Gadenin日本語Get the appA bare cane will not refill on its own
Dracaena grows from a single point at the top of each cane and sheds its lowest leaves as it goes. Left alone for a few years, that produces exactly what most people end up with: a tall bare stem with a tuft of leaves at the ceiling. Nothing you feed or water it will make leaves reappear on the bare section.
The only way back is to cut the cane. It sounds drastic and it is the correct answer: below the cut, dormant buds under the bark wake up and two or three new shoots break within four to eight weeks. You end up with a shorter, branched plant instead of a pole.
| What you have | Where to cut | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| Tall bare cane, leaves only at the top | Anywhere on the bare cane you want the head | Two or three shoots just below the cut |
| Two canes, one much taller | The taller one, level with the shorter | A balanced plant with more heads |
| Cane bent or leaning badly | Below the bend, into straight wood | A straight plant, one season behind |
| Head damaged by cold or rot | Into firm green tissue below the damage | Recovery, provided the roots are sound |
The cut piece with leaves on it roots easily, so a hard prune gives you a second plant rather than a bin bag. Do not throw the top away.
Cut in late spring or early summer
Timing decides how fast the buds break and whether the cut surface dries cleanly or rots. The plant needs to be actively growing and the room above about 68F (20C) for a reliable response.
| Season | Cut back? | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Late spring | Best | Warmth rising, buds break in four to six weeks |
| Early summer | Yes | Fast response, but keep the plant out of strong sun after |
| Late summer | Only light shaping | New shoots will not harden before the cold |
| Autumn to early spring | No | Buds stay dormant and the cut surface rots |
Making the cut
The cut itself takes a minute. Use a clean, genuinely sharp blade, because a crushed cane heals badly and is where rot gets in.
- Decide the height first Mark where you want the new head to sit and cut about two inches (5 cm) above it, because the new shoots will emerge below the cut. Stand back and look at the plant from across the room before you commit.
- Cut straight across, not on a slant A flat cut on a thick cane dries and callouses evenly. Use a sharp pruning saw or heavy pruners and take it in one pass rather than crushing your way through.
- Leave the stub alone Do not seal the cut with wax or paint. Let it dry in the air for a day or two and it will callous over on its own. The top inch (2 cm) of the stub often dries and darkens, which is normal.
- Keep the plant slightly drier for a fortnight With no leaves left on that cane, the roots are using far less water. Watering as before is the main way people rot a freshly cut plant.
The sap is a mild irritant and stains fabric. Wear gloves and put something under the plant before you cut.
Getting more than one head
How many shoots break depends mostly on the thickness of the cane and how much light the stub gets. A thick cane in good light usually pushes three; a thin one in a dark corner may push only one, which leaves you where you started.
Move the cut plant to the brightest position you have for the two months after pruning. This is the one time of year that position matters more than anything else you do.
- Cut at different heights With two or three canes in one pot, cut them at staggered heights three to six inches (8 to 15 cm) apart. All cut level, they regrow as a flat hedge, which looks worse than the leggy plant you started with.
- Thin the shoots if you get too many If five shoots break on one cane they will all be weak. Rub off the weakest when they are an inch (2 cm) long and keep the two or three best spaced around the cane.
- Turn the pot Turn it a quarter turn every week while the shoots develop, so they come away evenly rather than all towards the window.
Rooting the top you cut off
The removed top is a cutting with a head of leaves already on it, which makes it the easiest dracaena propagation there is. Strip the lowest leaves off so about four inches (10 cm) of bare stem is clear, let the cut dry for a few hours, and put it in a free draining mix or a jar of water.
It roots in three to six weeks in a warm room. Keep it bright but out of direct sun, and keep the compost just damp. Do not feed until you can see new growth at the top, which tells you roots have formed.
A section of bare cane from the middle also roots, provided you keep it the right way up. Mark the top with a diagonal cut before you separate the pieces, because an upside down cane will never shoot.
Trimming leaves rather than canes
Most routine tidying is not pruning at all. Brown tips can be trimmed with sharp scissors, following the natural taper of the leaf rather than cutting straight across, which leaves a much less obvious edge. Take off only the dead tissue and leave a hair's width of brown, because cutting into green causes a new brown margin.
Whole leaves that have gone yellow are being emptied by the plant and are better pulled away at the base once they come off with a gentle tug. Pulling hard on a leaf that is still attached tears the cane, so use scissors instead if it resists.