Family: Asparagaceae
Common Name: Dracaena Twister
Botanical Name: Dracaena fragrans 'Twister'
The eye-catching Dracaena Twister features swirls of gleaming, deep green leaves that spiral as they grow upward on a cane stem. This houseplant is low-light tolerant but prefers to be kept in bright indirect light with moist soil. When this indoor plant grows, you can prune it, and it will regrow brand-new swirls of foliage. Learn more about how to care for this whimsical dracaena!
Light
It is true that some dracaenas can live for extended periods of time in low light conditions, but for this dracaena, we recommend providing it with at least 4 hours of indirect sunlight each day. Dracaena can live under artificial lights, grow lights or even in household or office overhead lights as well! If you keep your Dracaena Twister outdoors, a few hours of early morning sun will not burn the leaves, but harsh mid-day and afternoon summer sun can be devastating to this indoor plant!
Water
Dracaena Twister should be watered when the soil is almost completely dry, and only then! Plants in smaller pots, like 4" or 6" grow pots will need to be watered more often than plants in larger containers. Over-watering this houseplant should be avoided as they have little to no tolerance for soggy roots. If you notice that the leaves are starting to turn brown, or yellow along the edges, and you have been watering like we suggest, then your water might be high in salts or even worse, chemicals and you should switch to filtered water (for both you and your plants)!
Soil
The best potting soil mixture for dracaena is a combination of fine bark, wood chips or coarse sand, organic compost and coco coir, or peat moss. Learn how to create your own universal soil mixture for all of your indoor plants! Most store-bought potting soil will suffice as long as the potting soil allows for adequate drainage. Never use Heavy soils, like garden soil for indoor plants like Dracaena Twister. Dracaenas like slightly acidic soils, and you can raise the PH by adding aluminum sulfate. Salts and minerals can accumulate in the soil, and as a result, dracaenas can develop leaf burn. Leach the soil twice a year to remove mineral buildup by rinsing the soil with water for a few minutes.
Temperature
The ideal temperatures for Dracaena Twister are above 65℉. Sudden coldness can damage the leaves, so keep them away from drafty doors and windows during the colder months. If the temperatures are too high, then you are going to be watering your plants a lot more often!
Humidity
Dracaenas as indoor plants benefit from higher humidity levels when they’re in heated, forced-air environments, other than that, they can live happily in most humidity levels of most homes. If you live in an arid climate, then you may consider increasing the humidity with a cool-mist humidifier. Learn about alternative methods to increase the humidity for your houseplants!
Fertilizer
It’s not necessary to fertilize your dracaenas, but they benefit from you feeding them once a month during the growing season with a ¼ diluted complete liquid fertilizer or fish emulsion. You can also top-dress the plant at the start of the growing season with rich compost like worm castings!
Growth Rate
Dracaena Twister is a moderate grower once established. It is a compact indoor tree that rarely grows taller than 2’ high. It will develop several canes over time turning into a lovely little tree!
Pet Friend or Foe
These plants are toxic to pets! Foe
Pro Tips
- Use filtered water as these plants are sensitive to salts and chemicals found in most tap water.
- Rotate your Dracaena Twister to keep the spiraling foliage well rounded.
- If your plant isn’t thriving, try to flush the soil of possible salt and mineral build-up. Place the potted plant under running water for a few minutes as this will help leach out the excess minerals and salts!
- The only way to prune this dracaena is to remove the top portion of the plant from the cane at the point you want to regrow the foliage!
- Clean the foliage every few weeks to deter pests and to keep the leaves dust-free!