| Dracaena fragrans | ||||||||||||||
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 Cultivar 'Massangeana'
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| Dracaena fragrans (L.) Ker Gawl. |
Dracaena fragrans (Corn Plant, Cornstalk Dracaena) is a flowering plant species in the family Ruscaceae, that resembles a corn stalk in habitus. It is native to West Africa, Tanzania, and Zambia. Dracaena fragrans has rosettes of glossy, green leaves, broadly striped and banded with light green and yellow down the center. It is a slow growing pole shrub and the leaves can reach up to 3 feet (1 m) long by 4 inches (10 cm) wide. When plants are grown in the ground, they can reach about 20 foot tall (over 6 m) but their growth is limited when they are potted. Cornstalk Dracaen has white flowers that are highly fragrant, hence the specific name fragans. They are popular with insects, and in the Neotropics get rarely visited by a few generalist hummingbird species like the Sapphire-spangled Emerald (Amazilia lactea)[1].
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It is a popular houseplant with several cultivars available with the leaves variegated with white or yellow stripes. The most popular cultivar 'Massangeana' has showy yellow variegation. Cultivar ' Compacta' is more compact, for indoor locations. Dracaena fragrans can grow in a wide range of conditions, from full sun to low interior light conditions. They seem to have the best color when grown in about 50% shade. These plants are very drought tolerant. When grown outdoors, Cornstalk Dracaen is suitable for USDA zones 10-11.
Dracaena fragrans is propagated by cutting off segments of old canes so that they are 3-8 inches long. These are allowed to dry off and inserted into moist sand until they have rooted and new growth comes from old leaf scars.
 Corn Plant |
 Dracaena fragrans cv 'Massangeana'inflorescence |
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