Corn Plant (Dracaena Fragrans) Profile: Best Indoor Trees

Corn plant, scientific name Dracaena fragrans, the trunk is stout, blade shape, green oily light, full of vitality. Today, the Corn plant is known as the "new star of foliage plants" and has become a very popular indoor foliage plant in the world.

Corn plant was introduced to Europe from tropical Africa in the 1640s. Corn plant was mainly grown in the greenhouses of botanical gardens in England and France for visitors to enjoy. Later, it will enter the botanical gardens and parks of America and Asia.

Corn Plant Picture

Characteristics of Corn Plant

Corn plant (Dracaena fragrans) is an upright, single-stemmed shrub. Leaves clustered at the apex of the stem, long and wide linear, sessile, margin corrugated, dark green.

The common varieties are Linderii, with a pale yellow leaf margin.

Massangeana Corn plant with yellow longitudinal stripes in the center of the leaves.

Victoriae, leaf margin dark yellow with white edge.

Distribution of Corn Plant

Corn plant is native to West Africa.China's Yunnan, Guangxi, Hainan and Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Indonesia and the Americas and other places are also distributed.

Ecological Habits of Corn Plant

Corn plant is native to the Canary Islands in West Africa.Like high temperature, humid and sunny environment.

When the temperature is lower than 13℃ in winter, the plants will enter dormancy, and the plants will be damaged by freezing below 5 °C. Among them, corn plants can withstand 2℃ low temperature.

Corn plants like to be wet and fear waterlogging. Leaf growth flourishing period, keep basin soil moist, air humidity in 70% ~ 80%, and often spray water to the leaf surface, but basin soil can not water. Winter dormant period to control watering, otherwise prone to leaf tip scorching phenomenon.

Corn plant has strong adaptability to light. The stem and leaves of Corn plant can grow and develop normally under sufficient sunlight or semi-shade. However, the color of variegated leaves will become lighter or disappear under low light conditions for a long time.

The soil should be fertile, loose and well-drained sandy loam. Potted with leaf rot soil, culture soil and coarse sand mixed soil is best.

How to Care for Corn Plants

Potted Corn plants (Dracaena fragrans) are usually planted in pots of 12 to 20 centimeters, and those with three stems in pots of 25 centimeters. Fertilizer 1 time every half a month during the growing period, or use "friends" 20-8-20 seasons with high potassium nitrate fertilizer. When the indoor temperature is below 13℃ in winter, fertilization is stopped. If too much nitrogen fertilizer was applied, the golden yellow markings of leaves were not obvious, which would affect the ornamental effect.

Corn plant is resistant to pruning and can be trimmed to control the height and shape of the plant. In order for leaf buds to grow vigorously, new plants must be repotted every spring, once a year, and old plants twice a year. At ordinary times, cut off the aging and withered leaves at the lower part of the leaf cluster.

Read More: How to Care for Corn Plant

Corn Plant - one of the best indoor trees

How to Propagate Corn Plant

Corn plants are often propagated by cuttings. Mature and robust stems are selected, cut into 5-10 cm segments, and placed flat on the sand bed, and kept at room temperature of 25-30 ℃ and 80% air humidity. It can take root in about 30-40 days, and can be directly potted in 50 days. Corn plant can also grow 3 ~ 4 leaves of the stem bud cut for cuttings, inserted into the sand bed, keep high temperature and wet, inserted after 30 days can take root. Water insertion and high pressure method can also be used for propagation, but it must be carried out at more than 25℃.

Read more: How to Propagate Corn Plant

Disease Control of Corn Plant

Corn plant (Dracaena fragrans) common leaf spot and anthrax damage, can be used 70% methyl tobuzine WP 1000 times liquid spray.

Corn plant pests are harmful to scale insects and aphids. It can be sprayed with a 40% oxidized dimethoate emulsion solution 1000 times.

Sometimes there will be charred leaf edge, leaf tip scorch and other phenomena, which is mostly caused by drought, low temperature, improper watering, fertilization and other physiological diseases.

The prevention and control methods are: improve cultivation management, control temperature and humidity, reasonable fertilization, proper ventilation.

Corn plant should always keep the leaves clean and remove the insect bodies in time once the pests occur. Cane flat E of Brazil wood harm is greater, can be the victim of Brazil wood moved to the outdoor shade, with 40% oxidized Lesoate emulsion 1000 times liquid or 90% Trichlorfon 800 times liquid spraying, 1 times a week, consecutive 3 times.

Corn Plant Uses

Corn plant (Dracaena fragrans) is a very popular large indoor potted plant, especially in the spacious living room, study, living room display, elegant style, plain, and with the southern mood. The corn plant is a new generation of indoor foliage plants with graceful and regular plant shapes and is world famous.