Dracaena ” Fragrans Steudneri “

Description

The Dracaena Steudneri ‘Moonlight’ is one of the toughest varieties of Dracaenas, native from varying climates in Ethiopia to S. Tropical Africa. With its eye-catching, vibrant green and yellow edged leaves, which look like they’re trying to reach out and give you a hug, the Steudneri ‘Moonlight’ will brighten up any space its placed in!

Being that it’s from a subtropical/tropical environment, it thrives in moderate to high humidity, warm temperatures, drier soil, indirect bright light and will grow up to 4 to 10 ft. tall indoors. This makes them great to place in a bright corner of a room!

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Temperature :

keep at a normal room temperature. Do not let temperature drop below 13c.

Lighting preference :

Does best with bright, indirect sun but can also tolerate partial shade. As the plant generally grows towards the light, it is a good idea to give it a quarter turn every month – standing it, pot and all, on a wheeled base makes this easier of course.

 Irrigation of water :

Water regularly during the spring and summer months, reduce during the winter. Wait until the top layer of soil is dry before watering gently, avoid over-watering as this can cause root rot. Leaves may discolour if overwatered, if underwatered they may appear to curl at the edges.

When in doubt, do not water. Fluoride in the water can damage the leaves

 Humidity :

Dracaena are hardy houseplants and will do well in normal room humidity, however they do prefer higher humidity and will benefit from occasional misting.

Fertilization and feeding :

Fertilize once a month in the summer.

 Flowering :

Although dracaenas can bloom, they rarely flower as potted plants.

 Soil :

Use a fast-draining well-aerated loose soil. Dracaena plants can even be grown in soil mixed with lava rock.

 Toxicity :

A dracaena is mildly poisonous to humans, but they are extremely toxic to dogs and cats with a #2 toxicity level.

 Pot Size :

These plants like to be root-bound in a small pot. When the roots have filled the existing pot, it is time to move your dracaena warnekii to the next size container. Be sure any pot you use has drip holes in the bottom.

Pruning :

Brown leaf tips can be cut off the leaves with a wet scissors. Tall stalks with only a few leaves at the top can be cut anywhere along the stalk. New growth appears all along the stem below the cut area.

 Diseases :

Fluoride toxicity causes brown leaf tips and long tan/brown streaks in the white stripes of the leaves. Over watering causes root rot. Fusarium Leaf Spot Disease causes reddish tan spots with wide, yellow halos on a Dracaena Warnekii.

 Air Purification :

The Dracaena is not only a great indoor plant to see, it is also one of the most air-purifying indoor plants that exist. The plant removes various substances such as trichloroethylene, benzene and formaldehyde. Dracaena has even been named one of the most air-purifying houseplants on behalf of NASA.