There are many varieties within this family of plants. Most of us have at least one dracaena in our home or office as it is one of the plants that easily survive indoors even when the conditions are far from ideal.

Dracaenas prefer plenty of light, filtered through a curtain, or in a semi-shaded spot on our patios and decks in the summer, because direct sunlight can damage their leaves. They require little water but do not want to sit dry for too long. Over watering will cause a root rot from which recovery will be difficult.

They prefer a more humid environment than most houses or offices can provide, but seem to be somewhat tolerant of it if not under stress from other conditions.

Use a general houseplant fertilizer at the recommended rates. Your dracaena will tell you when something is wrong. The most usual symptom is that the tips of the leaves turn brown; this might be due to too little water or a salt build up in the soil from fertilizing.

Generally speaking, dracaenas are easy care plants as they need no special treatment and are resistant to most diseases. What you need to do is to cut off the lower leaves that turn yellow and only these.