: Sun with partial shade
- Climate: Provide moderately humid conditions with a slightly warmer climate through bright but indirect light
- USDA Hardiness Zones: 10 to 12
Soil Mix and Watering Needs of Dracaena Marginata:
Now, let’s look at the caring methods more elaborately in our discussion below-
Soil and Potting Mix:
Prefer loamy, loose soil, amend with peat moss, perlite, and normal potting soil. Make sure the soil is loose enough to drain the water perfectly. Soil should retain the water to make it evenly moist but never soggy at all. Keep the pH level between 6.0 to 6.5 during the plantation.
If your soil is alkaline and ph is high check out these quick ways to reduce ph and make your soil acidic.
How Often and When to Water:
A dragon tree is moderately thirsty thus, you need to water it attentively. Remember that overwatering can damage the whole plant unexpectedly instead of nourishing it. Water your indoor Dracaena marginata only when half of the soil turns dry. That must be every 5-6 days after once thoroughly watering. Using distilled water would give you a more successful outcome in the end.
Fertilization Needs for The Plant:
You don’t need to use organic plant food to feed your indoor Madagascar dragon tree. Use any normal commercial fertilizer in a 3-1-2 NPK ratio. Try to use water-soluble fertilizer to get a more effective result from your fertilization. It is best if you can feed your plant once every year. Apply it in liquid form to provide the nutrition boost more effectively to your growing plant.
How Much Sunlight for Dracaena Marginata:
Try to place your plant near a window where it can get bright but indirect sunlight throughout the day. Try to put it near a west or south-facing window that must have a windowsill or be fully covered with curtains. Maintain a temperature between 65-80 degrees F with moderate humidity of around 40%. Make sure your plant can get 6-7 hours of indirect sunlight every day during its growing session.
You may be interested in easy-to-grow low-light tolerant indoor plants.
Quick Tips: Recap on Dragon Tree Care
Some other must-followable tips are-
- Never overwater your plant or keep it underwater for long
- Don’t overfertilize often
- Mist the leaves once in every few whiles
- Look for any common pests and apply organic pesticide options to get rid of them –
- Prune the dead and infected leaves as soon as possible, before it starts hampering other fresh parts of your plant
- Repot your plant, when it overgrows its current planter
- Don’t fertilize your plant during winter
- Never place your planter under the direct sunlight
- And try to wipe the top of fresh leaves with a wet cloth once every month to keep the foliage shiny enough.
Common pests of Dracaena marginata – ways to get rid of mealybugs and prevent thrips.
Are Dracaena Marginata Plants Toxic to Cats:
Yes, this indoor plant is toxic to cats and dogs.
Despite being an easy-to-grow houseplant, some toxic elements found in the Dracaena marginata plant, make this one poisonous to our beloved house pets. It contains a component named saponin, which is entirely toxic to cats and dogs. So, if your cat ever plays around with the indoor dragon plant, try to be a little more attentive. If your cat ingests or eats any part from a dragon tree, it may get some obvious bad effects, like-
- Diarrhea
- Dilated pupils
- Abdominal pain
- Vomiting
- Salivating
- And undefined weakness
Try to seek medical immediately and start giving your pet serious medical provisions within 12-24 hours of ingestion.
Lists of plants that repel cats – cats hate these plants.
FAQ:
Why Do My Dracaena Marginata Plant’s Leaves, Turn Brown?
A growing Dracaena marginata plant usually provides yellow leaves, when it gets improperly moist and inadequate water. It could be for either underwatering or overwatering, depending.
Pinterest: Dracaena Marginata Care: Soil, Growth Propagation, and Overwatered Revival Care
