All about breeding dracaena at home

Dracaena is a luxurious palm tree that can decorate even the most modest home. Dracaena is a very unpretentious plant, which even the most inexperienced florist can handle, but there are some rules and nuances that you should be aware of in order to successfully propagate dracaena at home.

Dracaena: general characteristics

Dracaena belongs to the Asparagus family. This plant is a succulent shrub that originates from South America, where it is considered a tree that can bring happiness. The peoples of South America still have a belief that a dracaena branch cut at midnight with a full moon can bring good luck in love affairs.

Reproduction of dracaena at home

Before you start breeding dracaena, you need to be clear about the time.The most effective reproduction of this flower occurs in spring or summer time. Optimum temperature premises for these purposes are considered not lower than 20 degrees.

There are a number of ways to breed dracaena, including the following:

• tops (apical cuttings);

• stem cuttings;

• air layering;

• seeds.

Each of the above methods has its own advantages and is suitable for certain conditions and circumstances in which the grower has to engage in flower reproduction.

Reproduction by tops

Dracaena propagation by apical cuttings is a very simple and convenient way. This is done according to the following algorithm:

1. choose the top with a height of about 10-15 centimeters;

2. cut off the process;

3. treat its base with a drug like "Kornevin";

4. root in water or wet sand;

5. put in a greenhouse.

Important! When working with any houseplant, it is necessary to use extremely sharp knives, or razors, which must be sterile. This will reduce the chances of infection of the cuttings.

When choosing a cutting, you need to pay attention to its appearance: it should not have damage to the bark, spots or cracks. This will give you a better chance of successful rooting and subsequent growth.

When rooting the top of the dracaena, you must follow some rules.

• The water needs to be changed every two to three days so that bacteria do not develop there, which causes the process to rot.

• Dissolve one or two activated charcoal tablets in water to prevent contamination.

• When rooting in sand or vermiculite, it only needs to be slightly moistened.

• The container with the scion must be placed in a bright place, while avoiding the sun's rays.

• It is very important not to root the planting material directly into the soil. This can lead to rotting. For these purposes, it is better to take an inert composition, for example, perlite or sand.

• A greenhouse for a plant, made of a transparent plastic container, must be ventilated every day, gradually increasing the time from ten minutes to an hour so that the plant gets used to home conditions.

• It is recommended to spray the leaves of the planting material with a special composition in which fertilizer for palm trees is dissolved.

By following these guidelines, it is quite easy to grow a mature plant from the top.

Video: how to propagate dracaena with apical cuttings at home

Propagation by stem cuttings

Sometimes it happens that the plant dies, but at the same time parts of the stem remain, which it is quite possible to use for growing new plants. To do this, you can apply the following reproduction technique for dracaena stem cuttings:

1. cut the stem into pieces with a length not exceeding 20 centimeters;

2. root in the substrate.

Important! For reproduction, it is necessary to choose only those parts of the stem that do not have surface damage or cracks.

This dracaena breeding technique is divided into two sub-methods.

1. Vertical. This sub-method involves planting part of the stem vertically, approximately to a depth of three centimeters.

2. Horizontal. With this method, a piece of the stem is slightly pressed into the moistened substrate, without deepening it completely.

With these methods, the rooting of the dracaena takes about a couple of months, and then the plant can be transplanted.

Important!The method described above assumes that drainage will be present in the container at the bottom, which is a good choice for sand. This, by the way, will make it easy to extract young plants before transplanting and avoid injury.

Video: how to propagate dracaena with stem cuttings at home

Propagation by air layers

One of the most reliable ways to propagate dracaena is with the help of air layers.However, this method is recommended to be used only by experienced flower growers, since it is noticeably more difficult than propagating dracaena by cuttings taken from the stem or from the top of the shoot.

