“The one who’s too good for the tap.”

Lemon Lime Dracaena

Dracaena fragrans 'Lemon Lime'

Lemon, lime, and cream stripes run the length of sword-shaped leaves. Grows slowly, asking for soft light and kind water.

Fling

2.6/5

how easy it is to care for

3.8/5

how much it stands out visually

: Dim to bright

A bright room, no direct sun; leaves slim down if dim

In a dim corner it carries on, but its new leaves come in narrower. Bright to moderate filtered light, near a window or behind a sheer but out of direct sun, is where its lemon-and-lime blades grow widest.

Too much sun can leave round, dry patches or streaks across the blades (Clemson Extension); if you spot them, slide it farther from the glass. Strong direct sun is the one kind of light that can harm it.

An east window, a step or two back, is one easy fit.

Its roots are in tropical Africa (Missouri Botanical Garden), and cold matters as much as light: NC State suggests holding it above 50°F, and it grows best at 70-80°F, so a drafty window ledge is the one bright spot to pass on in winter.

Soft, steady light is all it asks; the stripes do the rest.

: 2-3× a month

Wants a drink 10-14 days apart, up to 21 in winter

About every 10-14 days in summer, 2-3 weeks in winter. A soggy pot is the bigger risk: too much water or poor drainage can make it drop leaves suddenly.

Come winter it wants less, and stretching drinks toward three weeks matches its slower season.

On striped dracaenas, fluoride in tap water tends to show as tan or brown streaks and yellow, dead tips (Penn State Extension); the genus is famously touchy about it (University of Florida). If those singed ends bother you, consider rainwater or filtered water, left to reach room temperature first (RHS). NC State also suggests flushing built-up salts monthly, if you care to, and Clemson Extension advises against potting mixes heavy in perlite for the same reason. The plant survives tap water either way, just with browner tips.

Gone for a while? Two weeks is fine; soak it the day you leave and empty the saucer.

: Large

Striped leaves on a cane, slowly rising to 5 feet

Sword-shaped leaves striped lemon and lime crown a woody stem, adding a few inches a year toward 2-5 feet. Set it beside a window where light glows through the lime edges; repot once it lifts out of its pot.

Slow as it is, the cane keeps going: Missouri Botanical Garden puts the species past 20 feet in tropical Africa, and in warm climates its cultivars are planted as hedges and screens (NC State). Indoors, years of growth lift the leaves higher on a tan stem about 2 inches thick, and the look turns palm-⁠like (RHS).

Its leaves arch and droop as they lengthen (NC State), which suits a corner where the crown can fan out above furniture.

If it ever brushes the ceiling, NC State describes air layering: an upward cut about a foot below the tip, packed with damp sphagnum moss and wrapped, roots right on the stem. The rooted top carries on as its own plant, stripes and all.

: Mildly irritating

Chewing can upset dogs and cats; rated safe for kids

DogsMildly irritating
CatsMildly irritating
KidsSafe

A dog or cat that chews it may drool, vomit, or go off its food for a while, then recover. For kids, CHOP and Poison Control list it as nonpoisonous.

Cats may get dilated pupils or a wobbly walk; it passes.

Saponins, soap-like compounds in the leaves and stems, are behind the trouble (Pet Poison Helpline). A pet that eats some usually gets a short bout of stomach upset. The vomit may now and then show a streak of blood, and a pet can seem quiet or uninterested in food for a while. Most settle on their own. If symptoms don’t settle, or anything worries you, call your vet or the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center (a fee may apply).

For children, the news is good: nothing harmful if a leaf is chewed (CHOP, Poison Control). The sap can irritate skin, so a quick hand wash after pruning is plenty. Poison Control is there if a question comes up.

If your cat or dog likes to graze, give the plant a room they don’t use, or a stand tall enough that the lowest leaves stay out of reach. Time helps too. As the cane lengthens, the crown rises past nosing height on its own.

ASPCA: mild for dogs.
Merck Veterinary Manual: mild for dogs (rates the whole genus).
Pet Poison Helpline: mild for dogs (rates the whole genus).
ASPCA: mild for cats.
Merck Veterinary Manual: mild for cats (rates the whole genus).
Pet Poison Helpline: toxic for cats.
CHOP: safe for kids.

Cats and dogs: Most of the leading sources agree.

Kids: CHOP and Poison Control list it as non-poisonous. Its sap can irritate skin or eyes.

: Average

60-80°F; average humidity is fine

Keep it at 60-80°F, away from cold glass in winter. It likes 40-60% humidity; in drier air, its tips may brown.

Temperature: 60-80°F
Humidity: 40-60%

: Scale insects

Scale and spider mites; check leaf undersides

Scale and spider mites are the common finds: check stems and along the veins under the leaves. Mealybugs wrap the leaf bases and axils, and thrips can hide in the unfurling central spear. Look underneath when you water.

Scale insects
Spider mites
Mealybugs
Thrips

Not many, as long as the soil isn’t kept wet. Mealybugs, scale, thrips, and spider mites turn up now and then, and fungus gnats in damp soil.

