It is not at all difficult to take care of margenate dracaena at home, which is why the plant flaunts in many residential buildings and even office premises. The flower quickly adapts to the environment, practically does not require attention and delights with the beauty of its green leaves. But even this palm can get sick if you do not care about it at all.
Material Content:
Dracaena marginata: features of cultivation
The flower of dracaena marginata is an evergreen plant with a straight trunk with heaped leaves. In appearance, it resembles a palm tree. It is also called fringed, which is explained by red-pink stripes on the foliage of some varieties.
Sometimes a plant blooms, but its flowers cannot be called beautiful. They can be white or cream in color and exude a fragrant odor. Due to intolerance of this aroma by some people, for the time of flowering, the pot can be taken out to the balcony.
Dracaena leaves do not differ in strength and any mechanical damage can quickly break them.
After this, the flower can significantly slow down its growth and to prevent this from happening, it is recommended to carefully remove damaged sheets immediately.
How to plant a plant?
To dracaena marginata felt as comfortable as possible, it must be properly planted. Its future growth and appearance depend on this.
What is required:
- correctly selected pot;
- soil substrate;
- expanded clay for drainage;
- knife;
- spray gun;
- Protected water at room temperature.
Previously, the pot will need to be treated with boiling water. If it was used previously, it is possible to carry out disinfection using a weak solution of potassium permanganate. Then a few centimeters of drainage are laid at the bottom.
Dracaena must be carefully pulled out from the base of the trunk, being careful not to damage the root system. Peel off excess soil, remove rotten and dried roots. After this, it is recommended to treat the rhizome with warm water using a spray bottle.
It remains to place the plant in a new pot, gently sprinkle with fresh soil and lightly tamp it so that there are no voids between the roots. At the end of the procedure, you can water the plant, and after half an hour add fertilizer - this way the roots will not be burned.
Do you need a dracaena transplant after purchase?
Transplantation of dracaena after purchase is required. However, this is not worth doing right away, since initially it needs to ensure adaptation in the new microclimate.
A flower pot is recommended to be set separately from other plants and the best place would be a non-hot room where direct sunlight will not get on the dracaena. After 2 weeks, during which you need to very moderately water the soil, quarantine ends. Then a newly acquired green pet can be planted for permanent residence.
Care for dracaena marginata at home
This plant does not require any serious trouble, but you will still need to follow the minimum care requirements. It is recommended to seriously approach the choice of a pot and a permanent place to place dracaena in the apartment.
Ground and pot requirements
The soil for this plant can be found in any specialized store. Soil should be selected one that is specifically designed for dracen and other palm trees. It is better to add fine brick chips to the substrate, which will serve as a baking powder of the soil. If previously there was a problem of root decay, it is recommended to add charcoal to the pot. Drainage is mandatory at the bottom.
The choice of packaging for planting must be approached wisely. Too small a pot will harm the dracaena root system, and too large will provoke the accumulation of excess fluid in the soil. Each new container during transplantation should be selected based on the diameter and height of the rhizome. The pot is selected 3 cm wider and 2-3 cm above the root level.
Temperature, humidity and lighting
It is recommended to place the margeninate dracaena away from direct sunlight, since it does not tolerate them. An exception is the varieties of dracaena bordered with variegated leaves - for them to be bright, they need a lot of light. The flower grows well and develops under artificial lighting away from windows.
The plant does not tolerate cold. The minimum temperature for full development should not be lower than 16 degrees of heat.
The palm carries the high marks on the thermometer without consequences.
It is not necessary to monitor the air humidity for the grower, since the plant easily adapts to a dry microclimate. But from it, at the dracaena, the tips of the leaves can dry. To prevent this from happening, it is recommended to periodically spray from the spray gun.
Watering a plant
For this plant, the priority will be dry soil than wet. Watering the flower is required little by little, but often - the top layer of the soil should always be slightly moistened. Once a month you will need to “dry” the soil. For this period, it is not necessary to water the dracaena until the substrate dries a few centimeters in depth.
Fertilizer and fertilizer
Top dressing is required throughout the year. In the spring and summer, the substrate is fertilized twice a month, and in winter, feeding is halved.If the room temperature drops below 18 degrees, fertilizer is not required at all. You can purchase the finished solution in any appropriate store.
