substitute for dracaena spike plants

12 years ago

I typically plant a lot of flower containers and many of them have the ubiquitous dracaena spike plant. I'm looking to mix it up a little bit with some other plants that have a similar growth pattern (same height, upright, preferably "grassy") I have containers in both sun and shade. A bonus would be any plant that I can easily divide or quickly propogate to get additional plants. For instance, I usually separate a 4" creeping jenny into 4 separate plants which saves a fair bit of money. Anything that meets most/all of those descriptions? Thanks in advance for your help!

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Comments (5)

rosco_p
12 years ago
I have had that same problem and when I was looking for a change I just replaced the centre plant with an Iris. I have had pleasing results with this although it may not be right for you? Ross.
tapla (mid-Michigan, USDA z5b-6a)
12 years ago
In addition to single plants of Cordyline, you'll find many grasses & sedges that fit the bill. I've used upright oregano as a thriller, red & yellow millett as well. Carex, Salvia, Canna, Ptilotus, Cyperus, Juncus, Melinus, Cleome..... are some others that offer additional possibilities for thriller height.

Al
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roselane
Original Author
12 years ago
Those are such great ideas! Thank you!

Ross-I love iris, but they always seem kind of short lived. So, you are saying that the foliage would still look nice after the bloom fades, right? If memory serves, they do have pretty foliage.

Al-I cannot believe that I didn't think of salvia and cleome because I always buy a lot of salvias at the flat sale I go to in another town(and they usually have cleome, too). I'll have to research some of the others, I'm excited to see all the choices! Thanks so much for taking time to type that out. You are always so helpful.

At Wal-mart today (I know, but I live in a very small town :)), I bought two perennials that seem thick enough to get enough at least 4-8 plants out of. One is a whirly-looking spiral thing, I forget the name. The other is an elijah blue fescue that I love already! I'll have to do a little research to find out if I'm crazy to try them in containers!

Thanks again!
tapla (mid-Michigan, USDA z5b-6a)
12 years ago
Thanks - you're very kind!

variegated oregano @ center
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Asparagus plumosa (asparagus fern)
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Millet
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Coleus (w/begonia)
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Al
roselane
Original Author
12 years ago
Holy cow!! Those are gorgeous! I need to study these. I already experienced a big improvement when I switched to Al's mix! :). Turns out the "whirly" plant is a juncus, so I'm off to a good start. I am definitely going to have to do the upright variegated oregano. I want to try them all, but will have to narrow it down to a few other choices...it won't be easy! Thanks again for your help!