Dracaena draco

Jo A P

Dracaena draco

Post by Jo A P »

Don't know if I've spelt it right, but anyway does anyone grow it? What sort of min temperature does it need? I've seen a nice one on ebay (not for you English furriners tho :DD ) nice price, but I'll be sacked if I try & drag any more plants indoors for the winter :oops:
bev

Re: Dracaena draco

Post by bev »

i had one for about 3 years that i lost last winter. if i remember correctly i kept it in the garage overwinter but may have put it out one day and it got snowed on and that sent it on a downward spiral. i have also grown them from seed (easy to germinate) but are very slow to grow. i think the minimum temperature would probably be around 3c, maybe lower if kept dryish.

crews hill gardening club had some with 1m trunks this year in flower and at that size you would have more chance but i would wrap the leaves up to keep the crown dry in frosty periods and snow on the plant is a no-no!

what sort of lows do you get in your part of italy?

cheers

lee
Jo A P

Re: Dracaena draco

Post by Jo A P »

Well it's not supposed to get below -5c, but being out in the country & on the side of a valley we do drop below that. We rarely get a deep ground frost, but then again it only takes one night with a few degrees lower & that's the end of it! We also tend to get very wet periods & then very dry periods, it never seems to mix much. Plays havoc with my cacti.

I think I'll look for something else!
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Re: Dracaena draco

Post by Dave Brown »

I have a small one that Aido brought back from Gran Canaria 2 years ago. I keep it dry over winter not by design but I don't splash water about so everything that does not wilt stays dry. I went down to -4C in there and suffered no damage last winter, however the winter before I kept it in the conservatory, watered it, and the growing point rotted out :roll: It resprouted from the tiny trunk it had.

Seems wet rather than cold is a problem. :roll:
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palmking

Re: Dracaena draco

Post by palmking »

I've got a Dozen in various sizes, some for sale. The largest are very stout/stocky and stiff leaved plants about 18 inches high. I've got a double trunked seedling about 12 inches high too.

The key is keeping them dry. Of course, all but one of mine are inside. The one I have outside is in the driest spot in the garden and gets no precipitation at all. I'm trialling it over winter. It will get protection from dried conifer leaves but nothing else.

I water mine inside with a good spray everyday(around the base) and you do get good growth this way.They do take up a lot of water, so I guess like Aloes and many other succulents if you water them too much or most certainly water them when they're not growing and I guess you'd get rot but I've had no problems so far. In fact, i'd say they're the easiest plants i've grown, even as seedlings seedlings and quicker than Yucca's(another easy plant from seed) to a decent size.

I'll know more about their cold tolerance in the spring!!

Paul
They are almost pest free and drought tolerant. :
Jo A P

Re: Dracaena draco

Post by Jo A P »

I have got a few spots in the garden that remain dry even in the winter, it's funny how when you really put your mind to it you CAN find a place! I think I may just give one a go.
Thanks to everyone for the help & Paul I'd be interested to hear about your trials after winter. What sort of temperatures do you get?
Adrian

Re: Dracaena draco

Post by Adrian »

I have found that these 'grow to the pot'. Ive tried plenty from seed picked up on holidays and I have found them easy to overwinter in a frost free greenhouse.
Each time I have potted them on into larger pots then they respond to fill that pot but then stop so they can be grown to suit your own needs.
My brother tried leaving a planted out very nice one that he had brought on for years but had got too big for the house, against my advice :roll: hence to say it was the wrong winter to try something tender and nothing was left after -9c.

I only have a single plant here now and this one did suffer some damage last winter before it was put away and it has now branched several times so should turn into a nice shape if I keep it going.
Jo A P

Re: Dracaena draco

Post by Jo A P »

That's interesting to know, I wonder how many other plants do the same & are in need of a bigger pot.
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DiCasS
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Re: Dracaena draco

Post by DiCasS »

I bought a couple of these a while back from Wyvale, they were in the houseplant department and were tucked at the back in 3 inches pots, bone dry but healthy looking plants. I repotted them and they grew quickly. I brought one into the conservatory for Winter and left the other one outside for a little bit longer. Although the weather never went down to freezing whilst it was outside, it still suffered and lost its growing point but grew new shoots. I'll bring mine in when the weather turns a little colder (but above freezing). I suspect it was a little too wet.

