Dracaena Marginata : lots of beginner questions

Hi,

I bought a Dracaena Marginata that had 3 trunks in the pot.
I attached the images of it here.
I have a couple questions just to make sure I am doing right and what need to be done !
1- From the pictures, does the plant seems in good shape ? I had it for 3 months.
2- I'd like to have the trunk be bigger . I saw some other Marginata, and the trunk seems very skinny.
How can I Have a bigger trunk so it is stronger ??

3 - For each trunk, I'd like to have at least 3-4 more branches. I read that by cutting the top of the main branch, some new branches will grow. But how can I make sure to have at least 3 to 4 ?

4- How should I cut the branch to have more branches ? At which height level should I cut from the top ? After cutting it , what are the care I should provide to the main trunk ? and what can I do with the cutted branch ?


5- Is there a way to have more leafs ??


Thanks a lot for your advices !



This message was edited Jan 7, 2011 6:49 PM

I dont have any advice I just wanted to comment on how beautiful yours is :>)
Christine

1) It seems to be in ok shape, but it has a lot of necrotic leaf tips, which is most often an indication of over-watering or a high level of solubles in the soil. Either condition is usually soil related and often exacerbated by less than ideal watering habits and/or low humidity.

2) The key to a fat trunk is maximizing foliage volume and good light. The more photosynthesizing that goes on the greater the number of cells laid down in cambial tissues, which is what fattens trunks. There are ways to alter the height:thrunk thickness ratio by pruning, but that's not what you asked. We utilize trunk chops regularly in bonsai to increase the diameter of the trunk relative to height, but to thicken trunks overall, maximum foliage, good light, and of course, goods nutrition are imperatives.


3) You can force back-budding and more branches either by removing apical meristems (the growing tips of branches) or by cutting the trunk back and waiting. Which strategy you would use depends on where you want the new branching to occur. Removing the apical meristems (tip-pruning) is pretty safe almost any time the plant is reasonably healthy, but cutting the plant back hard should be done in late summer, after the plant has gained/stored enough energy that it can respond quickly to the work and still have a good part of the summer to recover and gain energy to get it through the winter.

You really can't be sure you'll have 3-4 branches to work with after you cut the plant back, but the key to forcing the most vigorous back-budding is timing and vitality. Let's say you move your tree outdoors around Jun 1, and the soil and nutritional supplementation programs are perfect (these are KEY elements if you are working toward maximizing vitality). The plant will start to store energy in earnest after the summer solstice, so it should have very good energy levels around June's end and should respond to cutting back hard better than at any other time. This still allows the plant to remain outdoors in July, August, and early September, storing energy for the coming winter. If you have more than the 3-4 breaks you're looking for, simply rub the newly emerging buds that least compliment your vision of the future plant, and leave the 3-4 that best compliment it.

4) How and where you cut the plant back depends on your vision of what you want it to look like. The trunk requires no additional care after you cut it back, but on most plants I cut back that aren't quite woody, I seal the weeping cut with waterproof wood glue. This helps prevent the stem from drying out below the cut and dying back too far. After new branches emerge, you can cut the stem back to just above the highest branch you decide to keep.

The pruned top can be rooted. It should root quickly if you separate it when it has lots of stored energy. Cuttings of weak or stressed trees have very low success rated, while cuttings from plants with lots of stored energy usually root much faster and much more reliably.

5) You maximize foliage by pinching. That is, you remove the apical meristems (growing tips of branches and stems) to force back-budding, which produces more branches and leaves. On trees and branching plants, you can maximise the density of the foliage by allowing branches to extend to 4-5 leaves, then cutting the branch back to 2 leaves. A new branch will grow from each new leaf axil (usually) giving you double the number of branches and leaves. This process repeated on only one branch grows exponentially, like this: 2,4,8,16,32,64,128 ..... sub-branches from 1 branch with 2-5 leaves on each branch. This is called forced ramification. The technique for plants like dracaena is a little different, but employs the same principle.

Good luck.

Al



This message was edited Jan 8, 2011 5:17 PM

@jasminesmom : thanks, I tried to do my best !


@tapla : thanks for all thoses tips !

1) About the necrotic leaf tips, I think it is more the dry air make them like that.
About the watering, I water it once a week and before waterting I use my moisture meter to be sure that the deep soil in in the dry zone before I water it.

Do you think that water it once a week in winter is too much ? How could I "remove" those necrotic tips ? just by cutting them ? Do the tip grow again ?

2) So how do you trunk chop to have the fat trunk ?? At which height should I chop my marginata ? 1 inch under the first leaf ? Or should the trunk still have some leaves in order to be able to live and capture the light ?


3) What will be a good nutritional supplementation programs ?? I was giving some 20-20-20 soluble multipourpose nutritionnal pot.
On the stiker, it said to use it every 3 weeks.

