Dracaena Marginata Plant Propagation

Stem Cuttings

• In the early morning when your dracaena is swollen with water use a sterile knife to cut a 4- to 6-inch section from the main stem that has foliage at the base. Apply rooting hormone to the bottom of the cutting. Insert one-third to one-half of the cutting into a watered planting medium. A good mix is 1 part sphagnum peat, 1 part perlite and 1 part sand. If the containers are more than 3 inches deep, water again. Cover the cutting with a polyethylene plastic tent or a plastic jug with the bottom removed. Place it in indirect light. Keep your potting mixture moist until the cutting has rooted.

Air Layering

• Soak a piece of sphagnum moss in water for several hours then squeeze out the excess water. Choose a large stem of a dracaena that has have become “leggy” through the loss of its bottom foliage. Make a 1 ½ to 2-inch vertical cut nearly to the center a stem, 5 or 6 inches from the tip. Insert a sliver of wood or a piece of twisted sphagnum moss into the wound so it won’t close and dust the wound with rooting hormone. Wrap the moss around the wound and tie it into place. Enclose the wound with a sealed tent of polyethylene film to enclose the moisture. New roots will form in the wound and eventually penetrate the moss. When you can see new roots around the moss, remove the polyethylene tent, cut the plant below the root ball and plant the roots in a potting mixture.

Growing Conditions

• Dracaena will grow outdoors in USDA growing zones 10 and 11. If you grow your cutting indoors, maintain temperatures of 64 to 77 degrees Fahrenheit. Dracaena likes light. It can survive in low light but it will likely become tall and weak. Fertilize it every two weeks when it is actively growing.

Container Size

• When you grow a cutting of dracaena marginata, keep in mind that its growth depends on where you plant it. Older, outdoor dracaena can grow to 10 feet high with leaves more than 18 inches long. Florida nurseries sell them in containers that range in size from several inches in diameter up to 52 inches wide.