Dracaena????

I am 100% certain this is a Dracaena, but what I'm not certain about is the cultivar. Can anyone identify it? Also, it was about 5" tall when I got it last year, it is now about 13" and still a single stem. I don't want a beanpole, I prefer it to bush out a little.

Will it bush out on its own eventually or is it advisable to snip the top off?

 

Yes it looks like a Dracaena sanderiana or similar.

Dracaenas are beanpole plants, that's why they are often sold as a three-in-one-pot installations or cut to form a branched crown, sort of a standard small tree.

You can either cut the top off and then re-cut the emerging new tops to shape it bushier (and add the cuttings into the pot to root), or just accept it's a beanpole plant and perhaps add a companion climber to give some softness.

My 1.5m Dracaena has Pothos in the same (large) pot to trail down and climb up the adjacent wall. Together they make a pleasing combination.

 

Thanks. If I snip the top and plant the cutting, is it just a case of dipping it in a bit of rooting hormone and planting at the side of the mother plant? Or is there a different way of propagating?

 

I agree, it is one of the broad-leaved Dracaenas. D. reflexa and D. fragrans are other possibilities. It will naturally lose lower leaves and develop a trunk, kind of a false palm effect.

I've only ever managed to root the narrow-leaved ones (D. marginata) but it's worth a go if you don't want a palm-like shape. I think I'd be inclined to grow it in its own pot.

Apparently you can also root sections of stem, not just the top, but I've never tried that.

 

I've never tried but I think you can root these in water, and then pot up, they should be easy as similar to yuccas, which tend to root even if you lay them on the ground sideways.

Id tend to wait a couple of months until spring is underway personally and not use just the soft top, the woody stuff is less likely to rot.

Having said they may well root in water, I'd allow the cut surface to dry for a few days somewhere warmish but out of direct sunlight.

 

Agree with @pete , it might be a good idea to let the plant grow and firm up a bit before taking a cutting. The current growth looks very young and soft.

I'm a happy-go-lucky person and would just plop the cutting (minus lower leaves) next to Mama plant and hope for the best

 

Like I said, I got it last year as a tiny 5" plant, probably a cutting. It had a bit of a growth spurt during last years growing season and has obviously slowed down over winter.

It will be April/May before this year's growing season kicks in and I won't be doing anything to it until then. I just need a plan, which I now have, for when that time arrives.

If I don't do anything at all I have visions of a 3ft gangly stem at the end of this year, which I want to avoid.