I've got a rather large Dracaena Marg. houseplant. It has three large
stems rooted in the compost and these stems are trimmed so that
another three stems emerge at the top. These stems have become quite
long and leggy and I'm not sure what to do.

Should I trim them back and repot the whole plant, or can I make a
whole new plant by cutting the main stems and repotting?

Will these stems root easily and could I re-create the original plant
arrangement without too much trouble? I'd like to have a go.

Many thanks for any advice.

"Planet X" wrote in message
...
I've got a rather large Dracaena Marg. houseplant. It has three large
stems rooted in the compost and these stems are trimmed so that
another three stems emerge at the top. These stems have become quite
long and leggy and I'm not sure what to do.

Should I trim them back and repot the whole plant, or can I make a
whole new plant by cutting the main stems and repotting?

Will these stems root easily and could I re-create the original plant
arrangement without too much trouble? I'd like to have a go.

Many thanks for any advice.

I'm not sure what varieties of Dracaena I have at home but if the plant is
healthy it will sprout a new shoot from where it's been cut back to (at
least mine have). I have rooted cuttings successfully with a little hormone
rooting powder and then firmed the woody stem into fresh compost but I
suspect this must be done in the growing season. You might try air layering
where you need to injure the stem at the point you intend to cut back to and
surround it with moss enclosed in a plastic bag. It should develop rootlets
after a few weeks (remove bag and inspect) and then it can be cut off the
main stem just underneath the new root ball and carefully planted in new
compost. I'm sure I've read somewhere that even pieces of woody stem can be
encouraged to develop into new plants by just laying the stem horizontally
on moist compost though I haven't tried this.

Good luck!

Howard