The Dracaena Indivisa, otherwise known as spiked dracaena is among the top choices when it comes to no-fuss houseplants you can grow. The plant’s thin, sword-shaped leaves lend a tropical touch to your home or landscape.
The Dracaena Spikes plant grows slowly, ages gracefully, and typically won’t bother you for days or even weeks. Here’s a short and simple guide on how to grow and care for the annual plant.
Dracaena Spikes Growing Guide
Beginner gardeners will delight in the dracaena indivisa because it’s easy to grow and rewards you with long statement leaves that add to any landscape or home interior.
The Spikes Dracaena goes by a lot of names, including false palm, dragon tree, spiked dracaena, and ribbon plant, among others. It’s native to South America, Asia, Australia, and Africa, and thrives in a warm tropical environment.
That said, those living in USDA zones 9 to 12 are lucky enough to take the dracaena species home and leave it outside even when winter comes.
Maintenance is practically non-existent as the dracaena species are slow-growing. This means you won’t need to repot every year or worry that the roots are getting overcrowded in its container.
How Do You Care for a Dracaena Spike Plant?
The Dracaena Spike is a versatile and highly adaptable plant that can take to nearly any environment. It can be grown as a houseplant as long as you place your dragon tree where there’s bright natural light, such as a south-facing window or beside a glass door.
It can take a few hours of direct sunlight, but the foliage tends to turn brown and crisp especially if you don’t water your plant as often. If you want a set-and-forget approach, then bright light is best.
Dracaena plants require regular irrigation, and the indivisa is no different. You’ll want to place your false palm in a well-draining medium that has a significant amount of organic matter, such as compost to keep the plant happy.
During the summer season, the spiked dracaena will benefit from everyday watering. However, you can also allow the soil surface to dry out before giving the plant a drink and it won’t mind.
It’s worth noting that dracaena do not want to stay in a cold place or where there’s extreme heat and drafts. The only locations in your house that the spiked dracaena dislikes are around heaters, boilers, AC vents, and near doors. You may need to move your plant in the fall or winter to a warmer spot so it won’t get affected in the cold season.
Is Dracaena Spike an Indoor Plant?
The beauty of growing the Dracaena indivisa is that you can grow them nearly anywhere. The plant can thrive in partial sun to bright shade, which means it can be placed both indoors and outdoors, where you want some natural color.
Furthermore, dracaena spike plants don’t mind growing in containers as long as it’s the right size. As a general rule, you’ll want to have a pot that’s a few inches bigger than the plant’s root ball. Fill it up with a well-drained potting mix and it should stabilize in a few days.
In regions where temperatures plummet in winter, the spiked dracaena can be brought indoors so it can survive the season. If this is the case then you won’t need to cut the foliage or do a hard prune.
Can I Keep Spikes Over Winter?
Overwintering is the process where you bring a plant indoors so it won’t get exposed to a hard frost and freezing temperatures.
It’s generally a good idea to bring dracaena spikes indoors in winter to keep them safe from the cold. The plant cannot tolerate temperatures lower than 30 degrees F and will suffer leaf and stem damage. Keep in mind that you’ll need to observe proper overwintering practices to keep your plant happy and alive, which involves watering once a month and removing dead leaves.
Do not fertilize your dracaena ‘spikes’ in the winter as the plant won’t need it. You can wait until the last risk of frost has passed and when temperatures start to rise in spring to do so. Feed a well-balanced fertilizer with an NPK ratio of 10-10-10, or nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium once a month alongside regular watering.
How Long Will a Dracaena Live?
The popular houseplant has a long-lived existence and tends to stick around for a decade or so, even when they’re in containers.
Outdoors, the dragon tree can achieve a greater height and spread and a longer lifespan as long as it’s within the recommended USDA zones. The key to a healthy spiked dracaena is to give it plenty of indirect light and keep the soil moist. As long as the plant is not exposed to extreme heat or cold and is cared for then you can rely on it to decorate your space for years to come.