Step-by-step instructions for reproduction of dracaena by air layers:

1. On the stem of the plant under the former leaf (approximately at a distance of 10 cm), the place of formation of future roots is marked and a small incision is made (1.5 cm in length).
2. To prevent it from overgrowing, a match, a toothpick or a piece of plastic is inserted into the gap.
3. The trunk is wrapped around the incision sphagnum and covered with plastic wrap.
4. To prevent the moss from drying out under the film, it is moistened with a spray bottle.
5. When the roots sprout through the sphagnum, the film is removed and the newly formed seedling is cut from the mother plant and planted in a separate pot.

Seed propagation

It is much more difficult to propagate dracaena seeds than vegetatively, for a number of reasons:

• Dracaena rarely blooms at home.

• If it blooms, then only in the eighth or tenth year of life.

• To obtain a full-fledged fruit, the flower must be artificially pollinated.

If at home it was possible to achieve flowering of the plant, then it must be pollinated every day with a brush so that the pollen from the stamens gets to the pistil. When the fruit ripens, it must be opened and immediately planted in a special substrate for palm trees.

The seeds of this flower are commercially available, so it is much easier to buy them. They are small, brown in color, and have a crescent shape. The seeds are planted at the end of February.

Planting seeds in a substrate

Plant seeds can be planted directly into the soil. This is done in the following order.

1. Soak seeds in growth-promoting solution.

2. Plant in palm soil, about five centimeters apart.

3. Cover with foil or greenhouse.

4. After germination, regularly moisten and feed the soil.

5. When the seedlings have grown to five centimeters, plant them in separate containers.

This method takes about two or even three months. Its only advantage is that it is simple and has a minimum number of stages.

Germinating seeds in a napkin

If, before planting seeds, germinate them in a clean cotton napkin or non-woven cloth, then this method, although it will become more complicated in terms of the number of stages, will take much less time than the method described above. This is done as follows:

1. moisten the napkin;

2. put seeds on it not at some distance from each other;

3. wrap a napkin;

4. put it in a container with a little water;

5. when the seeds germinate, plant them in the soil following the instructions above.

Video: reproduction of dracaena seeds

Features of the reproduction of various types of dracaena

Different types of this indoor flower may differ from each other in the optimal breeding method for this particular type.

So dracaenaFragrant and Derem - can reproduce in all ways except growing from seeds, Bent - stem processes, Marginata (bordered) - cuttings and seeds, and Compact - stem processes and cuttings.

How to plant a dracaena

Flower transplantation is carried out in spring or summer. When replanting, you need to take care of the soil. The easiest way is to buy a suitable composition for palm trees in the store, but you can also make it yourself by preparing the following composition:

• 1/3 universal earth for flowers;

• 1/3 sand;

• 1/3 vermiculite.

This option is the most optimal, as it will not allow the roots to rot.

When planting, it is very important to free the dracaena from old soil. To do this, you can simply rinse the root system under running water.

Important! When transplanting, it is necessary to get rid of diseased and damaged roots.To do this, it is necessary to cut them off with a sharp and sterile blade, and treat the cuts with a weak solution of potassium permanganate.

The finished container requires drainage, which takes up about one-eighth of the pot, as well as holes for excess moisture to escape. After transplanting, it is necessary to feed the plant from May to September. Dracaena is transplanted once a year.

Possible problems with the reproduction of dracaena

Despite all the unpretentiousness of the indoor flower, some mistakes can lead to its death. There are a number of typical mistakes that not only beginners but also experienced growers make.

• Excessive watering. Watering this plant should be moderate. The soil should be only slightly moist, as the flower is a succulent and adapted to survive in arid zones.

• Use of used rooting and transplant containers. This can spread the infection. When working with this flower, you must use only disposable pots.

• Too long keeping the flower under the greenhouse. The greenhouse must be periodically ventilated, and then the growing plant must be weaned off from it.

If you take into account all the instructions and instructions, then the reproduction of dracaena at home will be absolutely successful.

Video: how to propagate dracaena