I've had this plant for many years and it has grown too high. One of the stalks hits my ceiling. I was wondering if its safe to cut that piece off without harming the rest of the plant. I was thinking of taking the cutting and trying to grow roots off of it to make another plant for my parents. I do not have much experience with plants and I could not get much direct info on the web on a course of action. I don't want to kill it and therefore need some advice. Thanks in advance for your time.
Looks like Dracaena reflexa var. angustifolia (syn. Dracaena marginata), Madagascar Dragon Tree.Dracaena Production Guide
That stalk that's too high, cut it off where you'd like what's left to re-sprout. Then if you have a long stalk on the piece you removed, cut it back some more so that you have only a few inches (oops, 8cm or so) without leaves to put in the soil with the leaves just a bit above the soil. Push it into some soil, firm up the soil around it. Water it pretty much the way you water the other. It should be fine. If not, try it on another one after you have the new growth on the original plant, so that the original will still look good. Mostly, this works fine.
Thank you all very much for your help. I will try cutting it back later. I've just grown attached to it. I'll keep you posted on my progress. Wish me luck.
The cut could be sealed with wax. The thread Cutting Dracaena Marginata | UBC Botanical Garden Forums has a picture of what a cut stem might look like.
As you can see in the pictures I have many sprouting's on the pant. How many cuts can you do at one time without causing too much stress to the plant? Can it be done when the plants is actively sprouting a new shoot. Should I put any thing on the cutting to promote it to start roots? How long does it take for roots to start forming? I thought someone told me that it is best to make the cuts in the spring?
These are very forgiving plants. I never seal off cut ends or use rooting hormone or pay attention to the time of day; just cut one off low, trim the stem to a few inches below the leaves, and push it in the soil. Since you're anxious about it, I would just do the longest one, and see how that works. Then if if doesn't work, you'll still have two or three more to try. It might droop for a while, or might not. When it gets new growth, you'll know it made it and it's time to try another. Last I heard, it's best to not fertilize it while it's trying to grow new roots.
Douglas, see post 2 above. I believe most knowledgeable authors are now following WCSP and Tropicos as this being a variation of Dracaena reflexa. :)
Indeed. Many of the tropical plants that I "know," I learned when I was a teenager (40 some years ago). I pored over Exotica (Alfred Graf's magnum opus) both at home and while "working" at an indoor plants store. Those names, many of which were "horticultural" names, are forever locked in my brain. Curiously, GRIN (one of my go-to websites), the USDA's Germplasm Resourses Information Network, failed me on this one. I guess GRIN is more up to date with temperate plants. In any case, I should have scrolled down before jumping in.
Ah, Exotica. It was in-library use only when I was a kid, I dreamed of having my own copy to take home, had to settle for the the Sunset houseplant book. :) GRIN has been failing me a lot lately, seems they're slower to update on almost every change that I've researched for awhile. I now look there last.
My father, who is a serious collector of books, starting giving me plant books when I was around thirteen years old. One Christmas I found a package under the tree that I could barely lift. It was like four bricks wrapped together. Exotica. This may be why I have back troubles.
