Dracaena Fragrans or Frag (fragrant) is unpretentious in leaving. Culture blooms in an open flowerbed. At room conditions, the plant rarely blooms, it is grown because of the decorative crown. Outwardly, dracaena resembles a small palm tree. It’s easy to take care of a flower.
What does the fragrant dracaena look like, to which family it belongs
The leaves of the plant are long, strong, have a dense surface, attach to the top of the trunk in a circle. The color depends on the variety dracaena. Foliage can have a different color, from light yellow to dark green.
The blooming dracaena odorous looks very decorative
There are cultures with double staining of the sheet plate. In such indoor flowers, veins of white or dark green color are clearly visible on the leaves. The trunk of an adult plant is exposed.
Fragrant flowers are collected in numerous spherical inflorescences, which are located along a long peduncle. Blooming brushes grow directly from a leafy outlet.
Common varieties
Russian florists cultivate about 20 species of fragrant dracaena. All crops are suitable for indoor cultivation. Description of common varieties:
- Dracaena compacta with good care grows up to 2 m. The perennial has a lush crown, formed from long glossy leaves.
- Yellow Coast. The culture has a spreading fluffy crown. The leaves of the cultivar Yellow are colored in green and yellow. Perennial grows to 2m. in height.
- Dracaena Lemon Lime. Initially, a compact bush gradually turns into a tree. Culture with proper care reaches 2 m. Lime dracaena foliage is painted in all shades of dark green, yellow and milky. Dracaena Lemon exudes a subtle specific smell.
- Massangeana. Compared to other varieties of dracaena, this culture is more compact. The trunk grows to 1.5 m. Florists love Massangejan for beautiful dense yellow-green leaves with thin stripes located along the plate.
- Golden Coast. Indoor flower has a height of 1 to 1.5 m. Beautiful dense foliage creates a lush crown.
- Malayan. Spectacular tree with a voluminous green crown. In height, the dracaena of this variety reaches 2 meters. Wide, not long leaves are attached to the apex. The color closer to the center of the outlet is almost white, the tips of the plates have a saturated green color.
Dracaena Lemon Lime
Healing properties
In composition and effect on the human body, fragrant dracaena juice is similar to the Aloe Vera plant popular in medicine. The substance is used for the preparation of medicinal ointments that stimulate the rapid healing of wounds.
The main properties of drugs made on the basis of culture:
- increase immunity;
- have an antioxidant effect;
- help strengthen the heart muscle.
Traditional healers recommend using dracaena juice to relieve joint pain. Tinctures are used as a sedative to relieve stressful conditions.
On a note! If you add the product to shampoo or hair dye, you can give the hair a beautiful golden hue.
In folk medicine, preparations based on Frag dracaena are used to treat skin diseases and stomach ulcers. For this purpose, the plant juice is diluted with grape alcohol. The drug is suitable for treating the oral cavity. The drug relieves inflammation, has an astringent effect on the intestines. It is used for diarrhea.
It is interesting! Dracaena was brought to Russia from the Canary Islands. There it is called a dragon tree, and the resinous juice of red color, which stands out on the trunk, is the blood of a dragon.
Features of caring for Dracaena Fragrance at home
The culture is unpretentious in leaving. Existing specimens in Russia were bred by breeding in greenhouses and have long adapted to indoor microclimate.
Temperature
In the warm season, the flower needs a temperature of + 19 ... +25 ° C. In a hotter room you will have to frequent watering and spraying the plant. In winter, the flower is comfortable at a temperature of + 15 ... +19 ° C. If it drops below +10 ° C, the plant becomes ill. In the cool season, you need to protect dracaena from drafts.
Lighting
Dracaena is a photophilous plant. Sun windows facing east are suitable for him. In the summer, the bush needs to be protected from direct rays. Varieties with green leaves tolerate partial shade, and variegated in poor lighting can lose their characteristic color.
Well-lit windows fit the flower
Watering and spraying
Being a tropical culture, fragrant dracaena loves humidity. Watering should be regular, but moderate. Water needs standing, room temperature.
In the summer heat, the flower is watered 2 times a week, in winter - only 1 time per week. If the pot is near operating heating appliances, the flower is watered in summer mode, 2 times sprayed with water daily and the foliage is wiped with a damp sponge.
When watering, they are guided by the state of the earthen coma in the pot. The next portion of water should be introduced if it is 2-3 cm dry. It is important to loosen the soil before irrigation, so that the water flows better to the roots.
Note! Overmoistening of the soil leads to rotting of the roots. Drying is unacceptable, since the flower dies from a lack of moisture.
Humidity
In rooms with dry air, a saucer with water is kept next to the plants, the flowers themselves are sprayed daily from the spray bottle, but not forgetting to brush off the foliage from excess moisture. These procedures are aimed at increasing air humidity.
Pots with bushes are installed in pallets into which water is poured daily. It is important that a gravel drainage layer be laid at the bottom of the flower container.
Moisture-loving culture requires regular watering
Priming
Dracaena soil can be purchased at a specialist store. Suitable mixture for palm trees.
Independently, the soil is made of such components:
- land from a flower bed - 3 parts;
- peat and river sand in 1 part.
