Plants & Bulbs

The song of India plant is a species from the dracaena genus (dracaena reflexa) that has become a popular house plant.

The leaves are the main attraction to this species – although it does flower (we’ll cover that shortly). These leaves are glossy that arch over and grow up to 1ft long and a couple of inches or so wide. Some of these seem to grow quite out of hand (especially outdoors) and start to look a bit ugly, which can be overcome with pruning and training its growth.

Flowering: As mentioned this species can flower and blooms clusters of near-white small flowers that are not very attractive or noticeable.

Removing toxins: The song of India plant was used in the NASA’s (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) clean air study which proved to remove a considerable amount of toxins from the environment.

Note: Another similarity to other dracaenas is the bottom leaves will begin to turn yellow and fall, which is totally the norm. They are just shedding leaves to grow new ones, so don’t worry.

Light: A brightly lit spot without direct sunshine is suggested. A small amount of morning or evening sun is not a problem.

Watering: I would try and keep the soil slightly moist at all times and in the winter allow the soil to dry. You should be able to leave a dracaena reflexa for up to a month during winter without water and no harm would be caused. Over-watering can kill these.

Soil: A fast-draining potting soil mix is best to use.

Pruning: You will find the lower leaves on this plant turn yellow after a period of time which is normal. Remove the lower leaves when they begin to yellow. You may also want to clean the leaves with tepid water using a soft sponge – to help it look attractive.