Transfer
A transplant for young plants should be carried out annually. More mature pets are transplanted every 2-3 years. For this, it is necessary to carefully remove dracaena along with the roots and soil from the pot, and then transfer it to another container. You can pre-treat the roots and remove excess soil.
It is not necessary to transplant an adult floor dracaena of marginate at all. It will be enough to remove the topsoil and add fresh.
Winter care
Caring for dracaena in winter is easy. Top dressing is reduced to 1 time per month, watering is moderate. Transplanting or propagating the plant during this period is not recommended. No need to put a flower pot near heating appliances or on the windowsill. The optimal place for its growth will be the side opposite from the window.
Propagation of dracaena marginata
At home, a vegetative method is used to reproduce palm trees, which requires the removal of stalks from an adult plant for further rooting. You need to carry out the procedure in late spring or early summer.
Algorithm of actions:
- Cut the stem from the top or stem. Treat the cut with carbon powder.
- Dry the stalk for several hours.
- Treat the slice base with a rooting solution and place it in a soil with a high sand content.
- Build a greenhouse with a bag or can.
- Periodically, you will need to remove the greenhouse to ventilate and moisten the soil.
- When the roots appear, the plant can be transplanted into a permanent pot.
The simplest rooting method is to keep the cuttings in a jar of water. Usually the roots sprout after a month and a half. To prevent the stalk from rotting, you need to add ordinary activated carbon to the water and change it regularly. It is also necessary to use a root growth stimulator.
The main problems when growing
Sometimes the florist observes the unsightly appearance of dracaena. Most often, improper care affects the leaves of the flower, which change color and fall off. But diseases can affect the stem. To fix the problem, you need to know its root cause.
Possible difficulties in growing:
- drying of leaves at the ends - low humidity, low air temperature;
- leaf fall - rotting of roots due to excess moisture, cold;
- lack of growth - no top dressing, lack of drainage and air in the soil substrate;
- decay of leaves on top of the flower - an excess of moisture, cold, not enough fresh air and light in the room, bacteriosis;
- dull leaves - prolonged exposure to cold temperatures;
- black spots on foliage - direct sunlight;
- drying and blackening of young leaves - an overfeeding, excessive salt in the soil, lack of timely transplantation.
At the first sign of problems in the development of dracaena, it is necessary to immediately eliminate them. Otherwise, the plant will simply die.
Pests, diseases and methods of dealing with them
Dracaena marginata can be sick or affected by pests if the plant is weak and proper care is not taken. Most often, insects appear on the flower with dry air in the room and an excess of moisture in the soil.
Types of diseases and pests, as well as methods of combating them:
- Heterosporosis. It appears light brown spots with a dark border. It is eliminated with the help of the fungicide Fitosporin-M, Fundazol.
- Phyloscystosis. It looks like brown spots with a yellow border and is accompanied by the appearance of black dots on the foliage. A systemic treatment with suitable fungicides is required.
- Spotted wilt tomato virus. With this disease, the growth of dracaena decreases and the deformation of young leaves appears.Also, the disease is accompanied by the formation of spots. It is recommended to cut off all affected parts of the plant, and then carry out a three-fold treatment with fungicide.
- Alternariosis. It appears pale brown spots with a blackened center. It is eliminated by treatment with Fundazol, Fitosporin-M.
- Shield. It provokes the appearance of gray formations on the leaves and stem. Subsequently, the foliage may crumble. It is recommended to process the flower with an alcohol or soap solution, and then spray with Actellik.
- Thrips. Looks like bright dots at the tops of foliage. Dry leaves provoke. You can get rid of them with the help of system spraying with Fitoverm or Inta-Vir.
- Aphid. The insect provokes yellowing of the leaves, their deformation and decay. Also on the surface you can observe a sticky coating. To get rid of it, it is necessary to hold a shower plant with a soap solution and then spray it with Fitoverm.
- Spider mite. Initially, a spider web appears on the plant, and then dark spots. It is required to increase the humidity in the room, rinse the foliage with a soap solution and spray with acaricides.
- Mealybug. It provokes the appearance of white plaque and powdery lumps at the base of the leaves. It is recommended to wipe the flower with an alcohol or soap solution, and then treat it with an insecticide.
Dracaena marginata grows to an impressive size and looks very beautiful. Thanks to the green foliage, it can be fit into almost any interior. A little effort when leaving - and she will happily turn green in response.
