How to Grow and Care for Dracaena Indoors

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Where to Plant Dracaena

When grown as houseplants, dracaenas need a warm location with bright indirect light, but they can be moved outdoors in the summer. Some varieties of dracaena are winter hardy in semitropical USDA Zones 10–11, where the temperature remains at least 50°F. These outdoor specimens grow much larger than dracaena houseplants.

The small, bushy form of young plants suits mantels, tabletops, and desks. In the right conditions, the houseplants can eventually reach 5 to 6 feet tall, making them perfect for adding life to a corner of the living room, dining room, or den.

Note: Dracaena plants are toxic to dogs and cats, so place them in areas that pets can't reach. Before acquiring a new plant, make sure your environment meets its needs. Not every plant will do well in every location.

Dracaena Care Tips

Dracaena plants are known for their ease of care, which makes them ideal for indoor settings. These plants thrive in conditions similar to those comfortable for people—moderate temperatures and indirect light.

Light: Dracaena plants are flexible about lighting requirements, and are able to live in anything from a dimly lit office building to a brightly lit, south-facing window. If grown in lower light, growth will likely be slower, but if your plant's stems become leggy, try to move it to where it can get more light. Leaf colors will likely be less vibrant in low light, so dracaena plant varieties sporting bright colors should be placed where they'll receive more light. However, keep the plant in indirect light or the foliage may get sunburned.
Soil and Water: Provide your dracaena with well-draining potting mix. Let the soil dry to the touch between waterings. Be careful not to let the soil completely dry out, or the leaves will begin to turn brown, especially at the tips. Soil that says soggy for long periods can cause root rot, so make sure the pot has drainage holes and always empty excess water from saucers.
Temperature and Humidity: In general, most Dracaena species grow best in temperatures between 60-75°F, whether growing indoors or outside. There are exceptions to this range; some can tolerate temperatures as high as 90°F if they are grown in a shady location and as low as 50°F when located in a sheltered area. Dracaena plants prefer humidity at 60 percent, although they tolerate average indoor humidity. Adding a humidifier to a room containing dracaena houseplants is recommended for extremely dry areas. Brown, crispy leaf tips are often a sign of not enough humidity.
Fertilizer: Fertilize dracaena once a month during spring and summer to encourage new growth. Use a liquid houseplant fertilizer applied at half strength. Growth naturally slows or stops in fall and winter, so you can skip the fertilizer over those months. It's important not to overfertilize because it can burn the roots and cause foliage to turn yellow or leaf tips to turn brown.
Pruning: The dracaena varieties most often grown as houseplants range in height from 2 to 10 feet, so you may want to prune your plant someday to reduce its size. During the growing season, use clean pruners or a sharp knife to trim the stalks back to the height you want.

Potting and Repotting

Grow dracaena in well-draining potting mix in a container with excellent drainage. When dracaena is left to grow in the same pot for a long time indoors, it can experience problems. The edges and tips of leaves may brown and die as a reaction to a buildup of fertilizers and salts from softened water. If this happens, try leaching the soil, which means flushing it with water until it runs clear from the bottom of the pot.

A better solution is to repot the dracaena every couple of years. This also helps prevent the plant from becoming rootbound, which can interfere with adequate water and nutrient uptake. To repot, choose a container that's slightly larger than the current one. Remove as much of the old potting soil as possible from the roots. Then set the plant into fresh potting soil in the new pot so it sits at the same level as it did in its old pot.

Pests and Plant Diseases

Dracaena plants, like many other plants, are susceptible to certain pests and diseases.

Spider Mites: Look out for spider mites, which thrive in warm, dry conditions. Signs of an infestation include webbing and stippled leaves. In order to control these pests, you should spray the plant and soil with neem oil, focusing on leaf undersides. Outdoors, rinsing dracaena regularly helps prevent spider mites.
Mealybugs and Scale: These can also be problematic for this plant, leaving sticky residue or bumps on leaves, causing yellowing and stunted growth. Treat these pests with neem oil or insecticidal soap.
Leaf Spot: This fungal disease appears as small brown spots, usually due to overwatering or poor air flow. Make sure to remove affected leaves and improve air circulation.
Root Rot: This can turn leaves yellow and limp. Improve drainage and replace old soil to prevent overwatering.

