Most gardeners don’t have the luxury of space, so they need to think about where they will place their plants before buying. Are you in the same boat?
Are you curious about how big the dracaena can grow and how you can adapt to its growth? Well, I have the answer for you.
In nature, the dracaena has ideal growing conditions. And it is not uncommon for it to be several meters tall (>50 feet), towering over other species.
But under indoor conditions, growth is somewhat affected. In most cases, it grows between two and three feet tall with a girth of around two feet.
If you convert these measurements into meters, the dracaena will reach between 0.6 and 3 meters in height and about 0.6 meters in diameter. It’s not so bad.
Dimensions, of course, depend on what kind of dracaena you have at home. I’ll cover some of the more common cultivars, how big they are, and how to grow them faster or slower.
Contents
How big can Dracaena get?
The term dracaena refers to the genus dracaena, which includes over 170 species. For example, I have a dracaena marginata (dragon) from Madagascar.
And its growth will not be exactly what you would find in all other species of this genus. Let’s look at some of the more common types so you can get an idea of the size of your dracaena:
- Fragrans Dracaena: This species is also called corn plant because of the appearance of the leaves. If you’ve ever seen sweet corn, you’ll appreciate the resemblance of the foliage. This plant often grows to an average of about 5 feet tall, with a diameter of 2 feet.
- Dracaena Marginata: I have this beautiful plant at home and I never tire of its beautiful aesthetics. It can grow up to three meters tall if you take good care of it and let it grow undisturbed. The diameter should be one to two feet if you don’t force the stems to branch.
- The Dracaena Godseffiana: Have you heard of the gold dust dracaena? This plant takes on a bushy appearance and grows around a meter tall.
- Dracaena Deremensis: This is another common species of dracaena. It can grow up to three meters tall if left in the right conditions.
- Dracaena’s reflection: This species also has a bushy appearance and is distinguished by its flexible stems.
Cultivars are also found among all of these and other species. For example, Dracaena Deremensis has a Warneckii cultivar that grows four feet tall.
But among the same species you have the Janet Craig cultivar which can reach three meters in height!
So, the height of your dracaena depends on its species and cultivar. But for the purposes of this article, I’ll stick with anything from two to three feet.
You may also be interested in: 5 Incredible Benefits Of A Dracaena For Your Home
How fast does Dracaena grow?
Does the dracaena grow quickly or do you have to coax it to show signs of growth? If you expect species like this to grow quickly, I’m sorry I burst your bubble.
Dracaenas are slow growing plants (painfully slow in some cases). Take the example of Marginata. It can take ten years to grow to five feet!
Therefore, you can wait a while and be very patient before you see a lot of profit.
On average, your plant will grow about 18 inches per year (1.5 feet) if you give it the right conditions. And that would make it possible to reach the 10 foot mark at about 7 years old.
On the positive side, the dracaena grows and comes out. Even as a young plant you can still enjoy a bushy plant. And as it grows, its circumference only increases.
How to Grow a Dracaena
Dracaenas are slow-growing plants that can reach 1.5 meters or 3 meters in ten years. So how do you get your plant to reach ten feet in height as soon as possible?
Make sure it gets enough light
Most dracaenas do not like direct sunlight. However, you should not deprive them of light, because without it they cannot produce enough food to sustain their growth.
For more information on the light, we have an article on the light requirements for a dracaena marginata
amount of light
Make sure the plant receives medium to bright indirect light for six hours a day. And if you don’t have enough light, consider supplementing natural light with artificial light.
Protect the plant from pests.
Pest infestations damage the plant’s ability to produce food, thereby preventing its growth.
Watch out for known pests like aphids, scale insects, and spider mites, and use natural remedies to keep them at bay. I find that using neem oil deters pests from attacking the plants.
Keep Dracaena Foliage Clean
If the leaves of the plant cannot receive light due to dust and dirt, they will not produce enough food. So avoid this by sweeping the leaves once a month or when you notice that the leaves are not clean.
Keep a regular watering schedule
Dracaenas don’t like being in soggy soil as it chokes and kills their roots. They also don’t like being left in dry ground for a long time.
Therefore, you should always balance the watering schedule to ensure the plant stays in moist but not wet soil.
And the way to do that is to water the plant only when the top centimeter of soil feels dry to the touch. If you’re having trouble measuring soil moisture, consider getting a moisture meter.
feed the plant
What better way to stimulate growth than by adding fertilizer to the mix? Keep in mind that these plants don’t need a lot of fertilizer.
Therefore, use an all-purpose food diluted to a quarter of its strength. And only use the feed during the months of active growth.
The goal is to ensure that your plant stays healthy. Once completed, rapid growth will follow.
You May Also Like: How To Care For A Dracaena Outdoors
What can you do if your Dracaena is getting too big?
What happens if your growth promotion tactics work too hard and your dracaena gets too big? Here are some ways to handle this result:
prune the plant
Using a sharp knife, cut the stem where you want to stop the growth spurt.
New stems will sprout from this point and you can keep cutting them to keep the plant at a certain height. It is best to do this in the spring, so that the plant has time to heal.
reduce feeding
Fertilizers stimulate plant growth. Therefore, reducing it will lead to reduced growth.
Do not deprive the plant of its basic needs to prevent it from growing; it will only harm the plant.
final thoughts
In nature, your dracaena can reach a height of fifteen meters. But you can’t expect that indoors if the source of nutrition and stability is in potting soil.
Instead, your plant will likely reach 10 feet, which is about as far as it will go before it begins to branch.
If you want your plant to grow, you can always move it outside and plant it in the ground. However, this only works for people who live in hot, humid climates (preferably USDA zones 10 through 12).
Happy gardening!
Before you go, here are some other related articles that I encourage you to read below to solve more of your gardening problems:
How to Save a Dying Dracaena Marginata Plant
What is the best soil for a Dracaena Marginata?
dracaena vs yucca
7 reasons why your Dracaena is sagging and how to fix it
10 reasons why your Dracaena is turning yellow and how to fix it