PlantFiles: Red-Margined Dracaena, Dragon Tree
Dracaena marginata

I have never had a bad experience unti now.
HELP!!!! HELP!!!!!
I have a Madagascar Dragon Tree for 32 years, plant is dieing, leaves and trunks drying and withering. Soil was foul someone over watered, I flushed, no help, I changed most of the soil. I really need assistance. Anything I can do.

I bought my plant on sale on a "It's pretty feeling" but had to put it in the back of my truck in the canadian winter so now its drooping and I have no idea if its dead or if it can be saved. If any one has any info they can give on if it is savable that would be great.

We have our dracaena in a pot, but I will tell you we went through a learning process with this one. It does not like to be overwatered, as many have mentioned. The secret is to not water it until the leaves wilt. We water ours no more than once a week. In Florida, we've learned to just water it as needed and like I mentioned, it will die if you overwater.

I've had a Dracaena marginata since the fall of 2002. It's the only plant I have from college that is still alive. It's not the fastest growing plant on the block, but it is fun to watch it send out new leaves and drop the old ones. It's hard to kill this plant, as it can handle a wide variety of lighting situations. It accepts neglect well, but really appreciates some TLC from time to time.

It has dealt with a lot of poor treatment on my part, which ultimately killed one of the two stems I had growing. I've learned a lot about container gardening since then, and my marginata is the happiest of all my foliage plants.

A.K.A Madagascar Dragon Tree.

I got mine just as a last minute grab on sale at some discount store. It was marked way down and I had no idea what it was. It thrived on the front porch, and like many posters here, my cats loved to chew on it. It survived a winter without me paying too much attention to it, back on the porch for another summer, then back inside for the winter at which time it finally grabbed my attention.

It dropped the bottom leaves. I have now read there can be several reasons for this. One, it's rooting out and natural for it to drop the bottom leaves. Two, it's overwatered, and three, it's underwatered.

My plant definitely does not like too much water. I did place it on the dryer, next to the washing machine next to a south window. The humidity from the washer is making it very happy and I have learned to water it just a little.

It is too tall now for my cats to reach the foliage. What really got me is my grandkids showed up for Thanksgiving this year and they all threw a fit over this exotic looking plant and had much discussion among themselves over what it may be. Now we are talking 8, 7, 5 and 3 years of age. If kids are impressed, it must be interesting. I love this plant and intend to re-pot it into a shiny red glass pot next spring. I'm tempted to cut it back to see if it will grow extra shoots, but I'm a little cautious as I don't want to ruin it's beauty. Maybe I'll just cut a notch in the side first.

AS a little extra note for you cat owners. I have learned to put lava rocks on the top of the soil in my houseplants to keep my cats from digging in the dirt. The lava is beneficial for the plants and the cats don't like to dig in it as it is rough on their little paws.

I have had a green one for a few years now. It is potted in a small 6" pot and stays in my kitchen where it gets no direct sun at all. It has survived my once a month (if that) waterings, no sun, pure neglect. Granted, it is growing quite slowly, but is still looking well. I have purchased a quadruple braided one to put at my front door and that one is happy, too. Seeing how well the others have done, I have gotten some 6 or so more to put in my front yard landscaping. I havent planted them yet, but they should be just fine.
So, if you want something fluffy and nice and will still survive neglect, even as a houseplant, this will do just fine.

A friend gave the Dragon over two years ago and it is THRIVING in full sun out in our yard. Why is it in full sun? When we moved to our new place about 1 year ago we didn't have room for it inside so it went out in the yard and I had NO CLUE about plants, but apparently it works in the sun too!

I don't think I have watered it more than twice (the sprinklers get it a bit) and it is doing fine. It is over 6' and we got it when it was 3.5'-4'

I received this in a basket full of plants from a co-worker when she quit about a year ago. I have since separated it from the other plants because I thought it was so beautiful. I didn't even know what it actually was until today.

I watered it too much and the tips leaves started to turn brown. I have since cut back to watering mine once a week, about a half of a cup of water. The new leaves seem to be doing much better.

I keep the water away from the trunk so that it doesn't rot and I haven't had any problems.

About a week ago I repotted it in Miracle Grow Moisture Control potting soil and it seems to love it. There are already new leaves starting to form.

I had this plant indoors and was very happy with it. I liked how it added "texture" to my living room. Until... my baby was born and I forgot to water it (sniff). It has lost all of the leaves and the steams are soft. Is there still hope for it?

Grown as a houseplant here in the northwest, it is easy to care for. During the summer, it stays outside in the full sun all the time. During winter, it is grown by a south window with a growlight (periodically). It winters well indoors, I keep it a little drier in the winter, last year one of the cats started chewing on the bottom-most leaves and ruined the finely-tipped ends. I had to re-cut the ends to clean it up and will put it higher this winter.

This is a wonderful indoor plant that requires little care for a plant of its size.

Functions well under many different light situations, & tolerates dryness well. In fact, as others here have noted - it does best when not kept "soggy". You'll know when it's overdue for a drink, as the leaves witll start to turn downward. Not wilting, just turning downward like a folding umbrella.

Oh, & another poster here stated that this plant is "toxic to cats". Nothing could be further from the truth. I have 7 housecats who have grazed mercilessly on the lower leaves of my 6' Dracaena marginata's over a period of several years & have yet to have a fatality or one even sick. In addition, this plant does not appear on legitimate poison plant lists for pets.

Don't let this erroneous information keep you from trying one of these if they interest you.

