Dracaena marginata is one of the most favorite plants of flower growers. And this is quite understandable - its unusual appearance allows you to fit a flower pot into almost any interior. Large specimens can decorate the office, and a small marginal dracaena at home will look very cute and cozy. In addition, the plant is relatively unpretentious, which allows even inexperienced flower growers to grow it. In this article, we will share information about marginal dracaena and home care. The photo of this plant will definitely not leave you indifferent, you will certainly want to grow dracaena at home.
Description
Dracaena marginata refers to evergreens, and its homeland is the exotic African island - Madagascar. Under natural conditions, the height of this plant can reach almost six meters. As shown in the photo, marginata dracaena is a flower with a branching serpentine stem prone to woodiness. Long green veined leaves gather ontop, forming a "nest". During the flowering period, small flowers of a white or greenish hue bloom on the dracaena.
Sometimes dracaena marginata exudes not a gentle and pleasant, but a pungent and sharp aroma. At this point, it is better to move the flower pot to another room and wait out this period. It is worth noting that dracaena rarely pleases with flowering, and it is chosen mainly because of the beauty of the leaves.
Useful properties
Recently, more and more flower growers began to grow dracaena marginata at home. Caring for her is quite simple, and there are a lot of useful properties:
- Dracaena does an excellent job of cleaning the air from various harmful impurities. It is able to absorb up to 70% of formaldehyde, benzene and ammonia, which are released, for example, during the operation of office equipment. In addition, dracaena increases air humidity.
- In the homeland of the plant, its juice is used as a dye.
- On an industrial scale, dracaena is used for resin extraction.
- In folk medicine, it is often used to treat the stomach and intestines, as well as to speed up wound healing.
- Many people also believe in the positive energy impact of marginal dracaena - the attraction of we alth and the establishment of love and friendship.
Growing conditions
To obtain a he althy and beautiful plant, certain climatic conditions are required. In this section, we will talk about the necessary temperature conditions and lighting for growing dracaena.marginata.
The comfortable temperature limit for this plant is from +15 °С to +28 °С, but in winter it can drop to +12 °С. However, the lower the air temperature, the less often watering should be done. Since at high humidity, supercooling of the roots occurs, which leads to their decay and death. In warm and dry air, moisten the plant by additional spraying or rinsing the leaves under a warm shower. Such procedures will help free the plant from dust and give it a more well-groomed appearance.
Dracaena marginata loves bright, but at the same time diffused light. Prolonged exposure to direct sunlight causes leaf scorch, so it is important to lightly shade the windows on the south side of the house. But if there is not enough light in your room (at the same time, the leaves will begin to turn pale and weaken), then you need to organize artificial lighting.
Landing
Before sowing dracaena seeds, they must be soaked for a day in a growth-stimulating solution, and its temperature must be at least 30 ° C. After that, the seeds are removed from the solution, allowed to drain excess moisture and planted in a temporary container with prepared soil. Plantings are watered, covered with film or glass to create greenhouse conditions and placed in a warm place. The first shoots of dracaena marginata appear within two months. As soon as the first shoots sprout, the film is removed and the usual care of the plant is continued. Transplantation into a permanent pot is carried out after the sprout reaches a six-centimeterheight.
Irrigation
Caring for marginata dracaena implies regular and abundant watering. It is necessary to moisten the soil at the moment when its top layer is dry by at least three centimeters. However, overdoing it with watering is also not worth it - this will lead to decay of the root system. To increase the efficiency of irrigation, you should constantly loosen the top layer of soil. Water for irrigation is used either filtered or well-settled rainwater. In summer, dracaena marginata is watered every two days, while spraying its leaves daily. In winter, the frequency of watering is reduced, provided that the flower pot is located far from the battery. Otherwise, watering and spraying remain as before.