Mealybugs look like tufts of white cotton where the leaves meet the cane; scale looks like small brown bumps stuck to the leaves. Wipe them off with a cotton swab dipped in rubbing alcohol (a fingernail lifts scale), then check again next week.

Spider mites and thrips both leave the leaves speckled or silvery, and mites add fine webbing, mostly in warm, dry air. Rinse the whole plant in the shower, undersides of the leaves included; if they come back, an insecticidal soap spray is the next step.

Fungus gnats are tiny black flies that hover around the pot. Their larvae live in wet soil, so let it dry out longer between soaks and they die off.

Its diseases are leaf spot and root rot. Keep water off the leaves when you water, and empty the saucer.

: More

Feed and flush monthly; wipe twice a year; prune in spring

Feed monthly in spring and summer, and flush monthly with non-fluoridated water when tips brown. Wipe the leaves twice a year. Prune leggy canes in spring, and repot one size up every few years.

Feed6× a year
Flush salts12× a year
Prune1× a year
Clean leaves2× a year

Any ordinary potting mix, in a pot with a drainage hole: it isn’t fussy about soil, only about sitting wet.

Repot only when the roots fill the pot, one pot size up, in spring or summer. Now and then, let water run through the pot for a good minute to rinse out the salts that tap water and fertilizer leave behind; built-up salts brown the tips too.

Food is optional: a houseplant fertilizer at half strength once a month in spring and summer is plenty, and none in winter. Too much only adds to the salts that brown its tips.

: Suave

Lemon, lime, and cream stripes on sword-⁠shaped leaves

Each sword-shaped leaf runs with stripes of lemon, lime, and cream from base to tip. The surface has a gentle gloss, and the leaves arch out thick enough to cover the soil.

Fun fact

Each blade is striped like a ribbon in cream, greenish-yellow, and lime, so a single leaf carries cream and several shades of green all at once.

Designer tips

Bright, graphic, and a little retro, it reads as a splash of lime in a plain modern room.

On a low stand beside a sofa, a few feet from a window

The moodBrightens a room that gets no real sunLime-and-cream stripes read like daylight, so it earns its keep in rooms that are bright but sunless: a north-facing living room, an office a few feet off the glass.

Pair it withRises behind a low Chinese evergreenIts fountain of striped leaves sits above the evergreen’s low, patterned clump, and both take a spot a few feet from a window. The dracaena is toxic to cats, rarely seriously, and mildly irritating to dogs; the Chinese evergreen is mildly irritating to both.

The styleSuits a mid-century room in citrus and teakIts lime-and-cream stripes sit well with teak, walnut, and a mid-century palette of mustard and olive, and the fountain shape suits a slim cylinder planter.

Troubleshooting

The leaf tips are turning brown

Most likely the water: dracaenas are touchy about fluoride in tap water and the salts that build up in soil, and dry winter air adds to it. Rain or distilled water helps if the tips bother you, though it carries on with tap water, just browner at the ends.

Why are the bottom leaves turning yellow?

One or two at a time is normal: it sheds its oldest leaves as the cane grows taller. Lots at once, with the soil staying wet, likely means too much water; give it longer between soaks and empty the saucer.

The new leaves are coming in thin and narrow

It wants more light: NC State notes the leaves narrow when light is low. A spot closer to a window, out of the sun’s reach, likely brings fuller leaves next.

See all 9

Why are there dry, pale patches or streaks on the leaves?

Sun landing on them: Clemson Extension traces round dry patches and streaks to direct sun. Move it back from the window; the marked leaves stay marked, but new ones likely come in clean.

Pale bands across several leaves at once

It likely got cold, against a winter window or near a door to the street: UF/IFAS found a few hours near freezing leaves bands like these. The marks stay, but the leaves after them are fine once it’s somewhere warmer.

It’s tall and bare at the bottom. Can I cut it back?

Yes, in spring: cut the cane at the height you want, and Clemson says new leaves soon sprout below the cut. The top you took off roots in water or damp mix in 3-6 weeks.

Tiny flies around the pot

Fungus gnats, which breed in soil that stays damp. Give it the full 10-14 days between soaks and empty the saucer; the larvae die off as the soil dries.

My cat chewed a leaf

Expect some drooling or vomiting, and in cats maybe dilated pupils: it’s mildly irritating (ASPCA), and it usually passes. If vomiting keeps up or your pet seems unwell, call your vet or the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center.

Is it safe around kids?

Yes: CHOP and Poison Control list it as nonpoisonous for children. The sap can irritate skin, so a hand wash after pruning is plenty.

Propagation

Easy, from the top: cutting back a tall or leggy plant gives you a new one.

Cut off the top of a cane, 3 to 6 inches long, strip the lowest leaves, and stand it in a glass of water or a pot of damp mix in a warm spot where sun doesn’t land on the leaves.
It roots in 3-6 weeks.
The stump left behind sprouts new leaves of its own.

Leftover bare cane works too: cut it into pieces with a couple of leaf scars each, lay them on damp mix, and they send up shoots and roots in 8 to 10 weeks.