This is the 2nd plant I bought for Dad's birthday. It looks like grass with a dark red line around the leaves.
Part 3 of What is this plant? last one I promise!
Dracaena marginata
Al
Thank you!
I was just given one myself. I am glad to find out it is a Dracaena, but I would like to know more. Mine is in a 4.5" pot. When will I start to see a "trunk" and how often should I repot? There are 2 in this pot and I can barely see roots almost poking out of the drainage holes on one of them.
If you wish to maximize growth and ensure best vitality within the limits of other cultural factors, you should probably do a full repot every 2-3 years, which includes bare-rooting and pruning roots; or, you should pot up BEFORE the plant gets to the point where the soil/root mass can be lifted from the container intact.
How soon you see a 'trunk' depends on how fast the plant grows. The plant has a growing point at the tip (apical meristem). From behind this point, and as it extends (lengthens), leaves emerge. Natural senescence (aging) causes the oldest leaves to be shed, thus exposing the 'trunk' they were attached to.
Removing the apical meristem causes the activation of latent buds in the axils of old leaf attachment sites and stimulates secondary branching from the main stem.
Al
Wonderful! Thanks a lot!!
You are right! This plant does grow fast! In the 2 weeks or so that I have had these, mine have grown visibly a lot. They haven't been watered since planting and they hardly get any light. It is dark enough in the spot where they are that the color on the wall is almost distorted. So this is way cool for me.
I'm thinking THAT won't last long. Your plant needs lots of light to do well. W/o good light, you can expect that the trunk/stem, once it forms, will not be self-supporting. The plant, weakened from insufficient light, will also be more susceptible to insects & disease. You may wish to rethink your choice of sites.
Al
Perhaps, but so far so good. I have gone by sites that have tested this plant for their ability to clean the air in your home. So far so good and I love it. They are happy as can be and the plants trunk is doing well and getting bigger. Grower's experience is the most important thing though. Once I see that the plant has issues with the lighting I give it, I do have another place I can put it.
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