Dracaena Lemon Lime
A corn plant in neon: long, arching leaves striped in bright lime and chartreuse with a grey-green centre, on a slow-growing cane. Low-light tolerant, drought tolerant, and one of the brightest plants you can put in a dim room.
Lemon Lime is what you get when a corn plant is bred for colour. The leaves are long, strap-shaped and arching, striped lengthways in bright lime green and yellow with a soft grey-green band down the centre, and they grow in a rosette at the top of a slowly thickening cane. In a dim room it is the brightest thing there.
It is a Dracaena fragrans cultivar, the same species as the corn plant and Janet Craig, and it shares their easy nature: tolerant of low light, forgiving of missed waterings, slow enough to stay put for years. Its two dislikes are wet soil and hard tap water.
Light
Medium to bright, indirect light for the strongest colour. It tolerates low light better than most variegated plants and stays lime rather than reverting to green. Direct sun bleaches and scorches the pale stripes. A north window is fine; an east window is better.
Water
Let the top two inches dry out, then water and drain. Every ten days in summer, every two to three weeks in winter. Use filtered or rain water: dracaenas are sensitive to fluoride and the salts in hard tap water, which show as brown tips and edges. Overwatering yellows the lower leaves.
Soil and potting
A well-draining potting mix with a third perlite. Drainage hole essential. Repot every two years or so, one size up. The cane gets top-heavy, so a heavy pot helps.
Feeding
Half-strength balanced feed every six weeks in the growing season, using a fertiliser without fluoride or superphosphate. Skip winter.
Propagation
Cut the top off with a few inches of cane and root it in water or damp mix; the remaining cane sprouts new heads below the cut. Cane sections also root laid on damp mix. Slow but reliable.
In a hot, dry home
Good. It tolerates dry air and warm rooms and stores water in its cane. Keep it out of the AC's direct path, use filtered water, which matters more where the tap water is hard, and let the soil dry between waterings. A fine choice for the dimmer, cooler interior rooms of a desert house.
Dracaena Lemon Lime varieties
Same care, different look. These are the named forms you will see for sale.
- Limelight
Solid chartreuse leaves with no stripes. Glows in low light.
- Warneckii
The white-and-grey striped parent form. Same care.
Problems and fixes
Brown leaf tips and edges
Likely cause: Fluoride or salts in tap water
Fix: Switch to filtered water and flush the soil.
Lower leaves yellow
Likely cause: Overwatering, or normal old-leaf shedding
Fix: Let the top two inches dry; old leaves drop as the cane grows.
Pale, scorched patches
Likely cause: Direct sun
Fix: Move it to indirect light.
Stripes dulling
Likely cause: Too little light
Fix: Brighter spot.
Dracaena Lemon Lime questions
Is Dracaena Lemon Lime pet safe?
No. Dracaenas are toxic to cats and dogs if chewed.
Can it live in low light?
Yes, better than most variegated plants. It grows slowly there but keeps its colour.
Why are the tips brown?
Almost always tap water. Dracaenas react to fluoride and salts. Filtered water stops new damage.
Plants with a similar rhythm
Corn Plant
- Light
- Low to bright indirect
- Water
- Every 10 days
- Pets
- Toxic
Song of India
- Light
- Low to bright indirect
- Water
- Every 10 days
- Pets
- Toxic
Dragon Tree
- Light
- Low to bright indirect
- Water
- Every 10 days
- Pets
- Toxic
ZZ Plant
- Light
- Low to bright indirect
- Water
- Every 3 weeks
- Pets
- Toxic
