Find Your Ask the Expert: Trimming Dracaena
I have a small Dracaena plant that I have had for over a year. It is growing too tall and spindly. How do I trim it, so it doesn’t grow so tall? BTW, it is planted in dirt. A
Reply:
A,
Trimming Lucky Bamboo (Dracaena sanderiana): You can trim lucky bamboo, whether planted in water or soil, by cutting the stalk off an inch above one of the nodes (nodes are the raise rings that grow around the stalk). New leaves will grow from the cut. A couple of days after you trim the plant, start lightly misting the surface of the cut to encourage the new growth. It is important to wait at least two days before your begin the misting process. It will take a few weeks for the new growth to appear. It will appear on the side of the stem.
Don’t throw away the piece of stalk that you cut off. Instead immediately dip the cut end in rooting hormone (this can be purchased from your local garden center or nursery) and place it in moist soil. This is a way to propagate a new plant.
This process will work for Dracaena fragrans as well.
Good Luck and keep me posted.
