Mooching round B & Q just now to get some grass seed, I spotted a clearance
buy. A dragon tree, bicolour, green with red edges. It's 40cm tall, and
looking very healthy. Price....................? Just £1.98!! However, me
and houseplants have never got on, so any tips to stop me murdering it would
be nice. Ta
--
Pete C
London UK

Anne Jackson wrote:
The message from "Pete C" contains these words:

Mooching round B & Q just now to get some grass seed, I spotted a
clearance buy. A dragon tree, bicolour, green with red edges. It's
40cm tall, and looking very healthy. Price....................? Just
£1.98!! However, me and houseplants have never got on, so any tips
to stop me murdering it would
be nice. Ta

If it was mine, I'd keep it in a room where there is plenty of light
- but not in direct sunlight. I'd put it in a container (which was a
bit larger than the pot the plant is in) with pebbles in the bottom,
and water it regularly (once a week if I remembered), with a liquid
feed every now and again, probably once a month, if I remembered.
Thanks Anne.I intend to repot tomorrow. Googling leaves me confused.
Water/keep dryish. feed/don't feed.
Do you speak from experience?
--
Pete C
London UK

"Pete C" wrote
Mooching round B & Q just now to get some grass seed, I spotted a
clearance buy. A dragon tree, bicolour, green with red edges. It's 40cm
tall, and looking very healthy. Price....................? Just £1.98!!
However, me and houseplants have never got on, so any tips to stop me
murdering it would be nice. Ta

I was sent two small ones by someone rather knowledgeable who used to
frequent here who grew them from self collected seed. They have grown apace
over the few years I've had them by being rather neglected on the high shelf
in our small greenhouse. It's heated to a min of 50°F and they have only
been watered max once a month since autumn. During the warmer months I water
weekly with feed every second watering.
I don't know if I've been just lucky or am doing it right but they have
grown quite well.

--
Regards
Bob Hobden

On 5/4/08 23:42, in article , "Anne
Jackson" wrote:

The message from "Pete C" contains these words:

Anne Jackson wrote:
The message from "Pete C" contains these words:

Mooching round B & Q just now to get some grass seed, I spotted a
clearance buy. A dragon tree, bicolour, green with red edges. It's
40cm tall, and looking very healthy. Price....................? Just
£1.98!! However, me and houseplants have never got on, so any tips
to stop me murdering it would
be nice. Ta

If it was mine, I'd keep it in a room where there is plenty of light
- but not in direct sunlight. I'd put it in a container (which was a
bit larger than the pot the plant is in) with pebbles in the bottom,
and water it regularly (once a week if I remembered), with a liquid
feed every now and again, probably once a month, if I remembered.
Thanks Anne.I intend to repot tomorrow. Googling leaves me confused.
Water/keep dryish. feed/don't feed.
Do you speak from experience?

I've never owned a Dracaena, but that's what I'd do if I had one! ;-)

Most plants like quite like to be above the water in whatever (outer)
container they're in. Most of them benefit from the evaporation of
the water.

I feed my houseplants a very weak fertiliser, when I remember, which
is usually around the beginning of the month. Makes life easier, if
I have some kind of a routine.

More plants die from over-watering than anything else, I reckon,
so never let them get water-logged.

Oh, before I forget to ask - why are you going to repot it?

Because you said you'd put it in a container a bit larger etc. etc. I think
you mean an outer container and the OP, being new to this perilous game, has
taken this to mean re-potting altogether.
--
Sacha
http://www.hillhousenursery.co.uk
South Devon
'We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our
children.'

