The Dracaena is a tropical evergreen shrub loved for its spear or grass shaped leaves that extend off one or more thickened, cane-like main stems.
Known mainly as a house plant, it will be happy growing outdoors here in the temperate climate of the Costa Blanca South.
Outdoor Dracaena plants can grow to 20ft or more and produce yellowish white flowers, followed by berries, but grown as a houseplant that’s very rare.
Grow in soil that is rich and well draining, Dracaena do best in bright, filtered, or indirect light, although they can stand short periods of direct sunlight.
Too much direct sunlight can scorch the leaves; too little light can cause the leaves to become very narrow.
Keep the plant consistently moist, by watering weekly during Spring through to Autumn, which is their growing season. Keep the soil drier in their dormant winter period.
Also feed monthly with a water soluble fertiliser during spring and summer.
Pruning is not essential, but cut it back when necessary to control their shape or height, best done during active growing periods of spring and summer.
Propagate Dracaena by rooting stem cuttings, which are best done in Spring when the plant is beginning to actively grow. Even just a bare section of the stem will often produce a new plant. Dracaena contain saponins, that are toxic to cats and dogs.