Di
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palmking

Re: Dracaena draco

Post by palmking »

Yes, if anything I water them too little. Much as I do for my Opuntia'a and Aloes.

Jo, I reach -5 each year with this last winter being the lowest of 4 or 5 at -5.6C.Though this last winter I had a couple of days that remained below freezing, which I've not seen in 20 years.On any clear night,throughout the year, I'm between 1-4 degrees C warmer than more rural areas out of town.

The area it's planted in is south facing under a 35 foot Conifer canopy against a wall in extremely free draining soil. It's next to 2 dry beds ,1 large,1 smaller one with various aloes(Broomii,Aristata,Striatula, Marlothi,Ferox and Agave Ferox/Americana & A.variegata and Cycas revoluta and Yucca Guatemalensis,Gloriosa Variegata,Yucca Torreyi, Fascicularia Bi-Color Var Bi-color, Beschornia Yuccoides, and Opuntia's. SO A MIXED BED!!!!

Although most of the aloes have had a mini greenhouse cover on even in summer on the smallest bed because the rain just hits the east end of the bed and an Aloe Broomii was splitting, having taken in too much water.These plants certainly don't need it for frost protection as the canopy protects almost all of them from Radiation frost.

The Draco is in the driest part of the dry beds!

As an experiment. I moved an Agave Americana Variegata that was suffering 30% wet rot damage every year close to an Agave Americana Blue form. Another A.Americana Blue was planted at the west end of the bed . The variegata and the Blue form right under the conifer and receiving no rain were almost untouched and look fabulous. The Blue at the other end suffered even more damage than my Variegata usually does and literally had only the unopened leaves left and when cleaned had no roots at all. I had to modify the soil to almost pure gravel and resite it with a little John Innes and sharp sand and mycorrhizal fungi at the base. It along with my girlfriends having suffered the same fate have come back strong with a good root system and several new leaves but it does go to show how important it is for wet protection for arid zone plants. They'll tolerate some cold alright but wet is a killer.

I'll let everyone know the results of my trials.

PS I know what you mean Adrian about them growing to pot size-They're like goldfish in a small pond!!!

Paul .
Jo A P

Re: Dracaena draco

Post by Jo A P »

That sounds great, I don't suppose you'd put in a picture?
My dry area is along some Italian cypress on one side & a stone pine on the other. My problem is that when it does rain, it really rains & the whole garden is soggy (clay) for days. Then it dries very quickly & stays dry for ages. To be honest I've never dug down into the area I have in mind in the winter as I've never thought of planting anything there before. I have an opuntia nearby & it seems if anything to struggle in the summer & I did actually water it this year & got almost immediate new growth.
I have an American agave planted out on its own on a gentle slope & that is fine (despite getting overrun with grass, can't cope with the garden all the time).
I have a couple of A. Broomii, both in pots so perhaps I'll try planting them as well. What about A. arborescens? Do you think I could plant that as well?
real_ale

Re: Dracaena draco

Post by real_ale »

if its the Dragon Palm or drago palm you talking about, i got some from gran canaria and its said on label night temp min +8 C
jungle jas

Re: Dracaena draco

Post by jungle jas »

Hi all, I have a load of seedlings from last years trip to Canaries . Has any one got any of these left after a couple of bad winters? Any one got any further comments about growing them out side as I fancy planting a few out in the garden. I garden on sand, which is very free draining. If I put a roof over them to keep the rain off in the winter, what is the min temperature they will take. I was encouraged this winter by the fact that on a window sill, in an unheated shed they steadily kept growing, were as my washies stopped for months.
GREVILLE

Re: Dracaena draco

Post by GREVILLE »

My 20 year old specimen has sustained some damage over the years, (rotted tops, frost and a couple of fungal attacks) and through corrective pruning now has many heads on a thick standard stem. I find it has become rather ugly and needs some cosmetic pruning.

There are a number of smaller stems which send out ariel roots. I see no reason why they can't be cut and struck as a new plant.
jungle jas

Re: Dracaena draco

Post by jungle jas »

Greville, thanks for the imfo. What temperatures have you had the last few years? Do you protect it, if so with what?
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