Dracaena plant care

Dracaena plant care comes down to bright indirect light, watering only when the top 1.5–2 inches of mix are dry, and using low-fluoride water so the leaf tips don't brown. Get those right and marginata, fragrans, Janet Craig and the rest are among the toughest floor plants you can grow — but they are toxic to cats and dogs.

Dracaena is a big genus of shrubs and trees from Africa, Madagascar and Asia. The houseplants Americans buy as "dragon tree," "corn plant," "Janet Craig" or "song of India" are all dracaenas, and since a botanical reshuffle the genus also includes snake plants (formerly Sansevieria). This page covers the cane-type dracaenas; corn plant, lucky bamboo and snake plant have their own pages.

Common dracaena types

Toxicity: dracaena, cats and dogs

The ASPCA lists dracaena — including corn plant, dragon tree and ribbon plant — as toxic to dogs and cats. The toxic principle is saponins, and the listed signs are vomiting (occasionally with blood), depression, anorexia, hypersalivation and dilated pupils in cats. The RHS adds that all parts are poisonous to cats, dogs and young children.

In practice: severe poisonings are uncommon, but a day of vomiting and lethargy is a realistic outcome, and cats love chewing the grass-like leaves of marginata. Put the plant on a tall stand or in a room the cat can't reach. If a pet eats it, call your vet or the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center at (888) 426-4435; for a child, call Poison Control at 1-800-222-1222. For a large pet-friendly floor plant, look at the pet-safe collection instead; dracaena belongs with the toxic plants.

Why dracaena tips turn brown

Dracaenas are near the top of every list of fluoride-sensitive plants. The Pacific Northwest Plant Disease Management Handbook names Dracaena species, especially corn plant, as very sensitive, and describes the symptom: tip and margin necrosis that spreads inward. Fluoride builds up where water evaporates — the leaf tip — and stays there.

Most US cities fluoridate their water, so the fix is a different water source:

The RHS gives the same advice: rain or filtered water rather than hard tap water. The PNW handbook also recommends avoiding high-phosphate fertilizers, which can carry extra fluoride. Every 1–2 months, flush the pot in the tub by running about three times the pot's volume of soft water through it slowly. Already-brown tissue won't recover; judge success by new leaves, which take 4–8 weeks to unfurl in summer. More on the symptom in brown tips.

Light

Dracaenas handle lower light than most big houseplants, which is why they fill offices. Best is bright indirect light: the RHS suggests an east- or west-facing window, or a south window shaded by a sheer curtain. In a US home that means right at an east window, or 3–6 feet back from a south or west one.

The variety matters. Green types (Janet Craig, corn plant) live 8–10 feet from a window, though they grow slowly. Variegated marginatas and Lemon Lime fade to plain green in shade. Hot afternoon sun through glass leaves pale, bleached patches. Give the pot a quarter turn every 2–3 weeks so the canes don't lean. Short winter days are a good time for a grow light.

Watering by season

Dracaenas come from seasonally dry habitats; overwatering is far more dangerous than drought. Water when the top 1.5–2 inches of mix are dry — check with a finger or a wooden skewer — and water thoroughly until it runs from the drainage hole. Clemson recommends water between 62 and 72 °F and emptying the saucer.

Adjust: terracotta dries 30–40 % faster; a cool room at 60–62 °F halves water use. The classic mistake is a limp, drooping plant in wet soil — it looks thirsty, but the roots are rotting. Check the soil before you reach for the watering can. See overwatering.

Humidity and temperature

Aim for 40–60 % humidity. Below 40 % tips brown even with good water, and US homes with forced-air heat often sit at 20–30 % in winter. A humidifier set near 50 % is the only method that works around the clock; grouping plants helps a little; misting mostly washes dust off the leaves. Details in our humidity guide.

The RHS gives 65–86 °F (18–30 °C) as the range. Keep dracaenas above 60 °F; below about 55 °F leaves curl and brown within days. The worst winter combination is a cold window plus normal watering: roots in cold soil can't drink, the mix stays wet, and the cane rots from the base. Move plants away from drafty doors and heat registers.

Soil and repotting

Use a loose, slightly acidic mix. The RHS suggests three parts peat-free ericaceous compost to one part perlite and one part medium orchid bark. A US equivalent: 2 parts indoor potting mix, 1 part perlite, 1 part fine orchid bark. Avoid adding lime unless you water with fluoridated tap water — the PNW handbook notes calcium (dolomite) helps tie up fluoride.

Repot every 2–3 years in spring, one pot size larger; the RHS warns that an oversized pot holds too much wet compost and causes root rot. Tall plants need a heavy pot to avoid tipping. The step-by-step is on dracaena repotting, with general principles in repotting and soil.

Fertilizer

From April through October, feed every 3–4 weeks with a liquid houseplant fertilizer at half the label rate; the RHS recommends monthly feeding in this period and warns against overfeeding. Pick a formula that isn't high in phosphorus. Stop from November to March, and always fertilize moist soil. More in fertilizer.

Pruning and propagation

A dracaena that has grown into the ceiling or lost its lower leaves is easy to reset — and the cuttings root reliably. Do it from April to July.

Top cutting:

1. With a clean, sharp knife cut the top with 4–6 inches of cane.
2. Let the cut dry for 2–3 hours.
3. Stand it in a jar with 1–2 inches of soft water, or push it into damp perlite.
4. Keep it at 72–77 °F in bright indirect light; change the water every 4–5 days.
5. Roots appear in 3–8 weeks; pot it once they are 1–2 inches long.

The stump: leave it in the pot, water sparingly and keep it warm. Within 4–10 weeks 2–3 shoots break from dormant buds below the cut, making a multi-headed plant.

Cane sections: cut leftover cane into 3–5 inch pieces, remembering which end is up (cut the top end at an angle). Push them upright a third of their length into damp perlite, or lay them on their side half-buried. Keep warm and humid; they root and sprout in 4–10 weeks. Tops succeed far more often than cane pieces. General technique in propagation.

Buying a healthy dracaena

At the store, press gently on each cane near the soil line: it should be hard, not spongy. Look for firm, evenly colored new leaves at the top, no brown bumps or webbing under the leaves, and mix that is not soaking wet. Big-box plants shipped in winter are often chilled; let a new plant settle for 2–3 weeks before repotting.

Pests

The usual pests are scale (brown bumps on canes, sticky leaves), mealybugs in leaf axils, and spider mites when the air is dry. Check the undersides of leaves and the leaf bases monthly. Fungus gnats show up in constantly wet mix — our sister site covers fungus gnats.

Do dracaenas clean the air?

Dracaenas featured in NASA's 1989 sealed-chamber tests, which is why they appear on many "air-purifying" lists. But a 2019 review by Drexel University engineers in the Journal of Exposure Science & Environmental Epidemiology calculated that you'd need 100 to 1,000 plants per square meter of floor to match what normal building ventilation already does. Grow a dracaena because it's handsome and tough; open a window for air quality. See air-purifying plants for the full picture.