Question
Hello Will,

I have what I thought was a Dracaena (corn plant) purchased from a family that moved and couldn't take it. I've had it about 7 years and it's about 5 feet tall, with three stalks, and non-variegated leaves. It is near a porch slider door/window that gets only late afternoon sun.  Surprisingly, it developed small clusters of whitish buds that are now opening like mini anemones. The open flowers are very thin filaments gathered in clusters. They are so fragrant, like night-blooming jasmine. I can't find any mention of flowers on a Dracaena in my books.  Did I misidentify the plant?  I have been watering it every other day and wiping witch hazel near the flower stalks as I found that sticky, clear residue there from mites or thrips(I forget which). Would love to know what the plant is and how to get it to flower more often.  I will send a photo to your email as suggested above. (It's a bit blurry as I use my camera normally on a tripod for my business and that's not in the plant room!)

Thanks so much!

Tracy

Answer
Hi Tracy,

Thanks for the photo. Your plant is a corn plant - Dracaena fragrans massangeana. Corn plants do flower, as you have discovered. Their botanical name (fragrans) is a reference to the sweet aroma of the flowers. Just this week I had a request from one of my commercial clients to remove the plant because an employee found the aroma too strong. I simply cut off the flower and solved the problem!

Corn plants are grown for their foliage, not their flowers, which is why the books don't usually mention flowers. BTW, most all foliage plants except ferns do flower, but the flowers are often irregular or inconspicuous.

Corn plants have to be quite mature to flower. In addition,  they are more likely to flower if they have been in the same pot for a long time, receive good natural light and experience a drop in temperature at night. Once a corn plant flowers, it will usually flower once or twice per year thereafter as long as it is left undisturbed. In other words, don't repot it, relocate it, or otherwise change your care of it.

The sticky sap is as much a normal part of the flower as the aroma. There is no reason to remove it as it is unrelated to any plant pests. You may want to cut off the entire flower spike as soon as the flowers start to dry up, as they are quite messy after they dry completely.

Please let me know if any of this is unclear or if you have any additional questions.

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Regards,
Will Creed, Interior Landscaper
Horticultural Help, NYC

You can E-mail me directly at: [email protected]