Common Issues with Dracaena

Observe dracaena plants regularly; if they have problems, the leaves usually show it:

Yellow or wilting leaves: Might indicate you are overwatering the plant or have it in a container with poor drainage. Water the plant until the soil is moist but not soggy. Use well-draining potting soil in a container with adequate drainage, and the plant should recover.
Yellow or crispy brown leaves: Overexposure to full sun can cause this; relocate the plant to a location with bright, indirect light.
Brown leaf tips: Might be caused by watering with tap water. You should water dracaenas with distilled water if you live in an area where the tap water is hard and contains added fluoride.

How to Propagate Dracaena

The easiest way to propagate dracaena plants is via water or soil propagation of a stem cutting. To start, identify a healthy stem on the dracaena plant and cut it with sanitized pruners. Make sure the cutting includes several leaf nodes and at least two leaves. Dip the bottom of the cutting into a rooting hormone.

Propagating in water: After adding the rooting hormone to the cutting, place it in a glass or jar that contains clean, distilled water. Most of the rooting hormone will dissolve into the water. Don't submerge any of the leaves. Place the container in a warm location where it receives bright, indirect light. Replace the water every other day. You'll see the roots as they develop.
Propagating in soil: Fill a small pot that has a drainage hole with potting mix and moisten it. After dipping the cutting in rooting hormone, immediately insert it into the mix. Firm the mix around the bottom of the stem and add a pencil or wooden craft stick if needed to keep the cutting upright. Place the pot in an area that receives bright, indirect light. Water the mix slightly every day for the first month, and then water it only a couple of times a week. The potting mix should remain moist but never wet.

It takes about six to eight weeks for roots to form. When you see roots coming out of the bottom of the pot, the cutting has rooted enough to be repotted.

Types of Dracaena

There are more than 170 species of dracaena houseplants. Here are some favorites:

Janet Craig: Dracaena deremensis 'Janet Craig', also known as Dracaena deremensis 'Compacta', has solid green leaves with short internodes. This shrubby plant adapts well to low-light conditions.
Corn Plant: Dracaena fragrans 'Massangeana' is called corn plant for its resemblance to the crop with the same common name. However, this dracaena has a woodier stem and a broad band of gold down the center of its leaves.
Florida Beauty: Dracaena surculosa 'Florida Beauty' is smaller and shrubbier than most dracaenas, rarely reaching more than 2 feet tall. It has broad leaves brilliantly spotted with creamy yellow, which give it the nickname "Gold Dust."
Lemon Lime: Dracaena deremensis 'Lemon Lime' has leaves with a central green band and a wide margin of chartreuse green.
Lucky Bamboo: Dracaena sanderiana is not a bamboo at all but rather a dracaena with a pliable stem that is often woven into elaborate shapes. It grows well directly in water or a gravel-filled pot with water.
Madagascar Dragon Tree: Dracaena marginata, also called the Madagascar Dragon Tree, may be grown either as a multiple-stem shrub or tree. Stems of tree-form plants often are trained to grow with crooks or bends. Deep green straplike leaves are edged with a narrow band of maroon.
Ribbon Plant: Dracaena sanderiana 'Variegata' is the same species as lucky bamboo, but its leaf margins are creamy white. It is sometimes grown in terrariums because it remains shorter than most other dracaenas.
Song of India: Dracaena reflexa 'Song of India' is a shrubby plant, usually grown with multiple stems in a pot. Leaves are edged with a band of gold and are 6 to 8 inches long.
Tricolor: Dracaena marginata 'Tricolor' or rainbow plant is a lighter color version of Madagascar dragon tree. Its narrow straplike leaves have a central band of medium green surrounded by a narrow gold band and edged with a stripe of red.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is it true that dracaena houseplants clean the air?

According to a well-known NASA Air Quality study, dracaena plants are among the most effective houseplants for removing pollutants from a home's air. While these plants may remove certain harmful chemicals from the air, the number of plants necessary to have any measurable effect on a home's air quality is impractical. However, you can still enjoy these plants for the beauty their foliage brings to indoor spaces.

How long do dracaena plants live as houseplants?

Although this varies by species, most dracaena houseplants live 10–15 years when grown under optimal conditions with regular repotting. Dracaena plants that grow outdoors in subtropical zones live much longer.