Emergency restoration of dracaena

The perennial houseplant dracaena requires special care. If the care rules are not followed, the flower may get sick. Many gardeners are interested in how to revive dracaena without harming it.

Features of Dracaena

A special feature of dracaena is that without forced formation of the trunk it grows only upwards. Over time, the lower leaves gradually fall off and the bare trunk with a green top loses its decorative effect. Dracaena is an unpretentious plant that easily reproduces if you do not make mistakes in caring for it.

Conditions for the plant

In a city apartment, the plant often suffers from a lack of heat and humidity. It is necessary to regularly monitor the condition of the flower and take the necessary measures to save it in time.

Air humidity

Dracaena loves humid air, so it is recommended to spray it as often as possible. In hot weather, the plant can be washed under a stream of shower or the leaves can be wiped with a damp soft cloth.

To prevent the flower from drying out, it should not be placed near heating devices or radiators.

Watering

Dracaena likes moderate watering, but you should not allow the soil to dry out. It is desirable that it be slightly damp.

Water the plant only if the top layer of soil in the pot has dried to a depth of 5 cm.

If there are brown spots on the leaves, the flower is overdried. If this happens, watering should be done in small portions and only in the tray, so that the soil is moistened gradually.

It is convenient to control the condition of the soil with a wooden stick, which must be stuck into the ground. If the soil is over-moistened, the lower leaves turn yellow and fall off.

Reasons why dracaena is pruned

There are several reasons to prune your dracaena:

• giving the plant a decorative appearance and forming a beautiful crown;
• propagation of a plant by shoots;
• sanitary pruning (if the leaves dry out and turn yellow);
• resuscitation of a flower when it is affected by a disease (to revive the plant);
• danger of bending of a trunk more than 50 cm high.

Types of Dracaena That Need to Be Pruned

Not all types of dracaena need pruning. Only some of them need this procedure. In order for the houseplant not to die after pruning, it is necessary to know exactly what type it belongs to. Below is a list of plants that need pruning.

Bent over

Dracaena reflexa has a large stem that can grow up to 1 m, dark green leaves edged with a light yellow stripe.

Fragrant

Dracaena fragrans grows up to 2 m, has dark green leaves with light stripes of a pointed shape. The peculiarity of this species is the presence of a pleasant herbal smell during flowering. To control growth, it is recommended to periodically trim the upper leafy part. With proper care, the plant can bloom at home.

Surculosa scutellaria

Dracaena Surculosa has bright green leaves of a round shape with spotted inclusions. New shoots are formed on the root part of the plant, which are cut and transplanted into a new pot.

Bordered

Dracaena marginata, better known as the 'Dragon Tree', is an attractive plant with green, sword-like leaves with red edges native to Madagascar.

Time of pruning

In order not to harm the plant, it is necessary to choose the right time for its pruning. In the autumn-winter period, the flower is in hibernation, accumulating strength.

Therefore, the period from March to June is suitable for pruning, when all life processes inside the flower accelerate. During this period, it will not experience a strong shock and the wound at the cut site will heal quickly.

In some cases, if the trunk is damaged, pruning can be done at any time of the year.

You can't prune the plant right after it's been replanted. It's better to do it a month later, when it's completely rooted.

Preparing the palm before the procedure

A few days before pruning, the plant should be prepared. It is watered abundantly so that all the moisture is absorbed before the procedure and the flower does not dry out. The dusty leaves are carefully wiped with a damp cotton swab. The trunk and leaves must be sprayed with a special preparation "Epin" to produce substances necessary to overcome stress.

Necessary tools

A sharp knife, scalpel or garden shears without serrations are selected as a tool. To ensure sterility, the blade of the tool is wiped with alcohol.

Instructions for crown formation

When pruning plants, follow these recommendations:

1. The flower pot is placed in a well-lit place.
2. They evaluate the height of the plant and the shape of the future crown, and mark the place of the cut.
3. Shoots located below 30 cm from the soil are not cut off.
4. The shoot is cut off with or without foliage.
5. If there are leaves at the cut site, they are removed and the trunk is left empty.
6. The cut site is quickly disinfected, and the cut shoot is treated with "Kornevin" and planted in a small pot. Sterility must be maintained during the procedure.

Care after pruning

After pruning, the plant needs special care. Before the procedure, it was watered, so after pruning, several days should pass before the next watering. If the buds do not wake up or the cut site begins to rot, then you can re-prun a few centimeters lower than the previous one.

Processing

To prevent the cut trunk from losing moisture and rotting, it is carefully treated with a cotton swab soaked in the selected antimicrobial agent. Once a week, the affected area is treated with garden pitch. There is no need to wrap it in polyethylene to provide the cut area with oxygen.

Acceleration

If the top was cut for further rooting, then immediately after the procedure the cut shoot is rooted in a prepared container with soil. The soil is watered as it dries. Later the shoot will give roots and begin to grow upward. It can also be placed in a container with water, but in this case the development will take longer.

Fertilizers that stimulate bud germination

To increase the rate of development of new shoots, it is recommended to feed the cut plant. For this, you can use cytokinin paste, which stimulates the germination of buds.

The product is applied to the damaged area several times a week for a month. As it dries, it will fall off the trunk on its own. After applying the cytokinin paste, new shoots will form on the cut.

To stimulate bud growth, you can spray the plant with a urea solution at a rate of 1 g of the product per 1 liter of water. To restore the strength of a cut flower, you can also prepare a spraying solution from:

With timely pruning and compliance with all care rules, dracaena will delight you with its beauty for several years.

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