You are talking of moving tha plant outdoor ? Is it the best way to have the Dracanea MArginata in the best shape and energy level for the removing of the apical meristems ?
Should I let the plant outdoor after the cut ??


Thanks a lot for all those recommandetation

1) It may seem a little like splitting hairs, but the primary cause of necrotic leaf tips and margins is usually impaired root function caused by soil conditions that don't allow water to be moved to the top of the plant fast enough to keep up with transpiration rates. The result is usually necrotic leaf extremities, but low humidity can definitely be a contributor. The most common causes of impaired root function are those I mentioned - over-watering and/or a high level of salts in the soil solution.

If you remove the necrotic tips, use a scissors and leave a thin strip of brown on the tip. If you cut into the viable (green) tissue, it will just die back and leave you with a brown strip anyway. Plants are not regenerative organisms like animals, in the sense that they will regrow new parts in the same spacial planes, so 'no', the dead tips will not grow back or repair themselves.

Water on an as-needed basis, rather on a schedule. This is especially important if you are using water-retentive peat/coir/compost-based soils. Don't water until the soil feels dry at the drain hole, or a sharp wood dowel inserted deep into the soil comes out clean/dry.

Moisture meters are very ineffective. They don't measure moisture, they measure the EC (electrical conductivity) of the soil solution. To illustrate, clean the probe(s) and dip them in a cup of distilled water and not that it reads 'DRY'. Add a little salt to the water and it suddenly reads wet. Testing at the drain hole or using a wooden dowel is a much more reliable indicator.

2) Read 3) & 4) more carefully in my post above this one.

3) I use/prefer fertilizers in a 3:1:2 RATIO for virtually all my plants, and I tend more than 300 plants in containers. RATIO is different than NPK %s. 24-8-16, 12-4-8 and 9-3-6 are ALL 3:1:2 ratio fertilizers. I prefer this ratio because it supplies nutrients closest to that in which plants actually use the nutrients, which allows you to keep fertility levels as low as possible w/o nutritional deficiencies. This is a significant advantage, and if you are able to water/fertilize (fertigate) properly, will go a LONG way toward eliminating the spoiled foliage we're talking about. I've posted hundreds of pictures of plants here at Dave's and at other forum sites, and none of them show any foliage problems at all - not even the incidental plants often seen in the background.

The key to effective nutrient supplementation revolves around soil choice and watering habits. This is a copy/paste job from another forum. It will have some useful info in it, even if it seems slightly OT at times:

How you can or should fertilize is directly linked to your soil and watering habits. I don't know what 'strength' it works out to be, but I water ALL my houseplants and indoor (tropical/subtropical) bonsai (glorified houseplants) at every watering with 12-15 drops of Foliage-Pro 9-3-6 in a gallon of room temperature water. I water thoroughly, until water is flowing freely from the drain hole into the plastic plates I use as collection saucers. I can do this because I use the gritty mix, which if properly made, holds no perched water, so I never worry about root rot or accumulating salts. I can fertigate (water + fertilizer) this way no matter what the light conditions are, because the concentration of fertilizer (measured in electrical conductivity and/or total dissolved solids [EC/TDS]) in the soil ALWAYS remains at low levels, and salts do not accumulate. The accumulation of soluble salts from tap water and fertilizer salts is hugely responsible for the steady decline and eventual demise of a very large % of houseplants, and it can be directly attributable to soil choice and watering habits usually dictated by that soil choice. I've discussed the dilemma involved with using heavy soils numerous times. You either water in sips to prevent root rot, which ensures an accumulation of soluble salts in the soil; OR, you water copiously and suffer the risk of root rot as a result of the soil remaining wet for prolonged periods. There ARE ways that can help you in "Dealing with Water-Retentive Soils", and I've outlined some helpful tips if anyone cares to follow the link: http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/1128179/?hl=dealing+with+water+retentive+soils

Summarizing: If you're using fast soils that allow you to water copiously, there is considerable benefit in fertilizing at low doses all winter, keeping fertility levels in the adequacy range, but not above. If you are using heavy soils, you cannot fertilize so frequently unless you flush the soil of salts on a regular basis.

Fertilizing often at low doses offers the best opportunity for keeping o/a fertility levels at their lowest w/o creating a nutritional deficiency of any one nutrient. Your choice of a 3:1:2 ratio fertilizer ALSO contributes to the ability to keep fertility levels low, with no deficiencies, by supplying nutrients in a ratio extremely close to that which plants use.

3) continued: There are no such things as houseplants - only outdoor plants that tolerate indoor conditions to varying degrees; so yes - it is better for the plant when temperature and light conditions allow if you move it outdoors. The difference in growth and vitality will be stark. I have about 125 tropical and subtropical plants that grow under lights in the winter. AS SOON as temperatures allow, the plants are moved outdoors into the most light they comfortably tolerate; and are not moved back indoors until forced to by temperatures in September (here in MI).

Al