My dracaena marginata isn't growing new stems! :-(

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Rachy_B Canterbury, United Kingdom Feb 09, 2014

Hi guys!

I've got two dracaena marginata in my south-facing bedroom and for love, nor money, can I get them to grow new stems!

One, Michel, (yes, I name my plants!) had three stems coming from the main base, but I trimmed it back to just one, as it was getting too tall. I'm worried that I may have gone a bit crazy with pruning, as I trimmed it right back to the base stem.

My second one, Irving, had three stems. I trimmed one back in October 2012 with about a four inch stem to grow from, and that worked out nicely. The second stem I trimmed back in June 2013 to about an inch and a half and it's still not growing!

On both plants, it looked like stems were about to burst through but nothing has happened!

I repotted both in October 2013 and untangled their roots. I'm thinking trimming back some of the roots (thick or thin, don't know which) might help. I'd repot them in bigger pots, but I need to keep the plants as small as possible as I'm a student and travel around a lot. They're both currently 2 feet tall and in pots of 15cm diameter

I water before they get too dry, use fertilizer in summer, mist and dust them but still nothing... The first one in particular I'm hoping to grow new stems on as the solitary stem is getting very tall and I'd like to cut it back. I love these plants! I've had them for two and a half years - the longest I've ever managed to keep plants alive for...

Any help you can give would be greatly appreciated!x

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Cville_Gardener Clarksville, TN(Zone 7a) Feb 09, 2014

Hi Rachy. Yes, the D. marginata usually sprouts slightly below the cut fairly quickly after it's cut back. Spring and summer are usually the best times to prune them.

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sallyg Anne Arundel,, MD(Zone 7b) Feb 15, 2014

Yes, and you can keep them in small pots. Big pots often lead to them staying too wet anyway. I'd continue your good care and hope that spring coming will give them a clue to grow!

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