When and Find out how to Prune Dracaena

Standard houseplants and backyard ornamentals, tropical dracaena can profit from the occasional mild trim to the foliage to enhance appearances, or extra thorough pruning to resize overgrown crops.

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Numerous varieties function lush and shiny canopies or stands of strappy foliage. And lots of have tree-like stems much like palms.

You’re in all probability acquainted already with a number of Dracaena species that generally grace our properties and yards, such because the uniquely curled fortunate bamboo (D. sanderiana), the stately, wide-leaf corn plant (D. fragrans), the dramatic, bi- or tricolored dragon tree (D. marginata), and the tall, palm-like backyard spikes (D. indivisa).

Native to tropical areas, these cold-tender however sturdy crops are hardy solely in USDA Zones 10 to 12, and are sometimes grown as houseplants.

In a comfy, protected dwelling surroundings, many can attain as much as 10 toes tall and ultimately outgrow their location. Out within the backyard, some could develop as much as 20 toes.

Fortunately, dracaena responds nicely to pruning, and it’s straightforward to keep up a manageable dimension or tidy up the foliage.

So whether or not your dragon tree or spike plant wants only a mild trim or main structural reshaping, be part of us for a have a look at find out how to prune dracaena within the dwelling and backyard!

Right here’s every little thing we’ll cowl up forward to maintain your crops wanting their greatest:

When to Prune

The method of pruning dracaena can vary from a lightweight edging to take away lifeless or dying foliage to a full beheading to cut back the dimensions of huge specimens.

For both motion, the perfect time to prune is when the crops are of their energetic rising season by means of spring and summer time.

And it’s greatest to do any chopping earlier quite than later, to get the advantage of a full rising season to observe.

When potential, keep away from pruning in autumn and winter when development slows and crops are dormant.

Take away and Trim Leaves

To tidy crops and clear away brown, yellow, or dying leaves, you’ll be able to take away them cleanly from the stem by hand.

First, reduce or tear the leaf to cut back its size by half. Then tear the leaf lengthwise from the crosscut right down to the stem, ending with a agency tug to take away every part cleanly from the stem.

Leaves will also be eliminated near the stem with clear, sharp scissors or backyard shears. This normally leaves a brief tab on the trunk which may simply be peeled off if left to dry for a number of weeks first.

To take away brown or lifeless ideas, rein in unruly development, or create a extra uniform look, trim the leaf tricks to kind a symmetrical arc, beginning on the prime then shifting down the again, entrance, and sides.

Use clear, sharp scissors to trim the ideas at an angle. Go straightforward and snip modestly to keep away from the “oh no!” haircut look, eradicating ideas in small, one- or two-inch sections solely.

Step again a number of toes between cuts to precisely assess the general form, then re-trim as wanted for essentially the most pleasing aesthetic.

For stemless varieties corresponding to snake crops (D. trifasciata), take away lifeless or broken leaves on the base or skinny them with clear, sharp scissors.

Grasp the leaf prime with one hand to carry it taut then reduce horizontally throughout the underside on the soil line.

To cut back their top, trim leaf tops on the desired top, chopping at an angle to keep up a pure form.

When thinning or decreasing, work from the surface perimeter and regularly transfer in, remembering to step again a few occasions to evaluate the form as you go.

Stem Pruning

Stem pruning isn’t an annual occasion with dracaena, however a number of conditions warrant motion.

When mature specimens outgrow their surroundings or grow to be lanky, a cautious topping can restore tall or gangly crops to a manageable dimension.

And over time, some species and cultivars can develop extreme dips, bends, or twists within the stems.

Reducing the stems again not solely reduces their dimension, nevertheless it additionally promotes upright development. And crops usually department slightly below the reduce for a unbelievable, full head of foliage.

To create a compact, bushy form, reduce the stem low, leaving 1 / 4 of the stem’s total size in place.

For specimens with a taller profile, make your reduce at any desired top, eradicating between one-quarter and three-quarters of the entire stem size.

Use clear, sharp backyard snips to chop stems at a 45-degree angle – chopping on an angle helps cut back the obtainable space that bugs, mud, and pathogens can land on, limiting the probabilities of an infection or infestation.

Look ahead to buds of recent development to emerge under the reduce in a number of weeks.

To take away straggly facet stems, reduce them as near the bottom as potential. If wanted, use a clear boxcutter to trim away plant materials proper as much as the stem to stop regrowth.

However don’t throw away the stems you take away. They’re simply propagated to make new crops – and you’ll learn all about it in our information to propagating dracaena houseplants.

Out of doors Care

Out of doors specimens could be trimmed and pruned in the identical method as indoor crops.

You should utilize clear, sharp scissors or shears to trim ideas, draw back lifeless leaves from the stem, and prune stems to handle development and dimension.

Nevertheless, for big specimens, you could have to make use of a clear, sharp noticed to chop by means of thick trunks.

Ought to your out of doors specimens undergo chilly harm with a cover collapse, reduce stems again near the bottom in early spring.

However don’t take away the crops but. Even when the topside is gone, likelihood is good that the roots have survived.

Watch for brand spanking new development to emerge across the base because the rising season progresses.

I’ve misplaced the tops of my 15- to 20-foot spike crops (D. indivisa) 3 times in 25 years, they usually at all times develop again!

If no new development seems by midsummer, crops are most probably lifeless and could be dug out.

A Contact of the Tropics

Straightforward to develop and domesticate, swish dracaenas add an alluring contact of the tropics to properties and gardens – they usually reply nicely to a lightweight trim or a tough prune.

Bear in mind to trim the foliage frivolously for a tidy or uniform form – or lop the highest off with a stem pruning for a very new look!

For the perfect outcomes, prune throughout the rising season to shortly set up new development and plush foliage.

Are you able to prune your dracaena? When you have any questions, drop us a line within the feedback part under.

And for extra dracaena know-how, be sure you learn these articles subsequent.