Madagascar Dragon Tree Care Of Dracaena Marginata

Madagascar dragon tree: palm tree care, watering and pictures

My Madagascar dragon tree (Dracaena Marginata) was given to me by previous resident, who lived in my apartment for 18 years. I cannot say how old the plan is, but from the length of the dragon tree which is 8 feet right now, it's at least 10 years old.

My Madagascar Dragon tree has 2 main trunks and 3 growing tops. One top, the smallest one, dried up and died, but the other two have been growing very steadily, and already they're both twice their previous size. My dragon tree grows beautifully. As new leaves grow, the old leaves die and fall off, and thus the trunk grows further and further. Take a look at close-up pictures. The plant is delicate, and looks beautiful in any light.

The formal name for the Madagascar dragon tree is Dracaena Marginata. My plant's leaves are green, but they can vary in color from light gray, green to a deep dark red. Some varieties are long with a few trunks and others are wide and have lots of growth. The tall variety can grow to 15 to 20 feet, so my Madagascar dragon tree still has half of it's growing life in front of it. I've never seen the plan flower, therefore I assume it does not.

My Madagascar Dragon Tree

I fertilize my Madagascar dragon tree with standard green 'sticks'. Make sure not to over water it. It's in direct sunlight for about 2 hours a day. The rest of the time it gets plenty of light all day long, sitting on front of a huge, floor to ceiling glass balcony door. The temperature is always from 68 to 78 degrees.

The Madagascar dragon tree was in a pretty bad shape when I got it, because at least 3-4 weeks passed between the previous resident moving out and me finding out she left a huge 8 foot Madagascar dragon tree for me! In those 2 weeks the plant was once knocked down and when the doorman finally gave it to me, it needed some much welcomed TLC. It also stood in my apartment while it was renovated, with contractors watering the plant whenever they could.

madagascar dragon tree - Dracaena Marginata

Madagascar Dragon Tree: Close Up

Tree looked over watered in the beginning, and I started watering the Madagascar dragon tree on a schedule of about twice a month. I give it good drink of about 1/3rd of a gallon of water, filtered. For filtration, I use my Brita pitcher, which removes chlorine from water, and other chemicals. The pot it sits in is at least 12" high, and 10" wide. It has a hole in the bottom for the water to filter through, and a dish to collect any drainage.

Madagascar Dragon Tree Roots