Dracaenas, from the dragon tree to the corn plant, are some of the easiest foliage plants you can grow indoors. They don’t ask for much food, either. Feed them a little, at the right time, with the right product, and they stay green and glossy. Feed them too much, or the wrong thing, and the leaf tips will tell on you.
To keep your Dracaena plants strong and healthy, they need the right light, water and food. Here’s which fertilizer to use, liquid or granular, when to feed, and how to tell when you’ve overdone it.
Liquid or Granular: Which Dracaena Fertilizer Is Best?
Both can work. Clemson Extension’s dracaena fact sheet says to feed with a liquid foliage plant fertilizer, and it adds that time-release fertilizer pellets may be used also. NC State Extension suggests a controlled-release fertilizer for the dragon tree (Dracaena marginata), which it says has a low fertilizer requirement.
Liquid, water-soluble fertilizers have one big plus indoors. They are often preferred because dilute solutions reduce the potential for fertilizer burn. Mississippi State University Extension says fast-release fertilizers act right away but can burn plants if applied too heavily, while slow-release granules feed gradually, with timing that depends on the product, the indoor temperature and how you water.
So the choice comes down to what you’ll use consistently. A liquid lets you control every feeding. Pellets or granules mean fewer applications. Either way, follow the label for how much to use.
What to Look For on the Label
Start with the three numbers on the package. The first number is nitrogen, the second is phosphorus and the third is potassium (potash), with calcium, magnesium, iron and other elements listed in the finer print.
What do they do? University of Minnesota Extension says nitrogen promotes leafy growth, phosphorus supports root growth and fruiting, and potassium supports disease resistance and plant hardiness. For foliage plants like dracaena, a balanced fertilizer such as 20-20-20 works well.
Commercial growers aim a little differently. UF/IFAS Extension’s production guide for dracaena growers says fertilizers with low boron and fluoride levels and an N:P:K ratio of 3:1:2 or 3:1:3 are best. That’s a nursery recipe, not a houseplant rule, but the low-boron, low-fluoride part is worth copying at home.
Skip superphosphate. Dracaena is very sensitive to fluoride, with symptoms such as yellowing tips or margins and dead, scorched areas. Don’t use fertilizer that contains superphosphate, since it often has high levels of fluorine, and to keep the soil pH between 6.0 and 6.5. More on that in Dracaena Fluoride Toxicity.
What about trace elements? There are 16 essential plant elements, including iron, manganese, copper, boron, zinc and molybdenum. Sodium isn’t on that list, so it isn’t something to look for on a fertilizer label.
Related: Watering Dracaena Plants
When to Fertilize Dracaenas
Give a New Plant a Month
When you first bring a dracaena home, hold off. Once plants are placed indoors, it is advisable not to repot or fertilize for about four weeks, because they do not need additional stress.
Use that month to settle it into good light. Most dracaenas grow best in bright, indirect light, though many tolerate lower light. Direct sun can burn the foliage.
Feed in Spring and Summer
Advice varies here. Dracaena-specific guidance says once a month during spring and summer, and a controlled-release fertilizer in spring, summer and fall for the dragon tree. General indoor-plant guidance is lighter: the label rate every two or three months, or about one-tenth the label rate at every watering during the growing season, or a feeding every seventh watering. Every two or three months is also suggested for indoor plants that are actively growing.
If you’re unsure, start at the lighter end and let the plant’s new growth guide you.
Here’s my own routine, for what it’s worth. I feed the corn plant in our home with a liquid fertilizer every third time I water it, and I’ve had that plant for more than seven years. That’s what works in my house, with my light and my watering habits. It’s not a rule, so use the label and the guidance above as your starting point.
Feed Less in Low Light and Winter
Light drives how much food a dracaena can use. Indoor plants in the low light conditions of the interior environment have reduced fertilizer requirements, and that at least 200 foot-candles for 12 hours a day are needed for foliage plants to show any benefit from fertilizing. A dracaena in a dim corner needs very little.
Winter is the same story. Many indoor plants that get little or no artificial light enter a resting stage during the short days of winter, and if plants go into a winter rest period, you should not fertilize them. Fertilize less often, if at all, in winter or under other low-light conditions.
More light means more growth. A dracaena moved from dim light to a brighter spot grows thicker, stronger new leaves and grows faster. A fast-growing plant needs nutrients more often than one growing slowly or resting, and houseplants moved to a porch or patio for summer may need a water-soluble fertilizer every two to three weeks. Just remember that fast growth isn’t always the goal: rapid new growth is often undesirable, since plants may outgrow their spots.
