|
| We inherited 2 sadly neglected plants from a family estate, and I am clueless as to what they are, or what to do with them. I also posted in tropicals. I don't want them to die!
I call this one Marions Spindly. Can't figure out how to post 2 pictures, so can you ID this one? Thanks!
|
Follow-Up Postings:
|
- Posted by purpleinopp 8b AL (My Page) on Wed, Jul 25, 12 at 11:43
| This looks like Dracaena marginata also, that's had more light. Are the edges of the leaves reddish? |
|
- Posted by desertdance So.CA LowDesert (My Page) on Wed, Jul 25, 12 at 12:02
| YES! The edges are absolutely reddish! Thanks so much! I will now look that up and get info on how to care for it. My DH hated the tree, but I knew it would come back, so we pruned it, soaked it, and it has several new leaf clusters starting. Thanks so much for the ID! Any suggestions as to where to put it would be great! Suzi |
|
- Posted by purpleinopp 8b AL (My Page) on Wed, Jul 25, 12 at 12:20
| You're welcome. Where to put inside or outside? I may not be the best to advise, not at all familiar with your climate, weather, latitude, etc... Compare to mine, though. It's very hot & humid here, my Dracs go outside as soon as it stops frosting at night, back in when it does. They are on south-facing front porch, some at either end which means full sun until about noon or full sun after about 2 pm. Intense rays, 31 degrees north latitude. While outside, I don't use the saucer part of the pot, let dry, then soak well. Good job giving it a prune. Looks like it will fill in nicely. What's the soil like? |
|
- Posted by desertdance So.CA LowDesert (My Page) on Wed, Jul 25, 12 at 12:37
| The soil looks like regular potting soil. HUGE roots on the top. After soaking for a day (took that long to get the top wet), the top roots are damp. Our climate is hot and dry. Desert! Mine will be on a North Facing back porch. No room on the front! We will buy a nice big pot, and repot using Al's gritty mix, and see what happens! Thanks for the advice! |
|
| This one looks more Yucca-ish to me. |
|
- Posted by teengardener1888 none (My Page) on Thu, Jul 26, 12 at 9:54
| No this is certainly dragon tree(dracaena marginata`tricolor`). I have one see |
|
| Teen's picture is not the same plant as the one at the top of this thread. Doesn't anyone else think that the leaves are too short too be D. Marginata? |
|
- Posted by purpleinopp 8b AL (My Page) on Thu, Jul 26, 12 at 13:52
| Not considering that it was just pruned, but if you're hesitant, I am too. |
|
- Posted by hopefulauthor z5IL (hopefulauthor@sbcglobal.net) on Thu, Jul 26, 12 at 13:56
| Rhizo, you are right..Desert's plant is a Dracaena, but doesn't look like marginata. Unless tips were all cut... Your Dracaena isn't getting enough light. It doesn't need direct south or west summer sun, instead bright light from an east or 5' or so from unobstructed west/south. |
|
- Posted by purpleinopp 8b AL (My Page) on Thu, Jul 26, 12 at 14:01
| Stepped out to take some pics for desertdance to compare. Dracaena marginata: Wider new leaf:
Tops cuttings, D. marginata with D. marginata 'tricolor' D. marginata 'tricolor': TG, I couldn't see that yours is 'tricolor' from that pic. |
|
- Posted by hopefulauthor z5IL (hopefulauthor@sbcglobal.net) on Thu, Jul 26, 12 at 15:25
| Got this Dracaena at HD last year under 5.00. Don't know its speices, but has shorther leaves than marginata.
