Dragon Trees.

HI to every one.
My name is Bez & i live in Barnsley South Yorkshire. On a visit to B&Q yesterday i spotted a Dragon Tree it's about 5ft 6ins & has lots of foliage, the best part was it was reduced from �£40 down to �£15 so of cause i snapped it up. The problem is there wasn't any info attatched to it so i know nothing about them, can any one help?
Bez

 

Hi bez,

Its one of those common names that applies to a few plants (probably a Dracaena), is it like any of these http://www.botanicalpartners.com/photoweb/drdr.htm

see here http://www.flowers.org.uk/plants/plantfacts/dracaena.htm

 

Thanks Steve, it is the one in the plantfacts. To be honest i had thought it was a Yucca & that i would be able to pot it in a large container outside, i am not very good at keeping house plants.

Cheers, Bez

 

Hi Bez could it be Dragon tree, from the Cordyline family ? if so it's a houseplant kept warm in winter min. 45 F and needs humitity in hot days.
Some Cordylines can be kept outdoor in milder climates,if kept on dry side and sheltered.

 

I have a couple of Cordylines that I am going to bed out this year, they are getting too big for containers now and I have a sheleterd part of the garden...the bog standard green ones are fairly hardy here, its the variegated and the reds that are more tender

 

Ive got a cordyline which I cut back to 18 feet (took 5 feet off top) last summer. But I can remember back in the early 80s when I planted it, it got cut back to ground level in a bad winter. A winter like that can make you wonder just what is hardy in the UK.

 

Hi Bez
I too have a dragon tree, & Yukkas, & Clivias & Rupper plants - they all go outside from the end of May and come in, in September. In South and south west facing spots. They seem to love it, especially the rain. The only thing I've had to watch for is little beasties hitching a ride (How do the worms get in there???!!!. Not sure how they would do in your part of the world, but if your plant's reasonably big & healthy you could try it for the warmer months (July - end Aug?. I have never had much luck with the red Cordylines - does anyone know are they more tender than the green ones?
Bayleaf.

 

They say the red ones are more tender than the green, I dont have any but, there are plenty around here that have got through the last two winters at least.

 

Cordyline dracea or yucca ? Yuccas usually have wide thick leaves with a ridge down the middle of the under side, cordilines have more flexible thiner leaves and have lines running the length of the leaves and draceas have leaves that are quite thin soft, very flexible and a lot narrower than the other 2.
I've been told that the hardiness of a plant depends nearly as much on where it was bred as it does on species. A cordyline bred in Scotland will be hardier than one bred in Jersey for example, so in theory the further north you can buy your plants the better.
One great thing about cordylines is that if they do get hit hard by frost they're likely to sprout from the bottom. I had one growing in a pot 1 1/2 foot deep which blew over and broke and only 1 foot of soil in the garden to plant it in. Taking advice from a grower I took a saw to the trunk under ground level, the stem grows down as well as up, and re-planted both bits. The top half flowered for the 1st time the year after I did it and I've got 13 babies 1 foot high growing from the stump. I also bought 3 more of them just in case they didn't grow 2 of which were bargain basement sick plants (red ones). My forest is coming along nicely. As for draceas I put mine outside for a summer break 2 years ago and it got scorched so beware of bright sunlight.

 

The Dragon plant (Dracaena draco); Yucca gloriosa; and Clivia miniata all live in a big bay window during the cooler months. The Cordyline I bought (C. australis "atropurpurea") was bought in Devon, so that's probably why it didn't survive up here in the midlands - good tip thanks for that - I will try & buy one raised closer to home + it was a tiny, wee thing. I do have lots of grasses & Phormiums,so I'll try again as I do love those spiky, architectural plants!
Bayleaf

 

i have some cordyline seeds (C. australis "atropurpurea") when is the best time to sow them and do they need any special care or handling eg soaking overnite
cheers alan

 

Scroll down a little on this page

http://www.nickys-nursery.co.uk/seeds/pages/page4ca.htm

 

thanks steve

 

I have several cordylines and yuccas...i find the best winter protection is to gather all the leaves together into a tall single spike and tie around them...this way the outer leaves protect the inner (core)

 

Alan
I sow Cordyline Australis seed mid march with no special teatment just lightly pressed into the compost in a seed tray covered with glass. When just germinated (about 3 wks at 23c) I put a thin covering of fine vermiculite on top to prevent fungus etc. Hope this helps.