How to Fertilize Dracaenas, Step by Step
- Water first. Be sure the soil is moist before fertilizing. Don’t feed a plant sitting in bone-dry dracaena soil.
- Measure. Mix the fertilizer with water exactly as the label directs, using a measuring cup or spoon. More is not better.
- Use room-temperature water. Avoid watering dracaenas with cold water.
- Mind the water source. Dracaenas are sensitive to tap water that contains salts, chlorine and fluoride. Use distilled, rain or filtered water.
- Water through. Water the soil thoroughly and let the excess flow out of the drainage holes into a tray, then empty the tray.
Signs You’ve Overdone It, and How to Fix It
Too much fertilizer shows up in the leaves and on the pot. Dracaena leaf tips and margins may burn or turn yellow if plants are fertilized too heavily. A white film on the soil or a white crust on the pot rim or drainage hole may mean the plant is overfertilized or overwatered, and salt buildup can damage roots, causing slow growth, brown leaf tips, dropping lower leaves and wilting.
The fix is to flush the salts out. Cut back on fertilizer and wash the salts out of the soil by thoroughly watering the plant several times, letting the excess water drain away as fast as possible. If a corn plant’s leaves turn brown, flush salts monthly; leaching the potting mix lowers high soluble salts. A sink or shower makes this easy.
Drainage holes matter here. Drain holes let excess salts leach out, and plants in containers without them are easily injured or killed by overwatering. If your dracaena’s pot has no holes, repot it into one that does before you flush it.
Brown tips that are already there won’t turn green again. Leaves damaged by high boron, fluoride or soluble salts will not recover. Trim them for looks if you like, fix the cause and watch the new growth. Our brown tips guide walks through every cause.
Do Dracaenas Clean the Air?
You may have read that dracaenas clean the air. Several were in NASA’s study, Interior Landscape Plants for Indoor Air Pollution Abatement (the September 1989 final report), including the dragon tree, ‘Janet Craig‘ and the corn plant (‘Massangeana’). The study measured how much benzene, trichloroethylene and formaldehyde plants removed inside sealed chambers; the dragon tree and ‘Janet Craig’ appear in all three chemical tables, the corn plant in the trichloroethylene table.
A home isn’t a sealed chamber. Iowa State University Extension says that in reality, houseplants have little effect on air quality in the home or office, because there is a constant turnover of air. Grow and feed your dracaena for its good looks, not as an air purifier.
The Bottom Line
Dracaenas are light eaters. Feed during spring and summer (monthly with a liquid, or use time-release pellets), skip the winter rest, avoid superphosphate, and flush the salts now and then. When in doubt, feed less. Your dracaena will forgive a missed feeding much faster than a heavy one.
How do you feed your dracaena? Tell us in the comments!
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the best fertilizer for dracaena?
A liquid foliage plant fertilizer works well, and time-release fertilizer pellets may be used too. A balanced fertilizer such as 20-20-20 suits foliage plants. Whatever you choose, avoid products containing superphosphate, which often has high levels of fluorine, a problem for fluoride-sensitive dracaenas. Follow the label for how much to use.
How often should I fertilize my dracaena?
Once a month during spring and summer with a liquid foliage plant fertilizer. For the dragon tree, a controlled-release fertilizer in spring, summer and fall also works, and general indoor-plant guidance suggests the label rate every two or three months. Plants in low light need less. Start at the lighter end and follow the label.
Should I fertilize dracaena in winter?
Usually not. Many indoor plants that get little or no artificial light enter a resting stage during the short days of winter, and plants in a winter rest period should not be fertilized. Fertilize less often, if at all, in winter or under low light. Plants usually grow in spring and summer, so resume feeding then.
Why are my dracaena’s leaf tips brown after fertilizing?
Heavy fertilizing is one possible cause. Leaf tips and margins may burn or turn yellow if plants are fertilized too heavily, dracaenas are very sensitive to fluoride, and superphosphate often has high levels of fluorine. For the corn plant, flush built-up salts monthly. Damaged tips will not recover, so fix the cause and watch new growth. See our brown tips guide.
When should I fertilize a new dracaena?
Wait about a month. Once plants are placed indoors, it is advisable not to repot or fertilize for about four weeks, because they do not need additional stress. Use that time to settle the plant into bright, indirect light, then start feeding during spring or summer, following the fertilizer label.