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Dracaena |
Family : dracaenaceae |
| Number of species : 40 | |
| Country of origin : Africa, Oceania |
| Dracaenas are amongst my favourites houseplants, as their beauty is worth the efforts that they require to grow successfully. Here are presented 6 species of dracaena which do rather well in my interior, as some others, some of which are reputated as easy, just cannot survive longer than a season (e.g. d. marginata). |
| Dracaena reflexa song of india |
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Another variety of d.
reflexa is this green 'song of jamaica' sample. It is
far from growing as fast as its cousin 'from india', as it is now 5-year
old and hardly reaches 1-meter high. |
| Dracaena demerensis |
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Once you've bought one plant
of dracaena demerensis, you can be sure that you'll have
some until the day you die, as they live many years and are easy to renew
when most lower leaves have fallen down.
Right, an old stem was cut at
20 cm and repotted in a fresh, light soil. New growth appears in 2 months if conditions are suitable.
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| Dracaena surculosa |
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To a certain extend, it
looks more alike some orchids, even if its flowers have just
nothing to do with orchid flowers.
This sample is now for 3 years in my collection and grows by hopping. |
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These two other species of dracaena are
growing quietly (below, d. rikki).
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This 2-meter high d.
reflexa 'song of india' has been living for 2 years at home. It
stands just behind the main window towards south. Soiled in a 30-cm
plastic pot, it requires abudant waterings almost the whole year (+/- 2
liters per week).
This sample of cordyline is not a dracaena, but cultivation techniques are similar. However,
cordyline suffers more from dry air than dracaenas.