Godseff's dracaena is becoming increasingly popular among indoor plant lovers. The plant is undemanding to lighting and air temperature, and the process of propagating the flower at home does not cause difficulties even for novice gardeners.
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Description of the flower
Dracaena belongs to the class of monocots, the asparagus family. In the wild, its greatest distribution is in West Africa. The plant in open ground reaches 3-4 m in height. At home, it is possible to grow a flower no more than a meter high.
Unlike other varieties, Dracaena godseffiana (or, as it is also called, surculosa, which means “side shoot”) has large oval leaves of a milky-cream color. All other varieties have green leaves.
The plant has a tuberous root system, the roots are bright yellow. The stem is erect. The bush forms additional shoots growing from the roots. Therefore, the stems of the plant are intertwined at the base.
The leaves are soft and smooth, about 5 cm wide and no more than 16 cm long, slightly pointed at the ends. The Godseffian dracaena variety is divided into several subspecies, which differ in the pattern on the leaves. The pattern can be in the form of a spiral or chaotically scattered white or cream inclusions. On the stem there are nodes-whorls, in which 5-6 leaves are located in a circle.
Growing and care at home
In order for the plant to look attractive, grow and bloom quickly, it should be provided with the necessary conditions:
- Maintaining the optimum temperature in the room, as well as the level of air humidity.
- Access to natural light.
- Timely and sufficient watering.
- Regularity of feeding.
Lighting
Dracaena Godseffiana Mike feels better on windowsills located on the south-west or south-east side of the house/apartment. At the same time, it is necessary to exclude constant exposure of the flower to direct sunlight, as it can cause severe burns to the leaves. It is not recommended to place the pot with the bush in dark corners, as the plant will lose its decorative appeal (the leaves will become pale, the texture of the pattern will become more blurred).
In summer, dracaena can be periodically taken out onto the balcony or into the yard, leaving the pot with the plant for 3-4 hours in a slightly shaded place.
Temperature
The flower is not demanding to the temperature regime. In summer, the optimal indicators for the growth and flowering of surculosa are in the range of +20…+25 ºС, in winter their decrease to +18…+19 ºС is allowed. In a greenhouse or in an outdoor greenhouse, it is necessary to maintain the temperature at +16 ºС.
Air humidity
Dracaena Godseffiana is the most resistant representative of its species to dry air. But if you want to create the most favorable conditions for it, periodically spray the leaves of the plant with clean warm water and remove dust from the plates 2-3 times a week. Sometimes the flower can be rinsed under the shower.
Watering and fertilizing
The frequency and volume of watering depend on the season. In summer, surculosa should be watered more often - 2-3 times a week, in winter, 1 time is enough. It is strictly forbidden to overdry the flower. As soon as 2-3 cm of the top layer of soil has dried out, the plant must be watered.
It is also necessary to monitor the amount of moisture. You cannot immediately pour large volumes of water onto the plant - this will lead to rotting of the root system. It will be impossible to stop this process, and the plant will die. It is best to use rain or distilled water for watering. If this is not possible, tap water should be allowed to settle for at least a day to prevent chlorine from getting under the plant's roots.
In order for the flower to grow and develop, it needs to be fed. The leaves of dracaena, which grows in poor soil, lose their attractiveness and fall off. Growth stops, and the plant will soon wither and die. Surculosa needs to be fed every 2 weeks during the period of active growth (from March to August). From September to February, 1 feeding per month is enough.
When choosing fertilizers, it is necessary to take into account the chemical composition. It is necessary to use only such growth and development stimulants that do not contain chlorine-based compounds. You can use universal complex fertilizers for indoor plants, or you can prepare a solution yourself. To do this, you will need to mix 0.5 g of potassium nitrate, 0.3 g of ammonium sulfate and 0.4 g of potassium phosphate. Dilute the resulting mixture in 1 liter of water at room temperature.
When a young plant is rooting, you should not add fertilizers to the soil for a month, since the root system is weakened and chemical compounds can cause the young tubers to die off.
Terms and rules of transplantation
The bush should be replanted once every 3 years. The best period is the beginning of active vegetation (late March – early April). You will need a pot 2-3 cm larger in diameter than the previous one and prepared soil. Small stones, pieces of brick or ceramic shards can be used as drainage.
First, you need to put drainage 2-3 cm high on the bottom of the flowerpot. Then prepare the soil: mix sand, peat and compost in equal parts. You can add a little charcoal - this will help protect the dracaena from pest infestation. Fill the flowerpot with the prepared mixture. Carefully remove the plant from the old container, without sprinkling the lump of earth from the roots. Strengthen the dracaena in the pot, sprinkling the roots with the remaining soil, and tamp it down a little. Water with warm water.
While the plant is taking root, it is better to put the pot in a shaded place. Be sure to ensure that the top layer of soil does not dry out.
