English

Part II: House Plant Journal

My most rewarding experiences as an indoor gardener have come from developing an in-depth knowledge of the lives of specific plants. House Plant Journal is a daily photographic record of my plants and what I’ve learned about them. Although many house-plant books boast of having hundreds of plant profiles, I’ve decided to share stories of some of the plants that I have most enjoyed growing. I can often show you the changes one of my plants has gone through over several years, so you can imagine how your relationship might progress with the same plant. After all, the most rewarding aspect of plant parenthood is observing your plants as they grow and change!

For each type of plant in the journal section, I describe a survival strategy, suggesting how you might help that plant last as long as possible in low-light situations; and a growth strategy, which tells you what you can expect from a happy plant living in bright indirect light. I also give tips on soil management and notes on a plant’s subjective life span—how long you can expect it to maintain a pleasing appearance and what to do when it doesn’t.

The selection that follows leans toward the tropical plants that I’m drawn to. Some offer many varieties to try, some have fascinating growth habits, some raise and lower their leaves throughout the day, and still others are a joy to propagate and share. They range in size from a monster that can take over a room to a tiny vine. Together, they are a world ready for you to explore and learn from.

As your confidence grows, you will inevitably find plants that are not in my collection of greatest hits. If you have copious amounts of direct sun, you may find yourself venturing into the world of cacti and succulents, for example. Remember, the fundamentals of holistic plant care can be applied to any type of plant. The old way of thinking about plant care is that you need specific care information for every plant. The new way is this: Plant care is just minor modifications of the same basic needs.

Dracaena

The growing tip of a dracaena plant emanates from a central stem, or trunk. As new leaves emerge, the older, lower leaves die off. The most common method of cultivation is for the grower to chop back a mature trunk so that three or four new stems can grow from the stump. Sometimes these trunks are planted in a staggered arrangement to produce a pleasing floor plant. Alternatively, one or two plants can grow into a bush. For small spaces, growers may cut a mature cane into several small stumps and plant them individually—plants have the amazing ability to continue growing even when a seemingly large portion of the original plant has been severed. Dormant meristems—regions where there are active cells that can generate new stems—awaken to form new shoots!

Survival strategy

My father-in-law kept a Dracaena fragrans alive for what must have been a decade in an upstairs hallway with zero windows. Its leaves were long, narrow, and very dark green. The upstairs lights must have been on for four hours a night at most, and I would estimate the light intensity received by the leaves to be no more than 30 foot-candles. Needless to say, he understood how to care for it. By keeping the soil just barely moist, free from debris, and well aerated, he created conditions where the plant made use of any available soil moisture before root-rot bacteria could take hold. If you think putting a plant in a dark corner will “add some life” to the space, then you need to treat the plant as if it’s on life support—because it is.

Growth strategy

Any space where your dracaena can receive more than 100 foot-candles will allow it to grow slowly—it’s a low-light survivor. As you increase the light intensity, a few things will be noticeable: Variegated leaves will show stronger contrast, fewer lower leaves will drop (although they’ll still drop eventually!), and the overall height of the plant will increase noticeably year after year. A few hours of direct sun is acceptable, but all-day sun exposure may cause some leaf bleaching.

Soil management

In the right light, dracaenas are tolerant of both dry soil and saturated soil, but it’s safer to stay on the dry side, which also means you’ll water less frequently—a bonus for the lazy! As dracaenas tend to be available as larger plants, you probably won’t be moving them around much for watering. Regular aeration of the soil will help with keeping the water penetration as even as possible. After a year or more, when you notice roots peeking up on the soil surface or overall slow growth, you can either repot, if you have space, or apply a soil top-dressing.

Subjective life span

Dracaenas are among the longest lasting plants. They just keep growing taller until they reach the ceiling, which will likely take a few years. At this point, you can cut back the main trunk, and, if the overall plant is healthy, two or three new stems will emerge from the cut end. The plant’s overall shape will be drastically altered, but such is the nature of pruning!

Experiences from Dracaena Parenthood

After several years of growth, dracaenas develop true character. Their trunks could probably tell a great story: “Back in the day, before this twisty part . . .” Rotating the plant will set the trunk growing in the direction of the nearest window, so you could theoretically create a nice spiral with regular turns.

The lines, or scars, on the dracaena’s trunk indicate where a leaf was attached. In this plant, the spacing between the scars is farther apart in the section indicated by my fingers. By doing a (very rough) calculation of the average leaf-drop rate, I can estimate that this widely spaced section was the top of the plant three years ago. Here’s what I think happened: We moved into a new office around that time and put the plant in a bright window. In our old office, the plant had been used for a time as a typical office plant in a sitting area far from any windows, and the growing tip was stretching out for more light, producing leaves more slowly, hence the wider spacing of scars in this area.

Dracaena Foliage Appreciation

In the dracaena genus, you’ll find leaves with myriad colors and patterns—deep greens, almost purple, red margins, crinkles, yellow racing stripes, and even a beautiful tricolor of red, green, and white!