Dragon trees

[Yunder Wækraus]

This is a fun article. Does anyone know more about dragon trees in FL? http://www.smgrowers.com/info/Dracaena_dracoSantaBarbara.asp

[rprimbs]

Loran Whitelock had a big one, but some of those from Santa Barbara were monsters!

[5150cycad]

Dragon Tree at the Hotel Del in San Diego

[Walt]

I had a small tree I bought in 2003. It lived maybe three years and croaked. I have about 10 or so in pots, only about eight inches or so high, that I grew from seed a palm friend gave me who collected the seed in So. Cal. I have them in my greenhouse where they never get any overhead water on them, only watered at the roots by hand watering. I'm not sure they like Florida rain and humidity -- maybe that's why my other one died. In any event, I will soon be finding out if they will survive here once I plant them in the ground, probably spring of 2017.

[Yunder Wækraus]

1 hour ago, Walt said:

I had a small tree I bought in 2003. It lived maybe three years and croaked. I have about 10 or so in pots, only about eight inches or so high, that I grew from seed a palm friend gave me who collected the seed in So. Cal. I have them in my greenhouse where they never get any overhead water on them, only watered at the roots by hand watering. I'm not sure they like Florida rain and humidity -- maybe that's why my other one died. In any event, I will soon be finding out if they will survive here once I plant them in the ground, probably spring of 2017.

Well, they have at least one at Fairchild, and there is a big one that seems to be quite old in Fort Lauderdale. Perhaps it's more a question of soil and location within the garden.

[Walt]

6 hours ago, Yunder Wækraus said:

Well, they have at least one at Fairchild, and there is a big one that seems to be quite old in Fort Lauderdale. Perhaps it's more a question of soil and location within the garden.

I know that D. Draco is more suited to a semi-arid and/or Mediterranean climate  (I think they are originally from the Canary Islands).

That's not to say they won't grow in Florida. But logic tells me D. draco is less suited for Florida's climate vis a vis So. Cal (where my seeds came from) -- or else we would see far more of them, like we do other species of dracaena. 

The small D. draco I had in the ground seemed to do well enough, but I think a hard freeze killed it, as it was so low to the ground (where the coldest air is). I know other species of dracaena were killed to the ground in the same hard freeze, but the other species grew back. Today I counted my D. draco, and I have 11 pots of them about 8-10 inches high. I know they are slow growers. I don't plan to plant mine out until they are fairly good size.

[Yunder Wækraus]

24 minutes ago, Walt said:

I know that D. Draco is more suited to a semi-arid and/or Mediterranean climate  (I think they are originally from the Canary Islands).

That's not to say they won't grow in Florida. But logic tells me D. draco is less suited for Florida's climate vis a vis So. Cal (where my seeds came from) -- or else we would see far more of them, like we do other species of dracaena. 

The small D. draco I had in the ground seemed to do well enough, but I think a hard freeze killed it, as it was so low to the ground (where the coldest air is). I know other species of dracaena were killed to the ground in the same hard freeze, but the other species grew back. Today I counted my D. draco, and I have 11 pots of them about 8-10 inches high. I know they are slow growers. I don't plan to plant mine out until they are fairly good size.

That's the great question at this point: are dragon trees less common in FL because they don't grow well or because they've never become popular? I've never been to the Canary Islands, but I would be very surprised if they were as dry as some parts of CA in terms of humidity.

I had some small dragon trees in the ground in CA when a bad freeze came with temps in the 20s and destroyed them. One died because of my meddling with it after the freeze, but the others eventually put out new leaves and soldiered on. I think temps in the part of the garden where the small dragon trees were located got down to 25 (perhaps a degree or two higher than that), and I have little doubt that they were on the edge of permanent damage. The temps in the 20s were only for a few hours during the night, and temps were back up to the 40s in the day. I was in a 9B climate, and I think 9B is just too marginal for these trees over the long term.

But could one do well in a 10a climate in Florida? Perhaps 10a in Florida is also to mercurial in temperature (it seems most 10a areas in the state are still likely to get hit with a catastrophic freeze every 50 years, which a devastating situation for long-lived plants like dragon trees; note that Ft. Lauderdale is 10b). I'd like to try regardless.

