Propagating A Dracaena Is So Easy To Do
I almost titled this short post “I Accidentally Propagated My Dracaena” because that’s exactly what happened. Even if you don’t have a green thumb, propagating a Dracaena is oh so easy. If you do it by pruning the top off the plant and letting new growth appear or by stem cuttings in water, it propagates with little or no efforts from you at all.
I had gotten a little Dracaena “Lemon Lime” in a 4” pot when I lived up in San Francisco. I snatched it up as soon as it was introduced to the trade because fell in love with the chartreuse foliage.
Long story short, this Dracaena had gotten very leggy over the years and was much more stem that foliage. I wanted it to remain on the smaller side so a good ole snip snip was in order.
A couple of months later viola, roots started to appear. As you can see, the roots emerged 3-4” up on the stem.
I meant to propagate the top so I could give it to a friend. There was about 8” of stem in the middle I cut off and composed. I could have propagated that too but chose not to.
I stuck the pot with the roots and about 6” of the remaining stem (which you can see in the video below) in my utility room behind a large bag of cat food. I didn’t water it because I meant to dump the soil in the garden and compose the rest. I forgot about it until I went to open that bag 2 months later for my kitties to feast on one night.
Lo and behold, new growth was appearing despite my ignoring it.
The nodes are sprouting off the “mother” stem that remains in the pot. You can see 2 & there’s one appearing on the backside.
So, this was an accidental propagation. Not only did I let the plant go dry for many weeks but the utility room was cool and on the darker side because it was Winter.
I figured if the plant wanted to live this badly, I’d go along with it.
If your Dracaena is getting leggy, then cut it back. It’s easy to do but it does take some time for the new growth and the roots to appear so be patient. Let me know how it goes!
Some Of Our General Houseplant Guides For Your Reference:
- Guide To Watering Indoor Plants
- Beginner’s Guide To Repotting Plants
- 3 Ways To Successfully Fertilize Indoor Plants
- How to Clean Houseplants
- Winter Houseplant Care Guide
- Plant Humidity: How I Increase Humidity For Houseplants
- Buying Houseplants: 14 Tips For Indoor Gardening Newbies
- 11 Pet-Friendly Houseplants
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Nell, the founder of Joy Us garden, was born into a gardening family and grew up in Connecticut’s countryside. After living in Boston, New York, San Francisco, & Santa Barbara, she now calls the Arizona desert home. She studied horticulture & garden design, working in the field all her life. Nell is a gardener, designer, blogger, Youtube creator, & author. She’s been gardening for a very long time & wants to share what she’s learned with you.
Hello, I have a Dracaena just like this one but I’m not sure of its specie because when I search for Dracaena ‘Lemon Lime’ the photos that show up are very different to this one… Are you sure this is a ‘Lemon Lime’?
Hi Luisa – Yes, I bought that as Dr. Lemon Lime. The coloring varies mainly depending on age & exposure. It’s darker now & only the new growth is chartreuse. Nell
Hi, I have a Dracaena Compacta or Janet Craig, I believe it’s called. I’ve had this plant for at least 10 years and it’s only about 4ft tall. The plant is healthy, green and doing well. However, it’s 4ft of stalk with a bushy top. How can I propagate another plant from it, make it shorter, and have it split at the top. I have several different Dracaenas and would like to maybe propagate those also. Got some advice?
Ruth – Make a clean cut at the height you want the plant & the cutting to be. You will most likely get 2 or 3 new sprouts appearing at the top of the stalk. Or, you can air layer it. Nell