Feeding
In the process of growing dracaena marginata, fertilizers should be periodically applied to the soil. But she does not impose special requirements for top dressing. It is enough to fertilize the soil with complex fertilizer formulations every two weeks during spring and summer. With the advent of autumn and the onset of winter, the frequency of feeding is halved. An excellent preparation for dracaena fertilizer is Doctor Foley Starter. Its use allows you to achieve a shiny surface of the leaves and their rich color.
Cutting Features
Given the rather original appearance of the marginata dracaena and its ability to grow up to 3 meters in height at home, a lush bunch of leaves located on top of a bareand a long pole, does not look very attractive. That is why experienced flower growers are advised to cut the plant, while getting not one, but two flowers. The first flower grows from the cut part, and the second flower grows from the top after it has rooted.
To get the top of a lush and bright look, as in the photo of marginata dracaena, care is required quite specific. In this case, the leaves are not pinched, but cut off with a sharp knife. This is important for obtaining a cutting suitable for further growth. Cut the plant 5 centimeters from the apical bud. Before pruning, the trunk is thoroughly disinfected, and after the cuts are sprinkled with charcoal. The cut top is placed in warm water. At the same time, the mother dracaena is shaded and also placed in a warm place, covered with a jar or film to accelerate the germination of side shoots. Watering is slightly reduced, as excess moisture slows down the development of shoots. After 2-3 weeks after the appearance of the shoots, the film is removed. And to evenly distribute the density between the trunk and the new shoot, you can fix a ball wrapped in a soft cloth. Thus, the stem will not be pressed tightly against the trunk, but will begin to grow in a lateral direction.
Transfer
Before transplanting a plant, it is important to take care of the selection of the necessary pot, soil and fertilizer. It is best to transplant dracaena in March or April, because in autumn the plant prepares for wintering, and then you should not disturb it.
The soil for the flower should consist of humus, turfand leafy soil and peat. Such a composition can be easily found in any flower shop. The size of the pot for transplanting should exceed the diameter of the plant itself by 4-5 centimeters. It is this ratio that is considered optimal: the plant is not crowded, but there is no extra freedom either. A layer of expanded clay or other drainage material is poured onto the bottom of the pot. After that, you need to take the plant by the trunk and carefully remove it from the old pot along with a clod of earth. It is not necessary to shake it off, as this will cause damage to the root system. Remove only dry and rotten roots that are in sight. Dracaena is placed in a new pot, sprinkled with fresh soil and spilled well.
Reproduction
There are two main ways to propagate dracaena marginata: cuttings and planting apical layers. Let's take a closer look at both methods.
Propagate dracaena with the help of apical layers is quite difficult. But if you follow all the recommendations, you can get an excellent result. To begin with, the height of the plant is determined and the desired stem is selected. At the selected height, a mark is made and an incision is made into which a wedge is inserted to prevent the cut from growing together. A bag or container with soil is attached around the incision, tightly fitting to the trunk. The soil in the bag must be constantly moist. Further cultivation is to wait for new roots. When there are enough of them, the incised part of the stem is completely cut off and replanted.
For grafting, choose the strongest stem, which is cut into lengthsabout 5 centimeters. The main thing is that each of them has at least two kidneys. After cutting the cuttings, it is necessary to make incisions on the bark of each of them and place the planting material in the soil. The cuttings are covered with a jar to create a greenhouse effect and periodically sprayed with water.
Diseases and pests
Dracaena marginata, like many other indoor plants, is susceptible to pests. Most often these are mites and spider mites. Treating the plant with soapy water will help to cope with them. Wiping the leaves with a solution of laundry soap is carried out until the pests are completely eliminated.
Sometimes the marginata dracaena leaves dry. This happens most often when the air is too dry and warm. In this case, it is necessary to increase the humidity in the room or spray the plant more often with settled water from a spray bottle. But do not confuse this phenomenon with the natural death of leaves, which occurs every 2 years. If the color of the leaves is too pale, the plant should be moved to a more lit place. If the dracaena freezes or experiences excess moisture, then its leaves begin to curl and become covered with brown spots.
