Dracaena fragrans
An evergreen tropical houseplant from Africa with tall cane-like stems and arching glossy leaves, easy to care for, tolerates low light and brief drought, purifies indoor air, and can reach several feet to a couple of meters indoors.
Common Names
Corn Plant, Cornstalk Plant, Dracaena, False Palm, Fragrant Dracaena, Happy Plant
Summary
Dracaena fragrans is a tropical Africa native evergreen shrub that is slow-growing and typically multi-stemmed at the base with cane-like stems and arching, maize-like leaves, giving a palm-like silhouette, it is commonly grown as a houseplant or interiorscape plant and valued for tolerance to a wide range of indoor conditions, cultivars include Massangeana, Lindenii, and Victoria with solid green or variegated patterns, and indoor flowering is rare though small white-pink, fragrant blooms can occur, care emphasizes bright indirect light with tolerance for lower light, avoidance of direct sun, and watering when the top 1-2 inches of soil are dry in order to prevent soggy roots, use well-draining potting mix and keep temperatures around 60-75°F (15-24°C) with humidity near 40-50%, fertilize with a balanced liquid fertilizer every 4-6 weeks during the growing season and repot every 2-3 years to prevent root binding, propagation is by stem cuttings, and the plant is commonly used in interiorscape settings or outdoors in suitable climates, common pests include scale insects, glasshouse red spider mites, thrips, and mealybugs
Lifecycle
Perennial
Height
36-72 inches
Spread
4-19.5 inches
Hardiness Zones
Zones 10-12
Sunlight Requirements
Ideally partial sun to partial shade; prefers bright, indirect light and should avoid direct sunlight.
Soil Type
Well-draining loamy soil
Soil Drainage
Well-draining soil that stays moist but never soggy; use a loose potting mix (peat-based or loamy) with perlite and/or sand and ensure the container has drainage holes to prevent waterlogging.
Soil pH
6.1-6.5
Bloom Color
White
Bloom Time
Year-round
Foliage Color
Green (glossy leaves), often variegated with white or yellow.
Fall Foliage Color
Green
Leaf Lifecycle
Evergreen broadleaf
Growth Rate
Slow
Seasons of Interest
Spring, Summer, Fall, and Winter.
Propagation Methods
Cuttings, Layering, Division
Attracts Wildlife
Attracts none
Taxonomy
- Taxonomic Rank
- Species
- Author
- (L.) Ker Gawl.
- Publication
- Bot. Mag. 27: t. 1081 (1808)
Superior Taxa
- Kingdom
- Plantae
- Subkingdom
- Pteridobiotina
- Phylum
- Angiosperms
- Order
- Asparagales
- Family
- Asparagaceae
- Genus
- Dracaena
Synonyms
Dracaena deisteliana Sansevieria fragrans Pleomele ugandensis Pleomele deremensis Aletris fragrans Aloe fragrantissima Cordyline fragrans Dracaena butayei Dracaena deremensis Dracaena lindenii Dracaena massangeana Dracaena smithii Dracaena ugandensis Draco fragrans Dracaena fragrans var. massangeana Dracaena aureolus Dracaena fragrans f. wacheana Dracaena steudneri var. kilimandscharica Dracaena broomfieldii Dracaena victoria Dracaena fragrans var. victoria Dracaena janssensii Dracaena albanensis Dracaena broomfieldii var. superba Dracaena deremensis var. warneckei Pleomele smithii Pleomele fragrans Dracaena latifolia f. rothiana Dracaena ensifolia var. greigii