[Walt]

Well, for one thing, at least in my area, there's no availability for D. draco. I've never seen them at any local nurseries and big box store garden departments.

I have 11 pots of D. draco, so I plan on planting them at various locations about my property. My soil is very well drained, so that should be no problem, and from October through May is my dry season, so that should help.

I Googled Canary Island's climate -- and it is dry.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canary_Islands#Climate

[Yunder Wækraus]

7 hours ago, Walt said:

Well, for one thing, at least in my area, there's no availability for D. draco. I've never seen them at any local nurseries and big box store garden departments.

I have 11 pots of D. draco, so I plan on planting them at various locations about my property. My soil is very well drained, so that should be no problem, and from October through May is my dry season, so that should help.

I Googled Canary Island's climate -- and it is dry.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canary_Islands#Climate

Yes, we know rainfall is low there, but what's the humidity level?

[Walt]

1 hour ago, Yunder Wækraus said:

Yes, we know rainfall is low there, but what's the humidity level?

I checked on station in the Canary Islands and the relative humidity was 61% at 77 degrees F temperature. That certainly isn't low humidity by any means. The RH in Lake Placid is 82% at 71 degrees (has I write this at 7:57 a.m.), so by the time the temperature rises to 77 degrees here, the RH may even be close to that in the Canary Islands, since the RH should drop as the temperature rises (all other conditions staying equal). Of course, this is just one instant in time. I have no idea what the RH averages 365 days a year in the Canary Islands, but just that the rainfall is low.

[Yunder Wækraus]

50 minutes ago, Walt said:

I checked on station in the Canary Islands and the relative humidity was 61% at 77 degrees F temperature. That certainly isn't low humidity by any means. The RH in Lake Placid is 82% at 71 degrees (has I write this at 7:57 a.m.), so by the time the temperature rises to 77 degrees here, the RH may even be close to that in the Canary Islands, since the RH should drop as the temperature rises (all other conditions staying equal). Of course, this is just one instant in time. I have no idea what the RH averages 365 days a year in the Canary Islands, but just that the rainfall is low.

I suspected that humidity in the Canary Islands was higher than most desert regions. I wonder whether dragon trees also grow within the moist laurel forest region there.

[Walt]

There's a Palmtalk poster that lives in Tenerife and has something to do with a botanical garden there. I'm sure he could answer your questions if he stumbled upon this post. Here's a Google photo from Tenerife. Note the dragon tree:

https://www.google.com/maps/@28.471531,-16.257176,3a,75y,90t/data=!3m8!1e2!3m6!1s64045661!2e1!3e10!6s%2F%2Flh3.googleusercontent.com%2Fproxy%2FdYsRt3Mcytvrx7S39f9zXD2K85VHH--YkdYNNCICR1NiK-Rt0BCg33ij5vAZL5ji-8_tz38Rk61DYe1ADLd-CGeYvMLdhQ%3Dw203-h121!7i4264!8i2552

 

[The Silent Seed]

Mine are die-hard and unkillable with all kinds of dry or humid conditions. Granted, they don't see any frost or cold temps at all - except for the first few 45 degree nights outside which don't affect them at all. 

 

[sbpalms]

We have a LOT of these in Santa Barbara. Great trees.

[fastfeat]

Should be OK in all but the coldest winters in Brevard coastal areas. Humidity shouldn't be an issue (large one in Broward Co with similar humidity). Biggest hurdle will be providing soil that consistently drains throughout the root zone. Even a couple day inundation from tidal surge or tropical storm flooding could be fatal. I'd suggest planting on a high spot, but those are likely scarce along the intracoastal. Probably best to grow in a container out in the elements for a few years anyway (great container plant) and then plant out if it's been successful. Plants should be available from online vendors. You might try Jesse Durko in Davie (Broward Co) if you want to make a drive; I think he's sold it before.

[peachy]

They grow perfectly in Melbourne (Australia) and I have seen a couple of big ones in the  harbourside areas of Sydney. Sadly here in Brisbane they just rot in the humidity.

