Dracaena marginata is one of the most favorite plants of flower growers. And this is understandable - its unusual appearance allows you to enter a flower pot in almost any interior. Large items can decorate the office, and a little margraine dracaena at home will look very nice and cozy. In addition, the plant is relatively unpretentious, which allows even inexperienced gardeners to grow it. In this article, we will share information on dracaena marginata and home care. A photo of this plant will definitely not leave you indifferent, you will certainly want to grow dracaena at home.
Description
Dracaena marginata is an evergreen plant, and its native land is an 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 stalk, prone to stiffness. Long green leaves with veins gather at the apex, forming a "nest". During flowering, small flowers of a white or greenish hue bloom on the dracaena.
Sometimes dracaena marginata exudes not a tender and pleasant, but a pungent and harsh aroma. At this point, it is better to transfer the flower pot to another room and wait out this period. It is worth noting that the flowering of dracaena is not often pleasing, and it is chosen mainly because of the beauty of the leaves.
Beneficial features
Recently, more and more flower growers began to grow dracaena marginata at home. Caring for it is quite simple, and there are a lot of useful properties:
- Dracaena perfectly copes with air purification from various harmful impurities. It is able to absorb up to 70% of formaldehyde, benzene and ammonia, which are released, for example, when office equipment is used. In addition, dracaena increases air humidity.
- In the homeland of a plant, its juice is used as a coloring matter.
- On an industrial scale, dracaena is used for the extraction of resin.
- In folk medicine, it is often used to treat the stomach and intestines, as well as to accelerate wound healing.
- Many people believe in the positive energetic effect of marginata dracaena - the attraction of wealth and the establishment of love and friendships.
Growing conditions
To obtain a healthy and beautiful plant, compliance with certain climatic conditions is required. In this section we will talk about the necessary temperature conditions and lighting for the cultivation of marginate dracaena.
A comfortable temperature limit for this plant is considered to be from +15 ° C to +28 ° C, but in winter it is permissible to lower it to +12 ° C. However, the lower the air temperature, the less watering should be done. Since at high humidity there is a supercooling of the roots, which leads to their decay and death. With warm and dry air, the plant should be moistened 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. Long-term exposure to direct sunlight leads to a burn of leaves, so it is important to slightly shade the windows on the south side of the house. But if there is not enough light in your room (the leaves will begin to fade and fade), then it is necessary to organize artificial lighting.
Landing
Before sowing the seeds of dracaena, they must be soaked for a day in a solution that stimulates growth, and its temperature should 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 normal care of the plant continues. A transplant into a permanent pot is carried out after the sprout reaches a six-centimeter height.
Watering
Care for dracaena marginata involves regular and plentiful watering. It is necessary to moisten the soil at the moment when its top layer is dried by at least three centimeters. However, to overdo it with watering is also not worth it - this will lead to decay of the root system. To increase the efficiency of irrigation, the topsoil should be loosened constantly. Water for irrigation is used either filtered or well-kept rain. In summer, margeninate dracaena is watered every two days, while daily spraying its leaves. In winter, the frequency of watering is reduced, provided that the flower pot is located far from the battery. Otherwise, watering and spraying are maintained in the previous mode.
Top dressing
During the cultivation of dracaena marginate, fertilizers should be applied periodically to the soil. But she does not have special requirements for dressing. It is quite enough to fertilize the soil with complex fertilizer compositions every two weeks during the spring and summer. With the advent of autumn and the onset of winter, the frequency of top dressing is halved. An excellent drug for fertilizing dracaena is "Dr. Foley Starter." Its use allows you to achieve a shiny surface of the leaves and their saturated color.
Cropping Features
Given the rather original appearance of marginata dracaena and its ability to grow up to 3 meters in height at home, a lush bunch of leaves located at the top of a bare and long column does not look very attractive. That is why experienced flower growers are advised to trim the plant, while receiving not one, but two flowers. The first flower grows from the trimmed part, and the second from the top after rooting.
To get the top of a lush and vibrant look, as in the photo of marginata dracaena, care is quite specific. The leaves in this case do not pinch, but cut off with a sharp knife. This is important to obtain a cuttings suitable for further growth. Cut the plant 5 centimeters from the apical bud. Before trimming, the barrel is thoroughly disinfected, and after the place of cuts, sprinkled with charcoal. The cut off top is placed in warm water. In this case, the maternal dracaena is shaded and also placed in a warm place, covered with a jar or film to accelerate the germination of the side shoots. Watering is slightly reduced, since excess moisture slows down the development of shoots. 2-3 weeks after the shoots appear, the film is removed. And for an even distribution of density between the trunk and the new shoot, you can fix the ball wrapped in a soft cloth. Thus, the stem will not be pressed tightly against the trunk, but will begin to grow in the lateral direction.
Transfer
Before transplanting the 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, since in autumn the plant is preparing for wintering, and then you should not disturb it.
The soil for the flower should consist of humus, turf and leafy soil and peat. Such a composition can easily be found in any flower shop. The size of the pot for transplantation must exceed the diameter of the plant by 4-5 centimeters. It is this ratio that is considered optimal: the plant is not crowded, but there is no extra freedom. 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 extract it from the old pot with a lump of earth. It is not necessary to shake it off, as this will provoke damage to the root system. Only dry and rotten roots that are in sight are removed. Dracaena is placed in a new pot, sprinkled with fresh soil and spilled well.
Breeding
There are two main ways of propagating marginata dracaena: cuttings and planting of apical layers. Let's consider both methods in more detail.
Propagating dracaena using apical layers is quite difficult. But with 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, which prevents the cut from growing together. Around the cut is attached to the package or container with soil, tightly fitting to the trunk. The soil in the bag must be constantly moist. Further cultivation is waiting for new roots. When there are a lot of them, the incised part of the stem is completely cut off and transplanted.
For the cuttings, choose the strongest stem, which is cut into pieces about 5 centimeters long. The main thing is that each of them should have 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. 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 tick-borne mites and spider mites. Cope with them will help the treatment of plants with soapy water. Rubbing the leaves with a solution of laundry soap is carried out to completely get rid of the pests.
Sometimes dracaena marginata leaves dry. This happens most often with too dry and warm air. In this case, it is necessary to increase the air humidity in the room or more often spray the plant with settled water from the sprayer. But do not confuse this phenomenon with the natural death of leaves, which occurs every 2 years. If the leaves are too pale, the plant should be moved to a more lighted place. If dracaena freezes or experiences an excess of moisture, then its leaves begin to curl and become covered with brown spots.