How to Grow and Care for Dragon Tree (Dracaena Marginata) Indoors

When growing dragon tree as a potted plant, use a loose, well-drained potting mix—loamy soil amended with peat moss is ideal. Make sure the container you choose has room for the plant’s extensive root system. Some varieties are imported from Hawaii and will arrive with lava rock—if this is the case, remove about one-third of the rock and replace it with potting soil.

Dracaena Marginata Cane

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Sometimes known as the “dragon tree,” dracaena marginata has the ability to grow very tall in ideal conditions. Indoors it can slowly grow to the size of a small tree, typically remaining under six feet tall. Dracaenas are known for being some of the easiest indoor houseplants to care for because they require very little attention.

Details and Care

• Care: Care Difficulty: Very easy.
• Light: Prefers low and medium light, tolerates some diffused indirect light.
• Water: Let soil dry thoroughly between waterings, water once a month.
• Pet: Toxic to pets.

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How to Grow and Care for Dragon Tree (Dracaena Marginata) Indoors

Jon VanZile was a writer for The Spruce covering houseplants and indoor gardening for almost a decade. He is a professional writer whose articles on plants and horticulture have appeared in national and regional newspapers and magazines.



Debra LaGattuta is a Master Gardener with 30+ years of experience in perennial and flowering plants, container gardening, and raised bed vegetable gardening. She is a lead gardener in a Plant-A-Row, which is a program that offers thousands of pounds of organically-grown vegetables to local food banks. Debra is a member of The Spruce Garden Review Board.

Dracaena marginata, more commonly known as a dragon tree, is an attractive plant with green sword-like, red-edged leaves. Native to Madagascar, the eye-catching spiky tree is known as a great entry plant for household gardeners—it’s easy to care for, drought-tolerant, and nearly indestructible.



The slow-growing plant can be planted year-round and boasts tiny white flowers in the spring (though it rarely flowers indoors). This small tree will grow to about 20 feet in warm outdoor climates, but it is generally grown as a potted houseplant and kept pruned to 6 feet or less. Keep the dragon tree away from pets because it’s toxic to animals if ingested.



Light

Dragon trees grow best in bright light but can also survive in partial shade. Keep in mind, plants kept in lower light situations will grow slower and produce smaller leaves with less intense color. Additionally, take care not to place your dragon tree in a spot that receives direct rays of sunlight—its foliage can burn easily.  

Soil

When growing dragon tree as a potted plant, use a loose, well-drained potting mix—loamy soil amended with peat moss is ideal. Make sure the container you choose has room for the plant’s extensive root system. Some varieties are imported from Hawaii and will arrive with lava rock—if this is the case, remove about one-third of the rock and replace it with potting soil.

Water

Like with many drought-tolerant plants, it’s easy to over-water the dragon tree. To ensure you don’t drown it, wait until the top half of the soil is dry before watering (this can often take three weeks or more). If the plant develops brown tips on its leaves, that’s usually a sign that it’s either receiving too much water or that the water you’re using has too much salt or fluoride, which can cause discoloration. To avoid fluoride, water your dragon tree with distilled or non-fluoridated water. If the plant has yellow leaves, it usually means it needs more water.

Temperature and Humidity

Dragon trees prefer warmer temperatures between 70 and 80 degrees Fahrenheit. Regular household humidity should be fine for them, but if your house is particularly dry, you can consider misting the pant lightly from a spray bottle every few days.

Fertilizer

Dragon trees have a relatively low need for fertilizer and it is not an essential component to having a thriving plant. However, to boost their growth, you can feed them lightly at the beginning of spring with a balanced controlled-release liquid fertilizer. Do not fertilize in the winter.



Types of Dragon Tree

Although there are several varieties of dragon tree, the most commonly found at plant stores (and used as household plants) include:

• Dracaena marginata ‘Tricolor’: This varietal has dark red margins, green leaves, and an ivory stripe down the leaf center.
• D. marginata ‘Colorama’: This dragon tree may appear to be completely pink, but it’s actually variegated with white and green stripes. It will need very bright light to keep its unique colors.
• D. marginata ‘Bicolor’: True to its name, this dragon tree varietal has red and green stripes.

Pruning

It’s perfectly normal for a dragon tree to self-shed dead leaves. Just pick them up and discard them. To keep the plant trim and neat, remove leaves that look like they are about to fall or cut back stems with sterile, sharp pruning shears to tidy up the tree. Sterilize your pruning tool with a clean rag doused in a common household item, such as rubbing alcohol or hydrogen peroxide, then rinse with water, and wipe the tool dry before using it on your plant.

Propagating Dragon Tree

You can propagate your dragon tree using stem cuttings rooted in water. In fact, it’s so easily done that the varietal is often used in dish gardens and readily propagated by nurseries and retailers. It’s best to do this in the spring when the plant is growing vigorously. It takes just about three weeks for the cuttings to sprout roots, and using a rooting hormone isn’t necessary. Dragon tree cuttings can make a thoughtful housewarming gift and using cuttings from your own plant is a personalized touch.

1. Using a sterile, sharp scissor, cut a long length of stem that’s about 8 inches. Remove any leaves and remember which end goes down into the soil.
2. Put the cutting in potting soil that’s moist.
3. Place the cutting in bright, but indirect sunlight.
4. Leaves will sprout on the upper nodes of your cutting and top of the cutting as a rosette.

Potting and Repotting Dragon Tree

Repot your dragon tree into larger pots as necessary. Because these trees grow so slowly, they generally require repotting only every second—or even third—year. In the meantime, you can refresh the potting soil annually to replace any of the mixture that has become compacted.

Common Pests

Although they are fairly disease-resistant, dragon trees are susceptible to scale insects, mealybugs, and thrips. Mealybugs are easy to identify as they leave small, sticky, cottony deposits on the leaves of the tree. Dragon tree plants are also at risk of acquiring the common plant pest, spider mites. They tend to occur when temperatures are warm and the air is very dry; however, mites are very difficult to see until they have already damaged the plant.