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The dracaena is an interesting plant with many unique assortment . It can be either a tree diagram or a shrub , and it comes in several different shades of green , plus a few shades of red . Thiseasy - to - care - for tropical plantis a big hit for both indoor and outdoor garden . If you already have one , you might even be itch for a 2d or third dracaena . Of of course , you may get an entirely separate dracaena works , but you may also spread your own dracaena at home . Not certain how to get begin ? We ’ll help you out with this step - by - step guide on how to propagate dracaena from cutting .

Why and when should you propagate dracaenas?

The why is easy to do : Because it ’s a great way to get more dracaenas ! Propagation work by cloning the parent plant , often , but not always , through a cutting . The cutting off grows into a second , separate industrial plant that is genetically identical to the parent plant . This means that you have a 2d flora of the same type , to institute , give away , or broadcast further as you wish well .

Your dracaena should be a mature flora when you begin to propagate it , but you may spread it during any season . It ’s easiest to broadcast dracaena during spring and summer , when fresh growth is naturally occurring . However , if your dracaena is an indoor plant , or you endure somewhere with warm temperatures year round , you canpropagate your plant in fallor winter with few issues . Your cutting will just take longer to root .

Taking a cutting from your dracaena

There are two different ways you may take your clipping , but there ’s something to keep in judgment for both methods . You ’ll postulate to habituate asharp , clean knifeor garden scissor grip . wearisome blade require more pressing to snub , score them both more likely to slip and have injury and more potential to demolish the dracaena ’s stalk rather of switch off cleanly through .

The first method is to in full behead your dracaena . Yes , this can seem a little drastic , but the parent dracaena will originate back from the stem , as long as you continue to like for it . Make the cut below the leaves that have already grown , and let in a couple development lymph gland . These are the small bumps on the side of the bow , from which young leaves and roots grow . node at the top will produce into leaves , while knob at the bottom will grow rootage . Getting a few of these in your cutting will encourage it to keep rise .

The 2nd method can be used to propagate your dracaena after you render the first method . This method expend stem turn cuttings . Once the top of the plant has been removed , you could hack additional department of the prow . These cuttings can depart in duration , but they should be roughly 8 inches long with at least two outgrowth nodes . Be sure to leave at least 8 inches and two ontogenesis node on the original plant so that it too can continue to develop .

Close up of dark and light green dracaena leaves

jaimie tuchman / Shutterstock

Rooting the cutting

you could root your cuttings in either water or dirt . Rooting in wateris fairly spry , and , since water is clear , it ’s easy to keep an eye on your advance . However , the transition from water to pot soil can be unmanageable for some plants , conduct to a somewhat scummy success rate . On the other hand , rooting in soil can take a piddling longer and is unvoiced to track , but has a slightly higher success rate , since the cut wo n’t need to be transplant for some time .

Rooting hormone can assist speed things up , but it is n’t strictly necessary . If you ’re using rooting endocrine , sweep it on mildly before setting your cutting in the growing metier . For H2O rooting , use clean , cool weewee . go under your cutting near a windowpane where it will get plentitude of light and stay warm . If you ’re propagating your dracaena in winter , you may need touse a grow light . cutting off rooted in water can be moved to grime when the roots are several inches long .

Can you propagate dracaenas from seed?

Theoretically , you may grow dracaena from cum , but it ’s not very typical to do so since they do n’t often develop bloom or fruits as houseplants — you ’d probably have to go to a extra supplier to procure semen . While some dracaena seed develop into seedlings cursorily , it can still take about 2 or more month for seeds to burgeon forth , so develop your plant from seed can be a time - consuming process .

If you did desire to distribute a dracaena from seed , you ’d need to soak your seed in weewee for 3 to 5 day before planting them . Keep them in a lovesome , humid environment and verify that your germ - starting mass medium girdle moist .

Caring for the new dracaena

Dracaena plants opt uniform moisture and warm temperature . Although they require logical moisture , they can be sore to overwatering , so plant them in well - debilitate soil . Keep your cutting by a cheery window , but , once it start to sprout leaves , move the cut out of verbatim light . Direct undimmed lightcan burn or pass the farewell . Once the dracaena has reached maturity , you may start out fertilizing it in the natural spring and summer .

Using this unsubdivided guide , you could well double over or even triple the amount of dracaenas you have in your garden . In just a matter of week , your dracaena film editing should be root and develop . Remember to leave plenitude of the parent plant behind so it can uphold develop . get it grow back to the full , then you’re able to propagate it again . As long as you have a matured plant , some H2O or soil , a sunny window , and patience , there ’s no point of accumulation to the number of dracaenas you’re able to have .