A Gardeners Forum Forums Gardening Reference Gardening in 2006 Can someone ID my palm tree?

I inherited a palm at the office. It's about 5 feet tall, with three main trunks coming out of the pot. The leaves are long and narrow, growing individually from the trunk. Each leaf is greem down the center with pink or pinkish tan edges. The trunks are only about 1/2" in diameter and the leaves are about 1/2' wide and of course taper to a point. Each leaf is about 12 to 16 inches long.

Any ideas what it is? More importantly, should I feed it and with what? Also, the pot is about 8 " tall and 10" diameter so should I re-pot?

I have a black thumb so be careful what you tell me! Many thanks.

i'm not sure it is a palm, but rather a draceana marginata. (thanks to snazzie t, i used your pic ) if that is what it is, then the care is fairly easy. as soon as we identify your plant, we can go from there.

Well, the trunk and leaves certainly have the same shape, though mine is a lot taller and has leaves only coming from the top one foot of trunk. The other main difference is the color of the leaves, mine having the pink-green-pink racing stripes running the length of each leaf.

So maybe this is what I have, or a close relative?

When I googled the draceana marginata I found something about a "red edged dragon" plant. Someone here seems to think they heard the original owner mention "dragon" when first purchased.

So, bingo! I think this must be it. Wow, mine is really anemic when comparing to pictures - mine has skinny trunks, obviously a lot of leaves dropping off too. It's by a window but no direct sunlight except very early and very late in the day. Is there any hope?

No. There are hybrid types. I have the dracaena marginata 'madagascar dragon tree', and I also have a hybrid that is taller, has lighter green leaves + white & pink edges.

That one likes alot less water than my regular one. Too much water and the leaves get brown & limp. I water the 'dragon' every other week & 'pinky' only once per month and they both thrive.

sounds like it. and the "leggyness" can be dealt with. i'll be back in a bit to follow up with instructions.

ok, sorry about that. what i would do is repot it into a pot the same size, just with fresh soil. don't actually remove all the soil from the roots, but just gently shake the plant as you pull it from the pot.

then, since it has 3 stalks, cut the tallest one at about the half way point, and stick the top in the pot with the mother plant. water when the top of the soil feels dry. in the spring, feed with a good houseplant fertilizer. this is a plant that will do great in full sun on a porch or patio during the summer (that's what i do with mine, move it out every spring)

Many thanks. I will give it a try!

I just rescued a Madagascar Dragon tree from Home Depot. The tag said it needed minimal light....is this not true?

that refers to the lowest light that they can thrive in

When my Dracaena grew so tall it was touching the ceiling it had leaves only on the top foot or so . There were 2 stems/trunks . I cut one off with about a foot of stem , and stuck it in a tall vase of water . In time it rooted , and I replanted it . After I saw how well that worked . I did the same with the other stem . I gave one of the 'new' plants to my son , and still have the 'old' ones , and a new one . They are all growing nicely . With the original plants , I left one tall ( about 4')and the other about 1'. The tall one has one bunch of new leaves , the short one branched and has two . It has made a very handsome plant !

Marian