Anne Jackson wrote:
The message from "Pete C" contains these words:

Anne Jackson wrote:
The message from "Pete C" contains these words:

Mooching round B & Q just now to get some grass seed, I spotted a
clearance buy. A dragon tree, bicolour, green with red edges. It's
40cm tall, and looking very healthy. Price....................? Just
£1.98!! However, me and houseplants have never got on, so any tips
to stop me murdering it would
be nice. Ta
If it was mine, I'd keep it in a room where there is plenty of light
- but not in direct sunlight. I'd put it in a container (which was a
bit larger than the pot the plant is in) with pebbles in the bottom,
and water it regularly (once a week if I remembered), with a liquid
feed every now and again, probably once a month, if I remembered.
Thanks Anne.I intend to repot tomorrow. Googling leaves me confused.
Water/keep dryish. feed/don't feed.
Do you speak from experience?

I've never owned a Dracaena, but that's what I'd do if I had one! ;-)

Most plants like quite like to be above the water in whatever (outer)
container they're in. Most of them benefit from the evaporation of
the water.

I feed my houseplants a very weak fertiliser, when I remember, which
is usually around the beginning of the month. Makes life easier, if
I have some kind of a routine.

More plants die from over-watering than anything else, I reckon,
so never let them get water-logged.

Oh, before I forget to ask - why are you going to repot it?


Forgive the butt in, but I have 'em all over the place.
I break off the shoots - root 'em and share with anyone who asks.
They can definitely stand being ignored, which is a must at my place.
One got to be six feet tall, and after whacking it down, found that
sections
of the 'trunk' could be successfully rooted as well.
Once a week watering is fine for normal sized plants. When they get
really big however, they do get more thirsty.
And weak fertilizer is just right.

Dorothy
(Yeah - that one)

Anne Jackson wrote:
The message from "Pete C" contains these words:

Anne Jackson wrote:
The message from "Pete C" contains these
words:

Mooching round B & Q just now to get some grass seed, I spotted a
clearance buy. A dragon tree, bicolour, green with red edges. It's
40cm tall, and looking very healthy. Price....................?
Just £1.98!! However, me and houseplants have never got on, so any
tips to stop me murdering it would
be nice. Ta

If it was mine, I'd keep it in a room where there is plenty of light
- but not in direct sunlight. I'd put it in a container (which was
a bit larger than the pot the plant is in) with pebbles in the
bottom, and water it regularly (once a week if I remembered), with
a liquid feed every now and again, probably once a month, if I
remembered.
Thanks Anne.I intend to repot tomorrow. Googling leaves me confused.
Water/keep dryish. feed/don't feed.
Do you speak from experience?

I've never owned a Dracaena, but that's what I'd do if I had one! ;-)

Most plants like quite like to be above the water in whatever (outer)
container they're in. Most of them benefit from the evaporation of
the water.

I feed my houseplants a very weak fertiliser, when I remember, which
is usually around the beginning of the month. Makes life easier, if
I have some kind of a routine.

More plants die from over-watering than anything else, I reckon,
so never let them get water-logged.

Oh, before I forget to ask - why are you going to repot it?

It's in a 10 cm pot atm, doesn't look 'right', so will repot in a 16 or 16
cm pot.
--
Pete C
London UK

Anne Jackson wrote:
The message from Sacha contains these
words:

Oh, before I forget to ask - why are you going to repot it?

Because you said you'd put it in a container a bit larger etc. etc.
I think you mean an outer container and the OP, being new to this
perilous game, has taken this to mean re-potting altogether.

Sorry, I forgot I was talking to a complete novice! ;-)

Pete, I wouldn't re-pot it. I'd give it time to settle
in to its new accommodation!

Mmm, well as it's snowing heavily atm, I'm not going to the shed for
compost, so I'll wait a week.
--
Pete C
London UK

Anne Jackson wrote:
The message from "Pete C" contains these words:

Oh, before I forget to ask - why are you going to repot it?

It's in a 10 cm pot atm, doesn't look 'right', so will repot
in a 16 or 16 cm pot.

TWO 16 cm pots? G I was always told to repot plants
'one size' at a time - never to go up three or four sizes
at once. The plants don't like it, apparently...
Sorry, that should have read 14 0r 16. Not sure what I have
--
Pete C
London UK