Dracaena Propagation Update from Seattle

So, for those of you that are regular readers of the HSNY blog, you may remember a story from February of a woman dealing with her Dracaena about to poke a hole in the cieling of her apartment out in Seattle, WA. If you need a refresher, here is a link to the original piece.


This week I received a fabulous update from Angela that really made my day. Sometimes I get nervous when I am advising people thousands of miles away, so to hear that her propagation efforts were a success I was so thrilled. Here is the update from the west coast as well as my answer to a new question that came up. Enjoy.


Hi Alex,
I just wanted to thank you again for your help earlier this year. I wrote to you in February asking about my Janet Craig. Here is an update:
At first I tried air layering, but that only lasted about a week, because the top got too heavy and snapped off where I had made the incision. I was too busy to deal with it, so I took the top and stuck it in a vase of water for about two weeks. Finally, I cut the top into two separate pieces and planted both in peat moss like you said. Now, about 6? weeks later, there are two little baby plants with great roots (see photos), and there is also new growth on the bottom plant as well.
Awesome! Now I have a Janet Craig family. Just one question, when can you transfer the plant to regular soil? They seem to like the peat moss - can I leave them in that?

Image 1005 shows the papa plant...

...and image 1010 shows where the papa broke off and where there is new growth.

Image 1013 is baby#1 and image 1014 is the baby#2. Image 1018 and 1019 are the new roots of baby#2.

To the update I replied:

All the cuttings look great and you are right, you have a good amount of roots there. So glad my advising worked - phew! To answer your question I think this would be a fine time to repot them into a mix of regular potting soil, perhaps amended with a little extra peat moss. The reason you used peat moss was to anchor them and provide water to the cuttings to get them to root without tons of extra organic matter that the cutting would not have been quite ready for. Now that you have good roots, the plants can begin to be situated in pots with increased organic matter and that will provide them with the nutrients and water retention they need going forward. If you were to keep them in just peat moss you would probably find that they would become weak over time. When my cutting here in the office established roots much like the ones you have I repotted it in regular soil and it is doing just fine now.

Repotting a Jade

Question:

I found your blog on line and enjoyed reading all the Q & A’s. My question is regarding my jade plant. I bought it at the local Target store about three years ago. We have moved, and the last year, it has been loving its new home, in front of an east facing window. I try to remember to turn it, due to the branches “growing towards the sun”. It is getting a little leggy and I would like to know how to prune it to stimulate additional growth on the stalks. I have pinched of the ends before, but nothing major.

I believe it is root bound, how do you know when to repot? What type of potting medium do you suggest?

When I do get the nerve to do major pruning, if needed, what is the best way to propagate the cuttings? I have read so many different things on line: …use a leaf, …use a cutting, ….put it in water right away, …do not water for weeks, . . .let cutting air dry. . . so confused.

Answer:

Thanks for writing and including the photos. Your jade (Crassula argentea) does look very happy, and yes, I would definitely say it needs to be re-potted. If you find roots coming out of the bottom of the container or if the plant looks very restricted in its present pot, then it is pretty safe to say that re-potting would be a good idea. Some houseplants can enjoy being slightly pot-bound, but I wouldn’t say that jade necessarily fit into this category. As far as the re-potting, search for a container that is only 2” or 3” larger in diameter than the yellow pot it is presently in. Make sure it has proper drainage and since the plant has done so well in the yellow pot you might choose to use another glazed pot that will help retain some more moisture than terra cotta alone. As for the soil, I would use a mix that is free draining and not too moisture retentive. I think it’s Miracle-Gro that makes a Cactus & Succulent mix that I have used many times over for various plants, including jades, both here in the office and at home. It is a potting mix that has a little grit to it and is not too weighed down with organics which is good because you always want to avoid the potential for root rot. Best time to repot is late winter or early spring as the days get longer and the plants become more active, so now is the perfect time.

