How to Keep Your Dracaena Marginata Cuttings Healthy

This plant is commonly known as Madagascar Dragon Tree, Dragon Tree or Red Edge Dracaena. Dracaena marginatas are extremely popular houseplants and rightfully so. They’re spiky, a bit edgy, fit in beautifully with modern, Asian or bohemian decor but sometimes they get a bit out of hand.

I inherited a Dracaena marginata “Tricolor” from the previous homeowner which needed to be pruned back before I transplant and bring it in for the winter. I’m sharing with you a few things to keep in mind when rooting the cuttings.

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Dracaena Marginata Propagation

Dracaena marginata cuttings are very easy to propagate in water.

The long stems, which are called canes, reach and twist towards the light. Their normal growth habit is for the canes to become very long over time.

As this happens, they shed the lower leaves which turn yellow then brown and fall off. If the plant isn’t getting enough light then the canes become thin and leggy and the foliage has a droop to it. You can prune those canes down and take cuttings because Dracaena marginatas respond very well to this.

Tips on Rooting Dracaena Marginata Cuttings

If you’ve taken long cuttings, eventually you’ll see quite a few yellow leaves will appear at the base of the foliage head. No need to worry, this is normal. Just remove those leaves & recut the stems if necessary.

These are some of my Dracaena marginata cuttings before I cleaned off the yellow leaves & recut them the canes.

Watering

Make sure you change the water every 5-7 days.

You don’t water bacteria to build up in the water.

Fill your vase or jar 1/4 to 1/3 with water. You don’t want the level any higher than that because the roots will emerge too high up on the stem. Also, the stems will be more prone to rot if the vessel is completely full.

Bright Light

Keep your Dracaena marginata cuttings in bright light.

Low light isn’t good and neither is the direct hot sun. In that case, your cuttings will burn.

Pruning

If you need to recut the canes, then make sure your pruners are clean & sharp. I always take my cuttings at an angle because that’s the way I was taught – it lessens the chance of infection.

Roots started emerging from the bottom of the canes after 10 days or so.

The Dracaena marginata canes can be twisted, straight, long or short. The growers train them into some pretty crazy shapes and forms. I had a candelabra form (which I gave to a friend before I moved) which you can see here. I usually cut my taller Dracaena marginata back every 2 years or so and you probably will need to do so to.

This is my sweet kitty Riley. Oscar, his tuxedo wearing companion, can be seen in the lead photo.

And you’ll see that roots emerge from the base of the canes in no time. You can enjoy the cuttings in a beautiful vessel as I’m enjoying my “cutting arrangements” in my kitchen and dining room. When it comes time to transplant the mother plant, I’ll put a couple of these cuttings at the base. The other cuttings are all going to a friend. I’m spreading the Dracanea marginata love!

Happy indoor gardening,

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