Dieffenbachia, Dumbcane, Dumb Cane 'Compacta'

My experience with this plant is that it needs lots of light. I have several. The first one I will talk about is about 13 years old. It ...Read Moreis from floor to ceiling. It is in a large clay pot...root bound...and it is thriving on its own. It has new shoots. One is as tall as one of the original stalks. It has blossomed twice. The blossoms looks like a Spathiphyllum blossom. When it finished blossoming, the stalk died...that's why the other shoots appear--to replace the blossoming stalk. The other one is about 5.5 ft tall. It is a piece that broke of the floor to ceiling one. I placed it in soil (w/o a root stimuli) and it did great. In fact, another stalk came from that stalk. It blossomed also. It had three blossoms, but that stalk did not die. Watering is a must in my home. I water this plant three times a week. I wipe the leaves to keep the dust off and mist for they are tropical plants. I planted a joint outside in my flower bed. It grew, produced leaves, but died back during the winter. It didn't come back the next year.

I have had one of these plants which was given to me in 1989. It has suffered from the cat climbing it (claw marks up the trunk, 4' tall...Read More) leaf stems broken off and stuck in water which rooted and were repotted, several friends have cuttings. And it has been blooming for the last 4 years. So not to sure if or when it will die, hasn't yet and is still going strong. It blooms about 6 mo. of the year. And I NEVER put it out of doors. (I live in norhern Alaska).
Does best in indirect light, florescent light, and direct light. Did not do well in the dark, and slows growth during winter.