I recently moved house and among the casualties of the move was my quite large dracaena, which apparently fell over in the moving van & broke in half. I am hoping that the half still potted will regenerate, but wonder what to do with the rather large stem that was broken? Is there a way to propagate it in soil or another medium - I don't have much success rooting things in just water. Also, should it be planted on it's side, straight up, or whatever? Appreciate any help you can give - it was a Mother's Day present many years ago so I need to preserve it if possible.
you can put it right in the pot with the other piece and it'll root. the other piece should start new growth too.
You might want to take 1/3 of the leaves off to help, although not necessary. Another option is to cut the large fallen stem into 4 or 5 inch pieces for multiple plants. Some commercial rooting powder would also help. I wouldn't put them in water, stems might go mushy. If you want to do the pieces thing, I always cut the bottom bit of the stem that is going into the ground on a 45 degree angle to maximise the water intake and flat at the top to minimise the area for possible disease (also helps to tell top from bottom if you have a lot of cuttings, don't want to plant them upside down, and yes I have done that before lol). This is how they commercially propogate this species and others like Cordyline. You will more than likely get multiple growth from the one still in the pot. If you don't want this plant to get leggy you could do this annually and possibly swap your cuttings with others! Hope I helped Ed
Thanks for the info - the multiple plant seems the way to go. I thought I had heard this was how to propagate but wasn't sure if it would work. And, yes, I tried a piece in water and it DID go mushy! Cheers.
