Dracaena are unpretentious in leaving, therefore with them practically there are no problems at home cultivation. Difficulties begin when the time comes to propagate plants. How to do it right and which method is better to use will be discussed later.

Plant description

Dracaena are included in the Agave family, including tree and shrubby forms of growth. Their woody trunk is painted gray-green; narrow leaves adorn the crown, located in a lush hat and giving the plant the appearance of a palm tree. The leaves are colored in various shades of green, depending on the variety.At home, dracaena do not bloom. In the wild, small white or greenish flowers with a strong sweet aroma are formed on the plant. After pollination, three-ovary ovaries are formed in place of flowers, each compartment containing one ovule.

Optimal conditions and terms of reproduction of dracaena

Before you propagate the dracaena, you need to choose the optimal timing. A procedure performed in spring or summer often gives positive results. This is due to the presence of suitable conditions for the rooting of biological material.

Optimal microclimatic conditions for the propagation of dracaena:

• air temperature - from + 20 ℃;
• air humidity - 60%;
• the presence of diffuse lighting.

Important! Dracaena seeds quickly lose their germination ability, so they can be planted at any time of the year.

Preparatory process

First you need to choose a suitable pot for dracaena. The root system of the palm tree consists of the main root, which is located vertically, and small secondary processes - in connection with this you will need a deep, narrow pot. There are no special requirements regarding the material. The capacity can be ceramic or plastic - the main thing is that the material is strong enough.The soil should be loose, well-drained. A mixture of peat and sand (1: 1), or universal soil for dracenes with the addition of vermiculite (1: 0.5), is suitable for rooting.

The main task at the stage of propagation of dracaena is to qualitatively disinfect the soil. This can be done by frying the earth mixture in the oven at a temperature of + 50 ℃ or by impregnating it with a solution of wood ash. To prepare a working solution, 400 g of ash should be dissolved in 10 l of water, and boil for 5 minutes. Pour the solution into the ground hot. After disinfection, potassium monophosphate is added to the soil. For 10 kg of land, 10 g of substance will be required.

Home breeding technology

At home, it’s easiest to cut the top of the dracaena during the formative pruning. After shortening the main stem, the cuttings can be kept in water until the roots appear, and then transplanted or immediately planted in the ground. Reproduction by seeds is a longer and troublesome process, therefore it is used much less often. Depending on the variety of dracaena, the option of reproduction by air layering is possible.

Did you know? The Explanatory Dictionary of Vladimir Dahl mentions the original name of this plants - "dragon".

Apical cuttings

Manipulations are carried out in March, when an adult plant leaves its dormant stage. The slice should be made with a sharp secateurs disinfected with alcohol, at a distance of 15-18 cm from the last sheet perpendicular to the trunk. Next, the stem is cleaned of old foliage and dried for 2-3 hours in the sun.There are several ways to root a stalk:

• placed in a solution of "Kornevin" in combination with charcoal;
• dropped off in a peat-sand or vermiculite mixture.

The second method of rooting involves creating the effect of a greenhouse by covering it with a glass or plastic cap. To control the humidity level in the mini-greenhouse, the landing is aired every day, removing the shelter for 15-20 minutes. After a month, the shelter is removed completely.

Did you know? An extract from dracaena is added to the hair dye. The rich chemical composition of the juice improves the structure of the hair and prevents its damage during staining.

The stem with roots remaining after trimming should not be thrown away. The place of cut can be treated with Kornevin solution and, covered with polyethylene, put aside in a dark place, where the air temperature is maintained at + 25 ℃. After a week, the container is rearranged in a well-lit room (but not in direct sunlight) and provide standard care. After a month, 2-3 lateral shoots will appear at the cut site.

Stem cuttings

If, after shortening the main stem, it is still too high, or if the root system is rotten, the upper part begins to rot, then the technology of propagation by stem cuttings is used. To do this, the stem must be shortened to the required height, and the resulting fragment cut into cuttings 10-15 cm long.The rooting process is carried out similarly to the above. It takes 1–1.5 months to root, and 2–2.5 months for the appearance of apical shoots.

Air layering

In the absence of the possibility of grafting - for example, when the plants are still low for pruning - they practice the method of propagation by air layering. To do this, you can carry out the following manipulations:

1. At a distance of 2 cm from the first sheet, make a perpendicular incision to the middle of the trunk.
2. Insert a toothpick into it.
3. Wrap a slice with moss-sphagnum and wrap it with polyethylene.
4. Periodically, the moss should be moistened with a spray gun.
5. When the roots break through the moss, remove the polyethylene and cut off the sprout.
6. Root layering in the soil for adult plants, including sod-leaf mixture, peat and sand in equal quantities.

For accelerated acclimatization, the sprout is covered from above with a glass jar and kept at a temperature of +25 ... + 27 неделю for a week.

Seeds

At home, flowering dracaena with subsequent fruiting is a rarity. But if planting material was nevertheless obtained, then you should not hesitate to plant it in the soil:

1. Seeds must be peeled and placed in the Kornevin solution for 20 minutes.
2. Then the planting material is dried and laid out on the surface of the sand-peat soil mixture at a distance of 5-7 cm.
3. Sprinkling seeds with dry sand, the containers are covered with polyethylene and placed in a well-lit room, where the air temperature does not drop below + 27 ℃.
4. During the germination period, the plantings are aired daily.
5. When the sprouts reach a height of 5–7 cm, they pick in separate containers.

Aftercare for Dracaena

After rooting the plants, they are placed in rooms with diffused light.

In the summer period carry out plentiful watering and regular spraying. The optimum water temperature for humidification is +18 ... + 20 ℃. For each young plant leaves 300-400 ml of water. The irrigation intensity depending on the air temperature is 2–4 times a week. After each watering, the soil must be loosened to a depth of 1-2 cm.

Important! If water enters the deciduous sinuses, leaf rot may appear, so after spraying, showering and foliar dressing, you need to blot the leaf sinuses with a paper towel.

In the period of active vegetation, fertilizers are applied once a month containing in their composition potassium, phosphorus and nitrogen in a ratio of 1: 1: 0.5. They can be alternated with the introduction of liquid mullein. Through time, mineral fertilizers are applied in a non-root way - this increases the ability of the root system to absorb minerals from the soil.

In September, watering is reduced to 1-2 times a week. In winter, the air temperature is reduced to + 15 ℃ and completely stop fertilizing. In spring, young plants dive into larger pots.From 4-5 years of age, they begin to carry out forming pruning, which involves the removal of the apex in order to obtain a double-leafed plant.

What problems may arise

There are a number of factors that can lead to complications in the propagation of dracaena:

• excessive watering - slows down growth, provokes the appearance of mold in the soil;
• the use of containers that were already in operation for rooting without proper treatment - provokes the spread of infections and pests;
• violation of the rules of keeping under the greenhouse - leads to rotting of planting material.

Growing recommendations

When cultivating dracaena at home, follow these guidelines:

1. Avoid sudden changes in room temperature.
2. Water after drying the soil to a depth of 1-2 cm, avoiding overflow.
3. When drying the ends of the leaves, you need to increase the air humidity by spraying.
4. Transplant adult plants after the roots braid the entire earthen lump.
5. Wipe each sheet with a damp cotton swab once a month.
6. Cut pruning to plants that have reached a height of at least 30 cm.
7. As the lower leaves die, regularly remove them.

So, dracaena is an unpretentious plant that is easy to propagate at home by cuttings. In a seed way, palm trees are propagated less often due to the lack of the ability to get seed.