A pot of Dracaena thalioides that was on display in HortPark’s Lifestyle Corner was recently in bloom. It produced two erect spikes of pink flowers that were surprisingly fragrant! The fragrance seemed to be emitted in a big way from dusk onwards as the flowers were faintly fragrant during the day. The appearance of the flowers was reminiscent of those produced by the mother-in-law’s tongue (Sansevieria trifasciata). When I touched them, my hands felt sticky afterwards, probably due to the copious amount of nectar the flowers secreted.
Dracaena thalioides is one plant that has an appearance quite unlike its brothers and sisters in the same genus. In my opinion, it looks more like a cordyline due to its very much petiolated lanceolate leaves. Most dracaenas I have come across do not have such a distinctive petiole! It is commonly known as the Lance Dracaena.
Interestingly, the species name of this plant is derived from the genus Thalia, which is a group of water plants belonging to the prayer plant family, Marantaceae, with superficially similar foliar characteristics. Its genus name, Dracaena comes from Greek for female dragon, which was used to refer to the dragon’s blood trees (D. cinnabari and D. schizantha) as these plants exude a red sap when injured.
Dracaena thalioides is currently classified under Ruscaceae but sometimes put into a family of its own, Dracaenaceae. Some of us may recall that Dracaena thalioides and friends were also previously grouped under Agavaceae and even Liliaceae!
It is what you would term as ‘something old and new’ as it was a popular houseplant back in the past and disappeared after some time when it fell out of fashion. Lately, Dracaena thalioides resurfaced again and I am beginning to see it being offered for sale at some nurseries and being used for landscaping indoors and outdoors.
This slow-growing plant is admired for its lush and attractive foliage which are held erect in loose spiral arrangement. To some of us, it may appear as if the leaves are opening up like a fan. It is a plant that thrives in a semi-shaded location and can be used for mass planting to achieve a lush, tropical look in an outdoor garden.
Like many other dracaenas, it makes a good indoor plant too. It can tolerate deep shade inside the house for short periods of time as a display plant but would appreciate if it can be shifted to an area, such as next to a window or balcony, where it can recuperate while being exposed to filtered sunshine for at least 6 hours daily.
Indoors, Dracaena thalioides can be displayed singly as a specimen plant but more frequently, one often sees several short plants with full crowns of leaves are grouped together inside a long planter box. Grow this plant using soil that is rich, well draining potting mix that is kept most at all times and feed using balanced, slow-release fertiliser pellets. It can be propagated via stem-cuttings, crown division and seeds.