Dracaena 'Marginata'
The tallest plant is green w/red edges. Toni |
|
- Posted by hopefulauthor z5IL (hopefulauthor@sbcglobal.net) on Thu, Jul 26, 12 at 15:28
| Sorry, found an older pic..No-ID Dracaena was purchased at Jewel's Grocery, 5/2010 for 2.99... |
|
- Posted by StewartsJon none (My Page) on Fri, Jul 27, 12 at 6:26
| OP's plant is 100% a D. Marginata, with shorter leaves because some are new shoots - nice to see someone actually prune one of these, lol. Care wise, OP, keep it pretty dry, pretty light position and pretty warm. Personally I'd cut the least interesting (right hand?) shoot off about a foot above the soil, cut it pretty short and shove it in the compost - you've a good chance that it'll regrow and the cut off end will resprout >1 heads. Otherwise it'll always be this long and spindly. If you keep pruning them for like 20 years you end up with a mass of heads like my pic (here's one the Dutch prepared earlier, lol). ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Hopefulauthor's first plant is possibly a D. Anita. Are the leaves a bit rougher to the touch than a marginata and no red margin? We went through a craze for them at work but IMHO they are troublesome compared to Margis. |
|
| Ah well, I'm still not sold on that theory, stewartsjon. But that doesn't matter......hopefully our original poster will be able to take good care of these inherited plants; I know that they have sentimental value. Desertdance, they do seem to be in less than pristine condition...just as you said. I wish you good luck in getting them in some sort of shape. |
|
- Posted by purpleinopp 8b AL (My Page) on Fri, Jul 27, 12 at 9:16
| Toni, wish we could hear you jammin' on that guitar sometime! Or is that hubby's? Jon, do Brits call all pot soil compost? I think I will do that (your pic of the office plant above) to one of the tops that I trimmed off of my tree. The tree used to look like something from Dr. Seuss until the wind blew it off the porch and broke one of the trunks, then I finished the job of making it look like a "regular" tree again, that's why I have all of those tops cuttings in a pot. |
|
- Posted by desertdance So.CA LowDesert (My Page) on Fri, Jul 27, 12 at 10:05
| I put Spindly outside after giving it a good soak, and the wind blew it over and broke off one of the newest green shoots! I put it in water hoping for roots, but now I'll just stick it in potting soil and see what happens. I will definitely have my husband cut the barest longest trunk in half, stick that part in soil, and hope for fullness in the future! We need to buy a bigger pot because there is NO room for any more trunks in the pot we've got! Thanks for all your opinions and advice! |
|
- Posted by StewartsJon none (My Page) on Fri, Jul 27, 12 at 10:47
| "Jon, do Brits call all pot soil compost?" Yep, compost comes in a bag, soil comes out of the ground. That pretty much covers the British English usage! |
|
- Posted by hopefulauthor z5IL (hopefulauthor@sbcglobal.net) on Fri, Jul 27, 12 at 12:15
| Jon, the leaves on Dracaeana no species feels slightly rougher compared to marginata. Purple, the only notes I can play on the guitar is the begining of White Rabbit and Jingle Bells, lol...guitars are dh's. |
|
| Toni: Your front yard looks gorgeous!!! Susan |
|
- Posted by StewartsJon (My Page) on Sat, Jul 28, 12 at 3:11
| 'Jon, the leaves on Dracaeana no species feels slightly rougher compared to marginata.' I reckon it's an Anita then. Googling, I got a reference back to this site too. |
Here is a link that might be useful: E-how care guide
|
- Posted by hopefulauthor z5IL (hopefulauthor@sbcglobal.net) on Sat, Jul 28, 12 at 12:14
| Susan, thank you, I appreciate it. Jon, thanks for the link. |
|
- Posted by StewartsJon none (My Page) on Mon, Jul 30, 12 at 4:14
| Yeah, Dracaenas are easy to look after - just keep pretty dry. |
|
- Posted by hopefulauthor z5IL (hopefulauthor@sbcglobal.net) on Mon, Jul 30, 12 at 9:01
| What keeps dry? |
|
- Posted by StewartsJon none (My Page) on Tue, Jul 31, 12 at 3:47
| Sorry, I write like I think - in shorthand! Keep the plant pretty dry and you can't go wrong. If the soil surface looks wet, it doesn't need water. :-) |
|
- Posted by hopefulauthor z5IL (hopefulauthor@sbcglobal.net) on Tue, Jul 31, 12 at 13:05
| SJ, I've grown Dracaenas 20+ yrs. lol. As I said, easy...except for Goldianna. I want to try another, but they're only found in Thailand.. Toni |
|
- Posted by StewartsJon none (My Page) on Tue, Jul 31, 12 at 15:04
| Never heard of Goldianna! |
|
- Posted by hopefulauthor z5IL (hopefulauthor@sbcglobal.net) on Tue, Jul 31, 12 at 15:09
| SJ, D. 'Goldiana' is probably one of the most beautiful Dracaenas ever. Arrived from Thailand 3/2009. Died during winter 2010.. needs a LOT more humidity than my house offers.
|
Please Note: Only registered members are able to post messages to this forum. If you are a member, please log in. If you aren't yet a member, join now!
Return to the House Plants Forum
Instructions
- You must be a registered member and logged in to post messages on our forums.
- Posting is a two-step process. Once you have composed your message, you will be taken to the preview page. You will then have a chance to review the contents and make changes.
- After posting your message, you may need to refresh the forum page in order to see it.
- It is illegal to post copyrighted material without the owner's consent.
- HTML codes are allowed in the message field only.
- No advertising is allowed in any of the forums.
- If you would like to practice posting or uploading photos, please visit our Test forum.
- If you need assistance, please Contact Us and we will be happy to help.