[Pip]

There are quite a few in here in Adelaide, the best examples on public display are found in the Waite Arboretum. There is also an avenue planting on King William street next to government house. 

[Eric in Orlando]

They will grow in FL if given well drained soil and good air circulation. I've seen big ones at Fairchild and scattered about in SoFL. I also see big specimens grown by wholesale nurseries that are available. We have a couple young ones here at Leu Gardens growing well. In SoFL a similar species, Dracaena arborea, is more commonly available and grown. They are often sold as Dragon Tree. Dracaena arborea is slightly more tender to cold than D. draco. There may be some being planted in the Avatar section at Disney's Animal Kingdom that opens next year.

 

They sometimes show up at tradeshows. At FNGLA's Landscape Show here in Orlando last Sept. a big Dracaena draco won the Most Unusual Plant Specimen award.

https://www.fngla.org/thelandscapeshow/boothawards.aspx

 

[GDLWyverex]

On 10/25/2016, 2:04:04, Yunder Wækraus said:

This is a fun article. Does anyone know more about dragon trees in FL? http://www.smgrowers.com/info/Dracaena_dracoSantaBarbara.asp

Dracaena draco is easily acquired at low costs as it is prolific and fairly common and fast growing, not being very particular about its soil requirements. It has been very hardy for me both here in México as well as in San Diego, CA, Sacramento, CA and San Francisco, CA. It loves sun as opposed to many dracaenas. The only gotcha that I have experienced is that it does not like its roots being constantly wet. Allow to dry between waterings. It is drought resistant.

 

Richard

[Yunder Wækraus]

1 hour ago, GDLWyverex said:

Dracaena draco is easily acquired at low costs as it is prolific and fairly common and fast growing, not being very particular about its soil requirements. It has been very hardy for me both here in México as well as in San Diego, CA, Sacramento, CA and San Francisco, CA. It loves sun as opposed to many dracaenas. The only gotcha that I have experienced is that it does not like its roots being constantly wet. Allow to dry between waterings. It is drought resistant.

 

Richard

I haven't seen them for sale on FL

[GDLWyverex]

6 hours ago, Yunder Wækraus said:

I haven't seen them for sale on FL

That is probably because they are not as showy as the d. fragrans like warnekii  and massangeana or the d. marginatas  to name a few.

Keep looking at garden suppliers better than plant shops.

Richard

[Walt]

On ‎12‎/‎28‎/‎2016‎ ‎9‎:‎42‎:‎12‎, GDLWyverex said:

Dracaena draco is easily acquired at low costs as it is prolific and fairly common and fast growing, not being very particular about its soil requirements. It has been very hardy for me both here in México as well as in San Diego, CA, Sacramento, CA and San Francisco, CA. It loves sun as opposed to many dracaenas. The only gotcha that I have experienced is that it does not like its roots being constantly wet. Allow to dry between waterings. It is drought resistant.

 

Richard

I know that fast growing (fast being a relative term) means different rates of growth to different people. The Draceana draco I had years ago seemed to be a slow grower to me, slow meaning a few inches a year in overall growth. Perhaps I had a dud or the planting location wasn't the best. I assume more of the latter as I had mine planted where it only got broken sun. When I plant my up and coming D. draco trees, they will definitely be planted in high and dry soil (mostly what they call sugar sand) and in full sun.

I have 11 one gallon pots of D. draco. Some pots have more than one plant. I acquired the seeds from a palm friend that got them when she was out in San Diego just over a year ago. I sowed my seeds on 12-12-15. I can't recall how long they took to germinate, but in any case the photo below (which I took today, 12-29-16) shows their size since they were first sown just over a year ago. They've been in my greenhouse their entire life and have never seen direct rain and/or overhead watering -- only hand watering. Up to now they have not been fussy, shown any mineral deficiencies, disease, or insect pest problems. I feel with 11 pots of these plants I should at least have some success of at least getting one nice one in my landscape. My sandy soil is extremely well drained. Never any standing water or wet soil. In fact, many areas in my environs have native plants suited to more arid soil conditions. If I have success with just one of these trees, it (so far) will be the only one I've ever seen in the 19 years living here.