DRACAENA MARGINATA BICOLOR

For some time now, years, a bare corner of my home, near to a window, has been crying out for a plant of some sort.  In the corner is a heavy coffee table of Indian Sheesham, or rosewood, with a big pot on top - like a witches cauldron.  No comments, please.   I believe the pot originated in Africa but I brought over with me from the Caribbean.  I would like a plant to grow there but what plant will survive the heat - I like my home very warm, and the light is not very bright.  I atried growing a beautiful little palm there, imagining it one day reaching from witches cauldron to ceiling but my cat like to play with it and I got tired of sweeping up compost off the cream carpet, and the leaves started to look decidedly ragged, then yellow, then they started to drop off.  Today I bought something a bit more robust and, hopefully, less tempting to the cat which is older now and a little bit less unruly.  The plant I bought is a Dracaena marginata bicolour, native to tropical Africa.  From what I understand it should be able to tolerate my living room conditions but it wasn't a terribly large or expensive plants and, it seems, they are easily propagated. 





Dracaena marginata bicolour

Dracaena marginata bicolour leaf - closeup

I took the above photographs outside as it is a warm day and I wanted to repot the plant as it was outgrowing it's pot.  It's now safely indoors. 



From what I can gather, the temperature required for Dracaena marginata is ideally 15C minimum and 29C maximum.  I think that's about 65-85F - do check for yourselves (external link).  They like to be in plenty of humus or peaty soil but grow slowly and only require repotting every 24 months or so.  They enjoy bright morning or late afternoon light or mid-shade and grow to a height of about 5ft or 60 inches.  If they grow too tall you can simply cut them down and they will throw out stems from around the cut; the same applies to side shoots. 



On the down side, they can be prone to insect attack - blight, mealy bugs - but I will deal with that if it happens.  You are looking for a PH level of about 6 - 6.5



Allow them to dry somewhat between waterings, use tepid water, and avoid water with fluoride.  I propose to try and collect rain water. 



See what this American gentleman has to say:



You can find more advice on growing Dracaenas on Indoor-Plant-Care.com



Link to Gardener's World, where you can see how to propagate dracaena (external link) from cuttings. Apparently they are so easy to do.