As for the propagating, you can try either leaf cuttings for stem cuttings. When you repot you will most likely lose a few leaves so you might as well pot them up separately or in the periphery of the new container. If you take stem cuttings, make sure you use a very sharp and sterile knife. Cut healthy looking shoots so that you have pieces that are 4” or 5” inches tall. Try to make the cut right under a node (the junction where a leaf or stem might have emerged from the stem you are cutting). Pull off any extra leaves so that you are only left with 3 leaves remaining on your cuttings. Let the cuttings sit and callus for a few days. Then, after a few days of callusing, pot the cuttings up in the free draining soil you bought for the re-potting. If you want, you can get a rooting hormone (such as Root-tone) and apply a very light dusting of it to the bottom of the cuttings before potting them up. When potting the cuttings, remember that you will want to use your finger to prepare the hole for the cutting so that the rooting hormone you have applied doesn’t get wiped right off the base of the cuttings once inserted in the soil. Make sure the soil you pot the cutting in is moist, but definitely not sopping wet. Pack the soil in around the cutting so it is held in place, and if you have to bury the cutting an inch or two down, so be it. In order for either of the cuttings to root most efficiently, you want to keep the soil slightly moist at all times and warm, about 74 or 75 degrees. It looks like that little shelf that gets hit with a lot of sun might be a perfect spot to situate your cuttings. Give them time, check every month or so to check on root development, and hopefully they will take and in time become plants of their own.

My Dracaena is Too Tall!

I often get calls from people that have corn plants (Dracaena fragrans 'Massangeana') or dragon trees (Dracaena marginata) that have gotten too tall for their apartments. Because they have grown these plants for so long and have become attached, they do not want to simply throw the plant out and start over, and I understand that completely. Therefore, I am most often asked is there a way to cut off the top of the plant and have it establish roots to be replanted?

The answer is there are a few ways of propagating a new plant from an overgrown parent plant. The first is a method called air-layering. This is a practice I learned in horticulture school designed to grow new roots on the existing stalk or bark of the parent plant before you severe it and place it in a new container. When air-layering, you begin by making an incision in the main stalk at an angle and inserting in the incision moistened sphagnum moss. In some cases, depending on the plant species, adding a rooting hormone is recommended as well. Then the cut and the sphagnum moss must be wrapped in plastic or cellophane so that it is kept constantly and evenly moist. Once roots have established from the initial wound, then the plant can be cut below that point and planted in a new container to eventually grow into its own. This process can take a number of weeks for sufficient root growth, but you can be certain that the section of plant will survive when you then remove it from the parent plant and plant it on its own. The drawback to air-layering is that you have to have a bandaged plant in your home that may not be so attractive. The other drawback is that this process takes some time and I must be perfectly honest and say that most of the people I deal with admit that they do not have the patience to attempt air-layering.

With that being said, there is another option for propagating a Dracaena from the parent plant. This alternative method is to propagate by stem cuttings. Granted it might not be as reliable as air-layering, but this anyone can do, and chances are you will still be able to continue growing the plant you have come to love. Here are a few pictures to help you through the process. This exercise I am doing here in the office as an example and I will keep you posted as to the development of new roots as they happen over time.

For this exercise, you will need a bag or regular peat moss, or a soil-less mix of ¾ peat moss and ¼ vermiculite. You will also want a plastic pot and saucer to place your cuttings in as plastic retains moisture for longer than terra cotta. If the peat moss or soil-less mix is dry, be sure to moisten it before you begin.
First locate on the parent plant a length of stem and leaves that is 4”-6” in length.For the best chance of root development and the plants survival, you need the cuttings to have some foliage so that the plant can continue to photosynthesize once it has been cut. With a sharp knife, severe this top portion of foliage and stem at a slight angle and separate it from the parent plant. For dragon trees (Draecaena marginata) some books suggest letting the cuttings sit for 24 hours, but for corn plants (Dracaena fragrans ‘Massangeana’) do not let the cuttings sit and dry out. I should say that this is also best done in the spring or summer when the plant is actively growing. Now place your cutting in your container of peat moss or soil-less mix. Remember that you need a long enough cutting that you can anchor it in the new pot with at least an inch of the stem submerged in the moist substrate. In addition, you may choose to remove or cut back a few leaves as well. Because the parent plant has many established roots, it can have an equally large amount of foliage; this is what horticulturists call the root-to-shoot ratio. Since you have removed the roots, you must pare down the foliage because this plant will have to essentially start over from scratch. If the plant is photosynthesizing like crazy and there are no roots to balance the flow of nutrients, then the plant can go into major stress and die. In addition, if you have an option, take your cuttings from the smaller shoots, as younger tissue often has better and quicker recuperative potential. Keep your cutting in the soilless mix and keep it evenly moist, watering it a few times each week. On the flip side, do not keep the mix sopping and saturated because you do not want to run the risk of rotting the cutting and losing the plant once you have come this far. As you would with any plant, keep the cutting in a spot with bright, indirect light and good air circulation. After 8-10 weeks your cutting should establish new roots and begin to live as a plant of it’s own. Once the cutting and roots have outgrown the container, repot it in a larger container in the spring.