Dracaena concinna (Madagascar dragon tree, "Benifukurinsennenboku")

Japanese name: ベニフクリンセンネンボク （紅覆輪千年木）
Scientific name: Dracaena concinna

[Overview]
An evergreen shrub or small tree 2–3 m tall, reaching about 6 m in its native habitat.
It is upright; young plants have a single trunk, but mature plants may branch.
The leaves grow in dense clusters at the tips of the trunk and branches; they are linear-lanceolate to oblanceolate, 30–60 cm long and about 1.3 cm wide, dark green and glossy, with a red marginal band along the edge.
There are no leaf stalks.
As the plant grows, the lower leaves fall, leaving diamond-shaped scars on the stem.
Panicles emerge from the leaf axils at the stem tips and densely bear many small white six-petaled flowers.
There are no bracts at the base of the flower.
The ovary is divided into 3 chambers, each with 1 ovule.
The fruit is a spherical berry that ripens to yellow-orange, but plants grown indoors as foliage plants rarely flower or fruit.

[Uses]
There are many horticultural varieties, and it is used as a foliage plant.

[Cultivation]
Propagate by cuttings, layering, cuttings of new shoots or stem cuttings laid flat.
It is safest to keep it at 10°C or above for overwintering.
It prefers fertile soil that is well drained, retains water well, and is well ventilated.
Varieties with variegated leaves color poorly in insufficient sun, and direct summer sun can cause leaf scorch, so place them in a sunny spot from autumn to spring and in partial shade in summer.
Do not let it run short of water or fertilizer during the spring-to-autumn growing season.
From spring to autumn, water thoroughly when the soil surface dries; keep it on the dry side in winter.
The leaf edges may wither when humidity is insufficient, so mist the leaves all year round.
From spring to autumn, apply slow-release fertilizer once a month, or liquid fertilizer once a week.
Pests and diseases include soft rot, damping-off, scale insects, aphids and spider mites.

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