The dragon tree is a beautiful addition to my home. Mine is taller than me now and I'd have to go count how many heads it's got now...it's gotten so many! I took a cutting recently to see how well it would grow without soil. But I wasn't able to just leave it in water because it started to rot, so I switched it to the hydroponics "wick system" using perlite and charcoal as a medium. So far, it's doing wonderfully. I put the main plant in the bathroom because it loves humidity (it keeps the leaves up) and water it about every 2 weeks or so...it doesn't mind some neglect and I think it enjoys it. In fact, the soil should allow for drainage. Also, dracaena prefers the soil to be more acid than alkaline. Because the lighting is poor in my bathroom, I use a 13 watt flourescent light (a desklamp) for about 10 or more hours a day.
As for the gnats (also known as fungus gnats), if your plant is smaller, you can soak it in a small concentration of bleach and water for an hour and that will kill the gnats and will not harm your plant. But if your plant is larger, I would water your plant with soapy water and also spray (keep ventilated) with a bug killer especially designed to be used for plants. Try to make sure it lists "fungus gnats" on the label. Email me if you'd like a good brand.
The brown tips are most likely due to the soil being too alkaline. Try making your soil more acidic. I've heard of people doing this by adding iron sulfate or aluminum sulfate.

I've been very happy with this plant in my house. It was very healthy until some days ago. We've had some 44 Cº then, and the plant just left all leafs fell to the gronud. It looks alive though.

I don't know what to think of it. Was it the heat or is there any natural reaction to its age ? (It's four years old now) All the leafs turned yellow and twisted before falling. This also looks like it had to much water...

I'm a little confused. Can anybody give a hand, please ?

I bought this plant a year ago but quickly found out the soil was infested with gnats. There were two plants growing from the same pot and I decided to do an experiment. I cut both plants at the base and let the cuttings sit in water. Several leaves died but rooted very quickly. After a year, both plants are still in the water which I feed with a few drops of hydroponic nutrients and both plants are lush and seem very happy and no leaves have died since then.

Native of Madagascar usually they like a wet peroid followed by marked drying. Humidity levels should be moderate. I dont ever water mine unless it starts to wilt.
Grows faster in moderate light than in shady conditions. mist often in winter.Feed regulrarly with palm fertilizer..also loves extra iron.

I love these plants, but I can attest to the fact that they don't like a lot of water. I drowned one earlier this year. The stem gets kind of soft. It's a cruel, cruel death for a plant. My new one seems to do well being watered only when it asks for some.

I recently purchased a red-margined dracaena very cheaply at a discount-store garden center, as one of the two tops was broken off. I potted it in a good quality potting soil and placed it in morning sun, and it has really grown nicely the last few months. The top just grew back without any "split."

I have friends...who recently salvaged a dozen very tall Dracaena. My friends told me they could just stick the six-foot-tall Dracaena plants in potting soil, in a pot, and they would root.

I was dubious, but I was over at their place a few days ago, and all of the dracaenas they got in the Keys have rooted and are looking great. Here in northcentral Florida, zone 8b, Dracaena have to be overwintered inside or in a greenhouse.

The Southern Living Garden Book notes that D. marginata will eventually grow to 12 feet tall, and that if the plant grows too tall, the crown can be cut off and it will reroot. Then new crowns will appear on the old stem. The book also mentions a cultivar called 'Candy Cane,' which has a gold stripe.

I'm sure you can slit the stem for a new shoot. I have 'Tricolor' as a house plant, and accidentally snapped off the top of one of the three I have in a pot. It promptly grew a split new top (two stems). It can thrive in pretty low light, even indoors. And yes, it can (somewhat) dry between watering. It does NOT like to be "soggy".

When I lived in Michigan I had great success with this plant indoors. Now I live in Florida and have two of them, both thriving outdoors in full sun to partial shade.

I seem to remember seeing an article years ago that said if you cut a small slice in the stem, a new shoot will grow.

I recently bought four Dracaenas to use in my science project, which involves studying how different types of music might affect plant life. I have never grown Dracaena before.

There are at least three varieties of Dracaena marginata commonly available.
D. marginata has green leaves with reddish-purple edges; D. marginata 'Tricolor' has green leaves striped with yellow and red; and D. marginata 'Colorama' has mostly red leaves with a thin green stripe along the middle.

I love this plant, but I have a lot of troble with the leaf tips. I have children, who love to touch them; however I have seen others growing in open areas where many people come in contact with the plant, so that can not be the problem, so I wonder if it could be planted too deeply.

I took one of the plants and inter-planted it with a Nephthytis (Syngonium species), and they look beautiful together.

I also examined the roots while I had a chance, there were some bulbs attached at the side of the base of the plant and tons of roots that I gingerly loosened. As for my other plants I planted them deeper, as I could not get them to stay upright.

My plants are only 18 inches high, with a 12-15 inch spread. Overall, I realy enjoy this plant but I sure need to know alot more about it.

My Dracaena has been difficult to figure out the correct amount of water: it seems to like drying out more than watering regularly. Every time I water it always has a number of leaves turn light brown and drop. I recently had two branches lose all their leaves. I don't know if they'll grow back.

This tree is inside and is tall (6 feet) but spindly at the top branches.The lower branches are full. I think it might need re-potting as it is very old.

I have rooted a small sprig in water, and I will experiment leaving it in water to see how long it will grow. I have lots of plants growing in water now, changeing the water every 2 weeks. They are thriving so well and no dropped leaves; I add two drops of Miracle-Gro (water-soluble fertilizer) now and then.

It is toxic to cats.

Grows very slowly, many different colors.