Dracaena Corn Plant

The Houseplant Preferred by Professional Designers

You'll be hard-pressed to find a houseplant that's worthier of more accolades than Massangeana Dracaena (Dracaena fragrans 'Massangeana') also known as The Corn Plant. And it's truly remarkable that this plant is so adaptable to growing indoors, because its native habitat is in tropical Africa! A darling of interior designers, this plant is so easy to grow '– even novice gardeners will have no trouble with it. And its stately elegance is sure to dress up any room in your home or office. So if you want to bring out your inner designer, begin by choosing the perfect spot where you'll feature your new Massangeana Dracaena!

Striking Yellow Variegation
What sets The Corn Plant apart from other solid-green dracaena plants is the bold yellow striping down the center of each leaf. This bright variegation makes each 2-foot-long leaf pop with character. When you look at these leaves, you'll instantly know why it's commonly called the "corn plant." Its leaves are a dead-ringer for the leaves produced by a cornstalk ?… except for that distinctive yellow stripe! But the leaves don't grow sparsely along the stem as on a true cornstalk '– they're produced at the top of each thick stem in a thick rosette of gracefully arching foliage that resembles a fountain.

An Interior Design Gem
You'll easily see why this houseplant is a favorite of interior designers. The leaves are its signature calling card, but its trunk-like main stem is equally dramatic. Straight as an arrow, the trunk is cane-like and segmented, somewhat similar to bamboo in its appearance. Because the foliage grows at the top of these stems, as the plant matures, the foliage is lifted to eye level. (Mature potted plants typically grow 4 to 6 feet tall.) This combination of the textural trunk and the lush, variegated foliage offers a unique complement to other appointments in a home design.

The Perfect Accent Plant for Your Home Decor!
Small potted plants provide tighter design points throughout an interior motif, but the sheer size of Massangeana Dracaena offers the focal point that pulls everything together. Whether you feature this tall plant as a single specimen or as the central focus of a group with smaller plants around it, you'll add an instant living accent to your otherwise static home d?©cor. The woody trunk complements your wooden furnishings, and the arching foliage softens any starkly appointed room.

Helps Purify Your Indoor Air
Many scientific studies have proved the effectiveness of certain plants to remove toxins from the air, and new research is ongoing. This is important for your health when you're in a sealed indoor space, such as your home or office. Toxins build up in the atmosphere, and they have nowhere to go but into your lungs. And you'd be surprised at the source of these toxins. Common household and office items, such as carpeting, caulk, ceiling tiles, cleaning products, draperies, furniture upholstery, and paint '– they all harbor toxins, which are released into the atmosphere through gas that you breathe in. According to Princeton University, Massangeana Dracaena ranked 8 on a scale of 10, with 10 as excellent, for effective removal of chemical vapor removal of these and other indoor air pollutants.

Low-Maintenance Houseplant
You may have tried to grow houseplants before, but they ended up struggling to survive. And ultimately, they may have been discarded because they lost their struggle! Brown leaves, dying stems, and collapsing plants have been the disappointing results for many indoor gardeners just like you who have unsuccessfully tried to grow houseplants. And it probably wasn't your fault '– many houseplants are actually quite difficult to keep alive. We recommend trying a durable and easy-to-grow houseplant, such as Massangeana Dracaena. You may think that a smaller houseplant is easier to grow, but some small houseplants actually require more attention than some larger ones. Small size isn't the determining factor for "easy." You'll find that the large Massangeana Dracaena is much easier to grow than many tiny houseplants.

The Perfect Corner Plant
The natural vertical growth of Massangeana Dracaena allows you to place it in tighter spots that are too narrow for other plants, making it a terrific choice for short wall spaces or the corner space in a room. And if your room's corner space is large enough, use a grouping of three Massangeana Dracaena plants '– one in the corner and one on each side '– to fill the bare spot where furniture or other design elements won't easily fit.

Container Design Tips
Whether you grow your Massangeana Dracaena inside or outdoors, this versatile plant can go solo in a container or mixed with other plants in the same pot. If you grow other plants in the same container, Massangeana Dracaena adds the height to balance shorter plants around it. It's the "thriller" plant in a thriller-filler-spiller container arrangement. So plant it in the center of a pot, or at the back of the container, and feature shorter filler plants and trailing plants at its base. As it grows, Massangeana Dracaena will get heavier, so you'll want a heavy container to support its growth, such as a clay or ceramic pot.

In the Landscape
Only gardeners in the very warm climates of U.S. Department of Agriculture Plant Hardiness Zones 10b and 11 can grow Massangeana Dracaena directly in the landscape year-round. If you live outside this plant's perennial range, you can still grow it outdoors ?… with a couple of options. You can enjoy it as an annual plant; just know it won't survive the winter because it's not frost-hardy. Or you can simply grow it in a container, which you move indoors during the winter '– the best of both worlds! In a pot, Massangeana Dracaena grows from 4 to 6 feet tall, so the container can get fairly heavy with a mature plant. With this in mind, it's easier to grow it during the summer in a shady spot that's just outside an exterior door. Moving it inside for the winter will be a short trip!
Tip: Container plants should be moved indoors in fall when temperatures dip to 50 degrees F.

Even Tolerates Low Light!
Many tropical plants are adapted to low light levels because they live underneath trees in rainforests. If you grow Massangeana Dracaena in your landscape, it performs beautifully in shady locations with only a little direct sun or filtered sunlight each day. And since homes and offices are also low-light environments (compared to full-sun conditions outdoors), Massangeana Dracaena is perfectly suited to many indoor lighting levels. It does enjoy a brightly lit room, and it will prosper when placed near a sunny window.

Watering and Fertilizing Your Plant
Container plants are so easy to care for, and Massangeana Dracaena is one of the easiest! You'll have to tend to its watering and fertilizing needs, but that's about all. When plants are actively growing during the warm-season months, keep the soil moist but never soggy, and let the soil dry only slightly between watering intervals. In fall and winter, you can cut back a little on watering. Use a water-soluble houseplant fertilizer once a month during spring or summer or slow-release fertilizer granules, applied at the recommended rate for the size of your plant's container.

Solid Indoor Height
Most potted Massangeana Dracaena plants top out around 6 feet tall; however, some plants may reach heights a little taller. It shouldn't brush the ceiling, but if your plant grows taller than you'd like, you can always cut it back. New leaves will sprout around the cut, and your plant will be a size smaller! You can easily root the stem by pressing it firmly in moist potting mix, making sure to keep the mix constantly moist until the roots form.

Sensitivity
Some plants, such as Massangeana Dracaena and Cordyline plants, are sensitive to the fluoride that is commonly added to municipal water sources. The symptoms of fluoride damage include yellowing or scorching of leaf tips and margins. Other factors can also cause burning of plant leaves, such as excessive fertilizer, potting mixes containing a high percentage of perlite, and low humidity, but fluoridated water is typically the culprit for dracaena plants. If your home has a water-filtration system, your Massangeana Dracaena plant will thank you! But if you don't have filtered water in your home and the leaves on your plant turn yellow or brown at the tips and along the margins, you can use rainwater or distilled water. This simple adjustment to your watering schedule can make all the difference in keeping the foliage green and healthy.

A Watchful Eye
Cats and dogs may experience adverse symptoms if they chew on this plant, including drooling, weakness, or even vomiting. So keep an eye on your pets to make sure their curiosity doesn't get the better of them!