Image – Wikimedia/David J. Stang
Dracaena marginata is a plant that we usually have at home. It has a very fine stem (false trunk) and many lanceolate leaves which make it very beautiful. And although its growth rate is rather slow, that doesn’t mean it doesn’t need a potting change later on, or even a small pruning.
Also, we cannot forget that the usual thing is that the roof of a house, let’s say common, is usually 3 or 4 meters. But our protagonist can measure up to 5 meters, with which, we will have no choice but to know when dracaena marginata is pruned, and how.
When to prune dracaena marginata?
The first thing that must be very clear is that the pruning we will prune the dracaena has nothing to do with the pruning we would prune a common tree like an oak or a maple, for the simple reason that its genetics, and therefore their evolution is very different. This is why knowing the best time to prune it is so important, because only if done at the right time will it recover sooner.
And what should be done about it? Well, the dracaena marginata is a tropical plant that does not tolerate cold at all, which is why it is used to decorate houses. In addition, It only grows in good weather, that is, when temperatures remain between 18 and 35 ºC.. In autumn and especially in winter, it remains inactive: it only fulfills its most basic functions, such as breathing, but its rate of growth slows down so much that it can even stop.
Considering all this, the size will be done when it starts to come out of this resting state, because this is when the sap begins to circulate at its normal rate and, therefore, can recover more quickly from injuries. Now, what is this moment exactly?
I like to have more patience with indoor plants than with outdoor ones: I prefer to wait for the temperatures to drop to at least 20°C for a while and during these weeks to see that the weather improvesbecause if you prune at the end of winter but a cold spell arrives shortly after, even if you are protected at home, you will notice this drop in temperatures (unless of course that here we always have more or less the same degrees, and that in the room where we have it there are no drafts).
What is the purpose of pruning the dracaena marginata?
Another thing to keep in mind is that a young plant should not be pruned. Also, the normal thing is that it takes many years before you have to prune it, because as I said, it takes its time to grow. Sometimes in nurseries and garden centers we can find pruned specimens, but these are usually at least 1 meter in height or more.
That is why The real purpose of pruning this plant is none other than to keep it at a lower height so that it does not touch the ceiling.. No more no less. If our intention is to have it in the garden or on the terrace, we will not even have to worry about this problem.
Can you prune a sick plant?
Sometimes it can happen that we have overwatered our dracaena, and its stems begin to rot. Well in that case yes we can carve it try to save it, regardless of the season of the year in which we find ourselves and the age of the plant. But I repeat: only in this case.
If the problem is that it has parasites, for example, pruning is totally useless because there are insecticides and home remedies that we can apply. It will not even be difficult for us to clean it with water and a little dishwashing liquid (the dose is 2-3ml of soap in 1 liter of water).
How should it be pruned?
Size of Dracaena marginata will be done using a small hand saw (on sale here) that we will have disinfected with soap and water. This will help us cut stems a centimeter or more thick.
Also, it is important to know that it will only be pruned if it has more than one stembecause otherwise it would be left without leaves, and it would cost it much more to resume its growth.
Once we know this we’ll just take the handsaw and cut the stem by placing the tool above the older leaves. Also, keep in mind that the lower it is cut, the longer it will take to produce new leaves, so if we leave a few leaves when pruning, we will help it recover.
At the end, we will apply healing paste (on sale here) on the wound. This way you will avoid getting sick.
Expect?
After a few weeks we will see new stems emerging, which will be new branches. Well, once they have grown a bit, we can start fertilizing the dracaena with a green plant fertilizer like this.
As you have seen, pruning this plant is not very complicated.