A little charcoal is added to the ground so that the roots do not hurt. Small pieces of broken bricks are laid at the bottom of the pot to improve the permeability of the soil.
Top dressing
Useful substances are applied to the soil from March to September once every 10-14 days. The culture is well aware of the alternation of organic fertilizers with mineral mixtures.
In winter, top dressing is needed once a month. Complex preparations with a low phosphorus content are selected.
Features of winter care, rest period
In winter, the plant requires a temperature of +15 to +19 ° C. Watering is limited, but the land in the trays must not be allowed to be dry. Top dressing is carried out once a month.
Important! The flower does not hibernate if it is in a room where the air temperature is constantly kept above +20 ° C.
At home, the flowering of dracaena is a rare occurrence, but, according to the observations of gardeners, fragrant dracaena blooms more often than other varieties. During flowering, the plant exudes a strong aroma. The fragrance resembles the smell of mowed grass.
The flowers of the culture are small, tubular, collected in round inflorescences. Fluffy balls attached to a long peduncle. Flowers are painted in milk-white, green-white or yellow.
It is interesting! Flowers open at night. In the daytime, the buds close.
Changes in flowering care
When the plant has bloomed, you can not transfer it to another place. Buds may crumble. Too much fertilizer must not be applied. Regular watering is required.
Pruning
Extra shoots and leaves are removed if the shoots are too long, and the plant began to look messy. A tree should resemble a palm tree. A plant can branch a crown.
The top is cut so that 4 healthy leaves remain on the trunk. Places of cuts are treated with crushed coal and wrapped with polyethylene. The protective material is removed after the appearance of side shoots.
How fragrant dracaena propagates
There are several ways to get a new flower. For Russians, the most affordable option for plant propagation is the rooting of cuttings.
Seed germination
Obtaining your own seeds is difficult, since dracaena rarely blooms indoors. Planting material is bought through an online store.
Before sowing, the seeds are kept in a nutrient solution that stimulates growth. The fluid must be warmed up to + 30 ° C. Prepared seeds are placed in the soil for palm plants. Until the sprouts hatch, the crops are kept under the film.
The first shoots may appear after 30-40 days. Shelter is removed when young plants reach 5-6 cm in height. After this, the shoots can be planted.
Rooting cuttings
From a strong young stalk, several pieces are cut from 3 to 5 cm long. Each segment should have from 2 to 4 buds.
Important! A piece of a sprig for rooting is laid horizontally in the ground.
The bark is cut from one side on the handle and the exposed area is placed in the ground. Sticks are covered with a jar or a bottle. Plantings are regularly watered and protected from sunlight. The first shoots will appear in 30-45 days. You can’t remove the greenhouse until the plant is strong.
Propagation of culture by cuttings
Air layering
On the trunk just below the apex, a small incision is made on the cortex. A section of the trunk is wrapped with polyethylene, under which you need to form a small lump of wet peat. After about 30 days, new roots form in the pouch. The top of the head with a new root system is cut off. The new plant is placed in a separate pot.
Other options
The top with a piece of stem 10-15 cm long is cut off from the flower. The cut is treated with charcoal. The cut apical part is planted in peat. The plant is regularly watered, and a greenhouse is created above it.
Transfer
When the bush grows, it is moved to a larger pot. The roots, together with a lump of earth, are transferred to another container. The voids are covered with fresh soil, and beaten brick and charcoal are laid at the bottom. The lack of a drainage layer leads to root decay.
Important! The flower is transplanted by transshipment. The soil should be the same in composition as the former.
Possible problems in growing and disease
Dracaena can be sick, attacked by pests. By external signs they judge the need for changes in care.
Discards buds and leaves
There may be several reasons for this condition:
- The flower was moved to another place.
- The room is too dry.
- The plant lacks nitrogen.
Another reason is the lack of moisture. A lot of damage to home flowers is caused by drafts.
Leaves turn pale
The appearance of light, dry spots on the foliage indicates sunburn. Leaves turn pale with a lack of water and nutrients.
The tips dry on the leaves
The tips of the foliage dry if the plant does not have enough moisture. In some infectious diseases, the same symptoms are present.
Lower leaves fall off
Leaves affected by parasites fall. You can get rid of mealybugs if you regularly wash the leaves with warm, soapy water. They do not like pest spraying with garlic infusion.
The leaves on the bush began to dry
Pests
Parasites that often attack dracaena:
- spider mite;
- aphids;
- scale insects;
- mealybugs.
If pests are found, the bushes are treated with store chemicals.
Other problems
The death of the plant can be caused by heavy watering in the cold season. A temperature below +15 ° C is harmful to the flower.
Important! When the water is constantly standing in the pot, the roots rot and the culture perishes.
Signs and superstitions
According to Indian legend, dracaena juice consists of the blood of a dragon and an elephant. The flower is called the tree of happiness. When it blooms, peace and material well-being come to the family. Fragrant dracaena is able to reflect negative energy, protect people living in the house, from the evil eye and negative energy.
Spectacular dracaena fits well into the interior of the office, apartment. The flower is easy to care for. To get a new plant, it is enough to place a piece of twig in the ground. Thanks to these qualities, culture has gained popularity among Russian flower growers.
