How to Care for Your Dracaena

How to Care for Your Dracena... 

Wow, I had no idea there were so many species of dracaena plants when I started doing my research for this article, over 40 varieties. The care of them all is basically the same, though. Some of the ones we carry in the flower shop are janet craigs, corn plants, and warneckiis.

The NASA Clean Air Study showed that the dracaena was found to remove formaldehyde from the air along with closet plants, english ivies, boston ferns, and others. So they would be a perfect addition to any home or office for that reason alone, you just need to know how to take care of them now huh.

 Corn Plants

Corn plants (dracaena frangrans) is really called a Massangeana, and it's my favorite. I love the stripe of yellow they have running through the leaves. And they're tall so it's like having a tree in your house. It's so easy to care for even I can keep one alive.  They have wide leaves and due tend to accumulate dust so they may need cleaning. Just wipe with a damp cloth. The corn plant has few other needs. They are a low light plant so indirect, say near a window, and low water requirements.  Once the top layer of dirt is dry, it's time to water again.

 Janet Craigs

One of the most popular dracaenas are the janet craigs (dracaena deremensis.) The janet craig is one of the few plants to bear the name of its cultivar. It is a medium sized plant usually sold with 3-5 stalks in a pot. It has the dark green, naturally shiny leaves and more resembles a bush than the corn plant. Water when top layer of soil is dry, but take care to not over water, it does not like soggy feet. They also liked the salts drained from the soil every year. All you have to do is slowly pour luke warm water over the soil, and allow to drain. And repeat once more. Allow to drain well and your finished. This should help with brown leaves

 Warneckii

Warneckiis (Dracaena deremensis) is also know as Lemon Lime, and is what we call them in the store. You'll recognize it from its greenish yellowish stipes down its long leaves. Its more bush shape like the janet craig, but with narrower leaves. As far as light, try a bright or filtered window, even 

though it can tolerate low artificial light as well. When watering, the plant likes to dry out completely between waterings, and do not allow water to stand in the drip tray. Also, try misting the leaves with water to provide humidity.

And as always, you can call us and talk to our staff about any plant problems or questions you may be having. Hope this helps!

Tarrah

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How to care for your Dwarf Schefflera Arbicola

Oh no, my plant is loosing leaves!

Dwarf schefflera arbicolas can go by many names, they like to keep you confused I think. Here at Enchanted Florist we just call them scheffs, our sweet wholesale plant lady Maria calls them arbicolas, but you also might here dwarf scheff, dwarf umbrealla tree, or just umbrella scheff. Or any combination of those!

When you first bring your (we'll say scheff) home, its common for them to go through an acclimation period. Don't panic if your plant starts to drop leaves or thins out, it's perfectly normal!

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Most often, like in the picture above, you see the plants as full bushes with thick leaves forming a fingered umbrella shape, or like below with a braided trunk seen often with ficus trees. Scheffs can stretch and grow out of shape so selective pruning if perfectly acceptable.

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How to care for a schefflera

Scheffs can adapt to a wide variety of light levels, but they perfer high light if possible, especially if they are of the verigated variety. They have an extensive root system and if outside will often grow toward a water source. Do not let them sit in water, not even in the saucer as this will promote disease.

Scheffs are part of the aralia family and like most in the family, they are prone to spider mites. If kept indoorsm clean plant and leaves often and remember to ckean the under side of the leaves as well where the mites like to hang out.

What type of plant do I send to a friend?

Scheffs and closet plants are both great options when sending a plant to someone who doesn't have the greenest of thumbs. They are easy care, low maintenance plants that should grow well in most houses. Our plants can be decorated to fit any personality or to match any home. Below, our scheff is decorated with a birchwood armature and butterfly. Click here to order item RM-413.

And as always, you can call us and talk to our staff about any plant problems or questions you may be having.

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www.enchantedfloristpasadena.com

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Reduce, Reuse, Recycle

We have a new and exciting product in at Enchanted Florist that we using with a twist. New in store are insulated lunch totes. Of course we are using them to make gift baskets and gourmet baskets, but we are also using them as plant covers. This reduces basket use, and many people throw the baskets away if the plant dies later. But in addition to this, our totes are made from recycled water bottles.

A few plastic water bottle facts:

Americans buy an estimated 29.8 billion plastic water bottles every year.

Nearly eight out of every 10 bottles will end up in a landfill.

Recycling a single plastic bottle can conserve enough energy to light a 60-watt light bulb for up to six hours.

We also try do do our part and recycle in other ways. We reuse vases and baskets that customers bring in, we reuse cardboard boxes of all sizes as much as possible, some of our glass vases are made out of recycled materials, we plan our delivery routes to cut down on gas and emissions, and keep our spoilage of fresh products to a minimum.

It's important that every person and business do their part and try their hardest to keep waste to a minimum!