Many know such a beautiful, large - up to 3, and some varieties up to 6 meters in height - a plant like dracaena. However, as not everyone knows the right way to take care of it.
How to care for dracaena - temperature and lighting
Almost all kinds of dracen are photophilous, but they do not like direct sunlight, so the windows that face east or west are ideal. In this case, variegated dracene species will require longer illumination than dracenes with dark leaves. Temperatures are required moderate, 20-25 ° C in summer and not less than 15 ° C in the cold season. In summer, the plant does not feel bad in the fresh air, but it is worth remembering that Drazena can not stand drafts.
Dracaena - care and watering
Care of the dracene plant in terms of watering is simple. It is important to ensure that the soil is constantly wet. True, despite the fact that dracene watering is required abundant, it is impossible to fill the flower - the stagnation of water for the plant is fatal. Most often follow the following watering schedule: in the summer dracen watered daily, in winter - a little less often, depending on the winter temperature of the content.
To humidity of air not at all grades the raised requirements. So, the Dracaena Godsef and dracena dragon feel well and in dry air. Other varieties require frequent spraying. And of course any sort of dracene will not be against periodic ablutions under the shower or rubbing the leaves with dust.
How to care for dracaena - top dressing
When growing dracaena and observing the rules for caring for her, you can not do without periodic feeding. Do this in the spring, during the active growth of the flower. Fertilizers are suitable for complex, but remember that for variegated forms there are fertilizers.
Dracaena - care and pruning
Everyone who grows, Dracaena wants to get a beautiful tree. What should I do for this? Of course, to form the crown, timely pruning. But there are still some subtleties of care, in order not to get a long bare stem. When the dracaena is very small (especially if you are growing it from a handle), do not start immediately to water it abundantly. Because with a large amount of water, the dracene is stretched out and it will be difficult to form the crown.
Dracaena - Care and Reproduction
With proper care of the plant you will have to think about the propagation of the dracaena. Friends and acquaintances, seeing your beauty, will probably want to settle in their own house the same miracle. The Dracaena can be propagated by stalk cuttings, air layers or apical cuttings. For reproduction by air layers it is necessary to make an incision on a well-developed stem. Then wrap this place with damp moss and polyethylene. After some time, the roots will appear on the site of the cut. Then the stem can be separated from the mother plant and planted in the ground. The location of the cut must be treated with a garden saver.
If you have chosen the propagation of the dracaena with stem or apical cuttings, it is worth remembering that their size should be 7-10 cm. Cuttings can be immediately rooted in a mixture of peat and sand, although it can be left in the water until the roots appear. In any case, after the appearance of the roots, the plant will need to be transplanted to a permanent place of residence.
Dracaena - care and transplantation
Of course, the proper care of any plant involves its transplantation, and dracene is no exception. She needs a transplant every 2-3 years in the spring (March-April). If the plant is still young and actively growing, then the transplant should be done annually. Transplant the plant without disturbing the earthen lump. It is better to take the soil for dracen, and do not forget about drainage.
Dracaena - care and illnesses
If your dracaena turns yellow, spots become stained and leaves fall, it's either diseases caused by improper care or the result of pests. Yellowness at the tips of the leaves may appear due to dry air or insufficient watering. Brown spots on the leaves are the result of a sunburn. If you look closely, you noticed insects on dragacene, then the plant should be washed immediately with a damp sponge, and if there are a lot of pests, treat it with the appropriate insecticide. Most often in dracene settle shields, spider mites and thrips.