Dracaena reflexa, called Song of India, is a slow-growing evergreen shrub or small tree from the Indian Ocean islands, grown mainly as a houseplant for its dark green striped or variegated leaves. It does best in bright, filtered light with moderate watering and tolerates neglect better than most.
Family
Asparagaceae (Asparagus family)
Grows as
Tree
Light
Full sun, Bright indirect, Shade
Water
Water when the top few centimetres of soil feel dry; it tolerates infrequent watering better than overwatering.
Soil
Well-draining peat-based potting mix with some perlite or bark.
Temperature
18–25 °C indoors; protect below 10 °C.
How easy
Easy
Safety
Toxic: Leaves and stems contain saponins, which can cause mouth irritation, vomiting and diarrhoea if chewed or swallowed.. Toxic to cats and dogs (ASPCA).
Native range
NE. Mozambique, W. Indian Ocean
Climate
wet tropical
About
Dracaena reflexa (commonly called song of India or song of Jamaica) is a tree native to Mozambique, Madagascar, Mauritius, and other nearby islands of the Indian Ocean. It is widely grown as an ornamental plant and houseplant, valued for its richly coloured, evergreen leaves, and thick, irregular stems.
How to grow it
Dracaena reflexa is a popular ornamental plant, both in the landscape and the home. It can be enjoyed as a specimen plant, accent, or pruned to create a border. Several cultivars have been selected, particularly variegated clones with cream and yellow-green margins. It performs well as a houseplant, tolerating infrequent waterings. It prefers bright, filtered light, without direct sun exposure, restricted outdoors to zones 10–11. It has average water needs and should be fertilized bi-weekly when actively growing. Although it can survive in relatively low light levels, the plant may grow spindly if given insufficient light. When grown indoors, temperatures of 18 to 25 °C (64 to 77 °F) should be maintained. It can be propagated via herbaceous stem cuttings.
The cultivar Dracaena reflexa 'Variegata' has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.
[Contains information from Leaf Area Index (LAI) and Heritage Trees from data.gov.sg (National Parks Board), made available under the terms of the Singapore Open Data Licence version 1.0]
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Dracaena reflexa by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.