Pruning and shaping the trunk
Pruning is required only if the trunk has formed incorrectly and the plant has lost its decorative qualities. In this case, you need to cut off the top of the bush, removing the curved stem. Root the resulting cutting, as in propagation.
To ensure that the stem grows straight, you need to monitor the lighting, placing the container with the plant so that the sun's rays fall on it evenly.
Flowering and fruiting
It is difficult to achieve dracaena flowering at home. To do this, it is necessary to maintain the air temperature in the room, the level of lighting, observe the number and volume of watering and fertilizing. But if everything is done correctly, surculosa will certainly please the owners with beauty. The inflorescences of the bush are collected in brushes, the petals of the flowers are painted in a yellow-greenish color, have a soft pleasant smell. At night, the aroma is felt sharper. After some time, small red berries form in place of the flowers.
Reproduction of Dracaena Godseffiana, or Surculosa
Florists use two methods of flower propagation:
- cuttings;
- dividing the bush.
When dividing by cuttings, you should cut a shoot of the bush no longer than 12 cm (use only sharp scissors or a scalpel), generously coat the cut with wood ash. Prepare a container with a solution: dissolve a few drops of hydrogen peroxide and a tablet of activated carbon in water. Place the cutting in water and cover the container with a plastic bag or a cut plastic bottle to create a greenhouse effect.
The time for the formation of a new root system is 1.5-2 months. During this period, it is important to monitor the quality of the water. As soon as the liquid becomes cloudy, it must be replaced. When the cutting puts out small roots, it should be planted in the soil.
Reproduction of dracaena by dividing the bush is carried out in several stages:
- Laying a drainage layer in a planting container.
- Filling the flowerpot with fertile soil.
- Moistening the soil.
- Removing the mother plant from the soil.
- Division into daughter plants.
- Coating the roots with wood ash.
- Planting the resulting seedlings in the ground.
- Abundant watering.
Flowerpots should be placed in places protected from direct sunlight.
Diseases, pests and methods of control
Indoor plants get sick due to violations of care rules. If the edges of the dracaena leaves turn yellow and then acquire a brown tint, it means that there is insufficient air humidity in the room. The same symptoms are observed with a lack of moisture or in the presence of drafts. To eliminate leaf defects, it is necessary to increase the amount of watering, regularly spray the dracaena with warm water (you can use a solution with the addition of mineral fertilizers), and use a humidifier.
Abundant leaf fall is also a sign of pathology. Dracaena has the ability to shed lower leaves, but their number should not exceed 5 pieces per week. If leaves fall off more often, the plant lacks minerals. Urgent complex feeding is required. The appearance of large pale spots on the plates indicates sunburn. The plant should be moved to a more shaded area of the room.
If the room is too cold, the tips of the dracaena leaves curl and turn yellow. It is necessary to move the pot closer to a heat source.
Often, the cause of death of surculosa are various types of rot, bacterial and fungal infections. It is necessary to carefully examine the dracaena when buying in the store, since diseases quickly spread to other plants.
At home, regularly check the leaves and stems for pathological changes. Lack of control and untimely treatment will inevitably lead to the death of your green pet.
If brown, grey or brown spots appear on the trunk and leaves, the plant has slowed down its growth, which means that its above-ground part needs to be treated and then watered with a weak solution of potassium permanganate. Other flowerpots need to be protected from dangerous neighbors.
No less destructive for dracaena are attacks of pests of indoor plants: thrips, scale insects, spider mites, mealybugs, aphids. If small rounded bulges are visible on the inner side of the leaves, then measures must be taken to destroy the scale insects. To do this, it is recommended to lubricate the surface of the plates with machine oil, vinegar or an alcohol solution. After a few hours, remove the dead insects, and treat the leaves with potassium permanganate or soapy water. Repeat the procedure until the pests are completely destroyed.
If spider mites are found, the above-ground part of the plant should be treated with an alcohol solution, washed off after 20 minutes, and the leaves should be thoroughly wiped. Cover the dracaena with a plastic bag, placing a bag of chopped garlic or onion on the soil. Leave for 2-3 days. To prevent the appearance of mites, you can periodically irradiate the flower with a quartz lamp.
Black dots and small strokes on the leaves indicate damage by thrips. An effective means for destroying these pests is antiparasitic shampoo for animals. You need to pour a little product into a container, shake until foam forms and apply to the affected areas. Cover the plant with cellophane and leave for 3 days. Then remove the dead pests with a sponge. Instead of shampoo, you can use a solution of any oil (50 g per 1 liter of water).
The largest aphids are observed on young shoots. The leaves turn white from the many insects, after a while a sticky coating appears. Treat the dracaena with a soap solution, then rinse under running water. Severely damaged shoots will have to be removed. The procedure should be repeated as needed.
