Rooting Dracaena Plants

Air Layering

• Air layering involves rooting a cane while the cane is still attached to the parent plant. A short length of the cane is stripped of its outer bark and a handful of damp rooting medium -- usually sphagnum moss -- is packed around the branch. Covering the moss securely with plastic wrap keeps the moss damp until roots develop. When roots are clearly visible under the plastic -- usually at least one to three months, the rooted cane is cut from the parent plant and potted or transplanted outdoors.

Cane Cuttings

• Propagating by cane cuttings requires planting 2- to 3-inch stem sections, each with at least one or two nodes. There are two ways to plant the cane sections. The first method is to slice the cane lengthwise and plant the cane sections horizontally, cut side down, on the moist potting soil. The second method involves planting the intact cane vertically, about one-half inch deep. Either way, roots sprout from the buried section of cane and leaves sprout from the top of the cane.

Softwood Cutting

• Rooting softwood cuttings, also known as herbaceous cuttings, involves rooting short lengths of flexible new stems just before the stems begin to harden between late spring and midsummer. The bottoms of the stems are dipped in rooting hormone and then planted in a pot filled with a moist planting medium. Covering the pot securely with plastic creates a warm, moist greenhouse environment conducive to rooting. Once the cuttings root, usually after about a month, each cutting is planted in an individual pot, or in warmer climates, transplanted outdoors.

Leaf Bud Cuttings

• Because propagating a dracaena from leaf bud cuttings requires only a short length of cane with one leaf, you can root several new plants from a single cane. The cane is planted upright in a pot filled with moist, coarse sand, with the cane buried to half its length. The large leaf is cut to half its length to prevent moisture loss. In warm temperatures and bright, indirect light, the cane develops roots and a bud appears at the junction of the cane and the leaf.